Journey: ThatGameCompany's new game

J7.

J7.

CAGiversary!
Feedback
6 (100%)
Journey™
FACT SHEET

Platform: PlayStation®3 system
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC
Developer: thatgamecompany
Rating: “RP” for “Rating Pending”
Release: 2011

OVERVIEW

The pioneers that brought you the award-winning PlayStation®Network titles flOw & Flower® are back with another title that challenges traditional gaming conventions. With Journey, thatgamecompany (TGC) continues its tradition of delivering simple gameplay and accessible controls in a rich interactive environment that invites players to explore and experience emotional chords that are still uncommon in video games.

An exotic adventure with a more serious tone, Journey presents TGC’s unique vision of an online adventure experience. Awakening in an unknown world, the player walks, glides, and flies through a vast and awe-inspiring landscape, while discovering the history of an ancient, mysterious civilization along the way.

Journey’s innovative approach to online play encourages players to explore this environment with strangers who cross their path from time to time. By traveling together, they can re-shape the experience – creating authentic moments they will remember and discuss with others.

KEY FEATURES
INTUITIVE CONTROLS AND EXPERIENCE –Players with differing skill levels and/or moods can experience the game at their own pace.
LUSH AND EXPANSIVE ENVIRONMENTS – Grand landscapes filled with dynamic sand and cloth. Fully simulated sand dunes ripple and slide as players move across them.
FRESH ONLINE ADVENTURE – Players explore a mysterious world, discovering its hidden history. People are free to travel alone, or adventure with strangers that they meet along the way.

phpZAIt2DPM.jpg

phpTK9ZryPM.jpg

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21883838&postcount=1
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I loved Flower, and I thought FlOw was okay (I got it for free :D). This sounds really cool and I hope we can see a trailer some time.
 
Flower was a fantastic game but flOw won awards? I didn't like that game at all...

This game looks fantastic though. Can't wait!
 
http://www.facebook.com/notes/thatg...-read-full-note-for-details/10150223625328068

To give a quick summary, they're holding a very limited multiplayer beta for Journey and thatgamecompany is giving away a number of codes on their facebook page:
Details on our upcoming Beta have just been announced on the U.S. PlayStation Blog - linked here:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/06/27/journey%E2%80%99s-first-steps-post-e3/
For details of the European beta, please visit here:
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/06/27/journey-into-mystery/

In addition to the codes being given away on other sites mentioned in that post - we have a very limited number of codes to give away for players here in North America! To enter the giveaway for a code, please send an email to [email protected] by 7 pm PST today, Monday June 27th. Include one or two sentence describing why *you* want to participate in the Beta. We will draw & notify winners, and post an update here on Facebook when the drawing has closed!

Please note: these codes will only be redeemable through North American PlayStation Network Accounts. We are not able to give out Beta codes for other territories.

Thanks again for all your fantastic support - it’s fans like you that inspire us! Best of luck to you all.

NOTICE: We would also just like to say that we are not going to use your e-mail addresses for anything other than the purpose of giving away codes.

Also, if you do end up getting a code from Sony and from us, please notify us so we can give your code to another person. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Here are the other ways of getting in:
To test Journey’s innovative and unusual multiplayer functionality, we are conducting a small, invite-only beta that will run tomorrow, June 28 and will run through July 12. If you were one of the very earliest adopters of Flower, and you are a PS Plus subscriber as well, watch your XMB inbox for your invitation and entry into the beta. Additionally, we’ve been able to free up a limited number of additional spots for the beta. Please check thatgamecompany’s Facebook page, here on the PlayStation Blog, or our media partners and their sites for code give-aways.

We will be inviting players to join our weekly play sessions in order to help test our network code and all of the technical stuff running in the background of the game. You will also be able to provide feedback to the team on your experience. These sessions will take place on Tuesdays from 6 PM to 10 PM PST.
Click to expand...
 
I got that beta invite in my email and I was worried it was spam. Thanks to Frisky for posting his message because I skipped over their announcement on the PS Blog
 
Played through the demo.

Very very nice. Can't wait for the full thing.
If you have trouble with it freezing on you, play offline.
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']Seems to go against the point of a multiplayer beta.[/QUOTE]

Well, their twitter recommended it until they sort out server issues.
 
[quote name='dallow']Well, their twitter recommended it until they sort out server issues.[/QUOTE]
I know. I was just poking fun at the irony that they wanted the beta to stress test the servers and suggested playing offline when they were overwhelmed.
 
Now with videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7yvautw37E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBz8IOvk2c8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no27-mqj-nI

This is a PSN game eh? It has a serious ICO/SotC vibe to it and I'm definitely sold, but I hate buying digital games. I'd gladly pay $30 for a retail copy if they offered it. :\

I'm actually really digging the online interaction, just as I did in DS. Just grouping up randomly with no real means of communication. It feels much more natural than most MMOs/co-op games.
 
Tried the beta...technically, very solid. Sand looks and moves very much like the real thing (most of the time). If you start going towards out of bounds (?) the wind will pick up and start blowing you back the way you should be going. Neat.

Overall though, it's very much a fetch/go-do-this type of game. I won't give anything away, but the music is calming and the game is relaxing, but yeah, not much to do other than explore and get to various checkpoints.
 
Has there been any chatter about a release date yet? Seems like there has been radio silence since everyone was talking about it during beta. Figured I could use this $20 GoW3 amazon credit on some PSN cash if it's coming out soon.
 
I just read this: if it's because of a crowded holiday schedule I can understand the delay, but if it's because the game isn't ready, well, I'm kinda perplexed. They've been working on this game for like three years, which at least to me, seems like a long time to make a PSN game with a crew of 12 or more people.
 
I played through it (almost) twice. IMO slightly less awesome than Flower but the silent co-op is very nice dimension. I had to "write" T-R-O-P-H-Y out by running around and pressing circle in the shape of the letters the second time to get one of the co-op trophies. Glad the other person figured it out because I was looking pretty dumb otherwise. Funny how the first time I think I co-oped with someone also playing it the first time and we didn't get lost, but the second time I led my partner in a circle near the end.
 
Looks like you can buy and play it now if you are a PS+ member. Anyone know if there are any PS+ free trials out there or something like that? I'd love to get in on this game early, but a subscription is just a total waste.

Otherwise, non-PS+ members can pre-order the game. I'll probably end up doing that in a day or two...
 
Anybody play this? I played through it twice. Awesome "game". First time I met 8 different people and just kind of explored a lot and second time I was with one person the whole game. I enjoyed the second play through more than the first.

Only negatives I can say is I wish there was more in depth co-op, more exploration, and I wish it didn't end but otherwise an amazing and beautiful game.
 
After years of waiting I finally got to play it. Generally speaking I am very impressed.... it looks stunning to say the least, and I love the ambiance and the simplicity of it. Through the last third of the game I was traveling side-by-side with another person the whole time and there was just this sort of great silent camaraderie to the whole thing (especially at the end)

That said, the game is short. I knew it would be a shorter game, but I didn't know it would only be like 2 or 3 hours. Also, the game is not very much of a game. On one hand I was sort of aware of this beforehand: I knew it wasn't going to be about trigger-finger precision or competition or leaderboards, trophies, etc. but I wasn't quite expecting it to be so linear or so easy. I could go on about some other nitpicks, but I'm already ranting enough so I'll just say that it might not be a game that's easy to recommend to everyone at its current $15 price tag.

So about the story:
I've been trying to understand the story that takes place on the murals during the cutscenes. Some sort life force gives life to the world and eventually the white-cloak people (or whatever these things are), they use this life force to grow and thrive but eventually they start to use it to fight against one another and they die off.... and then (this is where I get confused) the red cloak guy comes down from the stars so that he can die?
 
Having completed the game a third time, focusing on looking for stuff I missed the first two times, I have to say there is definitely replay value to the game. It's likely everyone who replays it will notice new things every playthrough. This last time around I was matched with players of varying familiarity with the game (which you can guesstimate based on length of their scarf), so I was alternately showing them hidden things I'd found, and at the end matched up with a white-cloaked(!) player who showed me two hidden locations.

As far as my guess about the story, it's similar to what you thought regarding a war erupting over energy creating the ruins we see, but my interpretation of being sent and the player being so much smaller than the white-cloaked "parental" figures suggests that the player is a child or adolescent being sent on a journey / spirit quest type mission. Completing the journey means reaching adulthood (or god-hood, if we think the death at the mountain is literal). The art and creatures suggest a lot of mythical / spiritual elements, but could also be some sort of technology that explains how inanimate things could come to life. Maybe the culture learned to harness the energy and ascend into a higher plane of being, but they sent their children back to experience a corporeal existence where they go through the ruins of their ancestors and learn both suffering and perseverance?

I also wouldn't be surprised if there's no single definitive explanation. It's the sort of thing thatgamecompany could deliberately leave ambiguous so players can interpret their own experience through the game however they like, though things like the war leading to ruination are strongly suggested.
 
The way that the co-op basically forces emotional responses out of the players is phenomenal.

I say this as someone who isn't big on art games or co-op but if you are not letting Journey exist in its natural random anonymous online co-op state of play then you are really missing out on something special.

Odd comparison time: Journey's co-op is like Demon's/Dark Souls kind and loving brother.
 
[quote name='iamsmart']After years of waiting I finally got to play it. Generally speaking I am very impressed.... it looks stunning to say the least, and I love the ambiance and the simplicity of it. Through the last third of the game I was traveling side-by-side with another person the whole time and there was just this sort of great silent camaraderie to the whole thing (especially at the end)

That said, the game is short. I knew it would be a shorter game, but I didn't know it would only be like 2 or 3 hours. Also, the game is not very much of a game. On one hand I was sort of aware of this beforehand: I knew it wasn't going to be about trigger-finger precision or competition or leaderboards, trophies, etc. but I wasn't quite expecting it to be so linear or so easy. I could go on about some other nitpicks, but I'm already ranting enough so I'll just say that it might not be a game that's easy to recommend to everyone at its current $15 price tag.

So about the story:
I've been trying to understand the story that takes place on the murals during the cutscenes. Some sort life force gives life to the world and eventually the white-cloak people (or whatever these things are), they use this life force to grow and thrive but eventually they start to use it to fight against one another and they die off.... and then (this is where I get confused) the red cloak guy comes down from the stars so that he can die?
[/QUOTE]

I just beat the game tonight the first time and I will probably play it a few more times to get anything I missed (and to get the rest of the trophies :D ), I liked the game better than Flower, though I can see some comparisons on the different levels/environments. Like when Flower came out, the videos they shown were only from the first level or two, not to give away the theme of the rest of the game, I like how they did it with Journey, too.

The anonymous co-op is a nice touch as well, I like at the end it shows who you met (and shows the in-game symbol), but if you notice on the XMB it does not show those players on the "Players Met" list, assuming that was done on purpose). In each area, I never saw more than one other Journeyer around, though I'm not sure if it's because not many people playing the game yet, or if it's because the game is trying to encourage you to co-op with another player?
 
[quote name='Fell Open Ian']The way that the co-op basically forces emotional responses out of the players is phenomenal....if you are not letting Journey exist in its natural random anonymous online co-op state of play then you are really missing out on something special.

Odd comparison time: Journey's co-op is like Demon's/Dark Souls kind and loving brother.[/QUOTE]

this. most def this.

anyone run into white cloaked players? (not the taller folks from the cutscene...i mean in game). i ran into someone tonight that was white cloaked, and had a really really long scarf.
 
[quote name='surak']at the end matched up with a white-cloaked(!) player who showed me two hidden locations.[/QUOTE]

re: my last message....reading comprehension fail on my part...sorry
 
[quote name='The 7th Number']Can you turn co-op off so no one will join your game? Also can you play with people on your friends list?[/QUOTE]

No to answer your second question.
To answer your first question, there's no setting in-game. A bit of editorializing: there's really no point in turning off a feature of the game that was a fundamental part of its design (thatgamecompany straight up says they built Journey around the notion of anonymous co-op), but if you're that stranger-shy, I assume as long as you aren't logged into PSN you should be solitary. Otherwise, unplug your ethernet cable/disconnect from your wifi network. There's also nothing forcing you from co-oping with someone else so you can simply ignore other players.
 
[quote name='Sinistar']In each area, I never saw more than one other Journeyer around, though I'm not sure if it's because not many people playing the game yet, or if it's because the game is trying to encourage you to co-op with another player?[/QUOTE]

The game only supports two-player co-op. If you don't co-op with someone, it seems to figure this out and switch out the other player for someone new. One of the trophies is to meet 10 other players, which is easy to do in a single playthrough by just wandering around a chapter instead of proceeding to the next chapter with the other player. There's another trophy to co-op most of the game with the same player, which also seems easy to do as long as you don't get too separated.
 
I see, i just enjoy going through games the first time by myself. I dont want someone pushing me along or finding/collecting something for me. I guess ill have to play the game to see what its really like. Just wish i could play it with a friend.
 
[quote name='The 7th Number']I see, i just enjoy going through games the first time by myself. I dont want someone pushing me along or finding/collecting something for me. I guess ill have to play the game to see what its really like. Just wish i could play it with a friend.[/QUOTE]

first playthrough i logged off the PSN, just so i could stumble onto things and figure out (or not) things for myself. I appreciate being shown the secrets, but wanted a solitary experience to start with, even if i missed things.... now i'm fully online and loving the interactive aspect of the game,
although it's a little traumatic if you witness your journey-partner get attacked
 
[quote name='thesuzukimethod']
anyone run into white cloaked players? (not the taller folks from the cutscene...i mean in game). i ran into someone tonight that was white cloaked, and had a really really long scarf.[/QUOTE]

I have one.

You can switch to a white cloak once you collect all of the glyphs/symbols as denoted by the chapter select area.

The white cloak constantly refills your scarf/jump while on the ground and adds another layer to both single and co-op play.
 
[quote name='Rodimus']About how long is the game?[/QUOTE]

Most reviewers are saying about 2 hours, but they want to play it over and over again.

Unless u are CheapyD or Shipwreck apparently...
 
Just finished this and loved every minute of it. I don't think I've been through this kind of journey with some emotional bite to it since Shadow of the Colossus.

The whole co-op aspect of the game reminded me of the relationship between Walter & Perry from Home Movies, as you could be separate for a bit before the need to be together takes over and your life becomes whole again. Pressing the circle button over and over just creates a feedback loop where your both yearning to stay close to each other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8P6760ap7s
 
I just finished it and it was okay. I didnt really get into it all that much. During parts of the game i started thinking about how i wish i had a new computer. Im not even sure what happened to be honest, just a lot of walking, some flying, and some sliding. The music was good and the visuals were pretty. Maybe i have to play it again. Wish i could turn the sixaxis camera movements off. I cant even pause the game, because once i move the controller it unpauses. mmmm yeah, i really dont know what else to say about it. I ended up playing it by myself, maybe i would have enjoyed it more with a random partner.
 
its was alright. it looks gorgeous and i really enjoyed the sliding and flying parts. the walking parts drag ass. kind of fun playing with random partners to. i'll probably playu through a few more times but hearing some people talk about how it made them feel emotional is beyond me, limbo was more emotional to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top