E3: Journey

Tom Goldman

Crying on the inside.
Aug 17, 2009
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E3: Journey



The most atmospheric game at E3 had to be thatgamecompany's Journey.

Following Flower [http://www.amazon.com/flOw-Online-Game-Code-Full/dp/B002GP6WBS/], thatgamecompany's third Playstation Network-exclusive downloadable title is called Journey. Sony put this emotionally-focused title into our hands at E3 and gave us an idea of what it's all about.

Journey is being designed as a somewhat intuitive and instinctive title to play. There's won't necessarily be a heavy amount of instruction guiding you through, and you hopefully won't need it. I was dropped into a massive desert, climbing up hills of sand and gracefully gliding downward. I wasn't sure exactly what to do at first, but when I saw a giant, flapping piece of cloth I knew I was supposed to go check it out.

Journey focuses on cloth, with the player wearing a red cloak and a scarf. Certain points in the game feature floating plumes of cloth that you collect into your scarf to help you fly. The objective of the level I played was to find certain points of these larger, flapping cloths attached to a piece of ruin to "use" them which formed cloth pieces of a larger bridge connecting stone pylons that led to the next level.

Meanwhile, thatgamecompany showed me Journey's multiplayer, which is more of an emotional experience than what you'd traditionally think of as multiplayer. Another red cloak-wearing hero entered the world, emitting a strange sound with a glyph above his/her head. The hero flitted about the world just like me, neither of us really guiding the other, but I felt the desire to stay near so we could take on the world's challenges together. You have no way to communicate with this person, or even know whether they're a man, woman, or child. Your powers can be somewhat improved by having another player around, but mostly they're just there for emotional support. Players will randomly appear, and if you get too far away they'll disappear.

Journey feels like a larger effort compared to what we've seen before from thatgamecompany, with what looked like a massive (and beautiful) world to wander around. Players have to figure out what happened to wreck the world, but are told visually rather than through words. I only got a brief hands-on with the title but already felt an emotional investment in the strange land I explored.

Journey is expected in 2011 on the PlayStation Network.

See all our coverage directly from the show floor. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/conferences/e3_2011]

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CptRumGuy

New member
Jul 31, 2008
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Is it sad that I'm probably more hopeful for this than anything else I've seen at E3 so far?

EDIT: By "hopeful" I simply mean hopeful that it does well. I'm still looking forward to other things...
 

DustyDrB

Made of ticky tacky
Jan 19, 2010
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Daystar Clarion said:
That game has the sort of aesthetic that I love.

Will keep an eye on this...
The gameplay sounds so boring, though. Every time I read a preview, I see a screenshot and think, "That's so pretty". But then I read what the previewers say and (even though they always seem excited about it) it just sounds like you wander around.
 

HydraMoon

From high atop the treehouse
May 3, 2011
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It would be a massive understatement to say that I'm looking forward to this game. Seeing the growth from Flow to Flower makes me really really excited to see what they've got in store for Journey.

Perhaps I missed it- but what is the navigation system like? Is there a map or is that even the point?

I'm well-known for hating multiplayer and even more renown for my hatred of playing with strangers over an internet connection. I want to play MP on Journey. It's simply that different and that huge to me. Interact if I want- walk away if I don't.
 

Truly-A-Lie

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Nov 14, 2009
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I was really hoping we'd have a date by now. It's been my most anticipated game for a long time. I'm dying to play it. Glad it seems to live up to its potential though from what I'm hearing.
 

Jumplion

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Mar 10, 2008
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DustyDrB said:
Daystar Clarion said:
That game has the sort of aesthetic that I love.

Will keep an eye on this...
The gameplay sounds so boring, though. Every time I read a preview, I see a screenshot and think, "That's so pretty". But then I read what the previewers say and (even though they always seem excited about it) it just sounds like you wander around.
I'm assuming this is the kind of game you have to play to really "get". That's what flOwer was like to me, at first I didn't "get" it but when I fully played it it was a great experience. It sounds like it wouldn't really be that great, but when you get into it it's something new altogether.
 
Mar 28, 2011
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a true contender for the "games are art" arguments.

i seriously am buying this day one or earliest paycheck after that.

i love thatgamecompany they're one of those groups that you feel are just plugged into your brain and making games just for you.
 
Mar 20, 2010
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I don't know if there is something wrong with me or i just don't give a shit anymore. But this game is the ONLY game i'm looking forward to play this year.

And i use to consider myself a pretty big Mass Effect and an Uncharted fan.
 

munsterman

New member
Nov 22, 2009
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I've been waiting for more info on this game forever. As soon as I smell that its available for download I'll be there.
 

Andronicus

Terror Australis
Mar 25, 2009
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That sounds like MY kind of multiplayer; plenty of other people to make the world feel more intimate, but not so much to make it feel overcrowded or, indeed, needlessly populated, without the immersion-breaking loud-mouthed dipshits whose only goal in life is to ruin the experience for everybody else.
 

DJDarque

Words
Aug 24, 2009
1,776
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I think it's kind of funny that this little game is one of the games I anticipate most. Every time I see something on it I want it more and more.
 

VondeVon

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Dec 30, 2009
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The multi-player sounds sort of like Tale of Tales' Endless Forest. Except not free. :D