Playstation Network offers up a game called Journey. I’ve been intrigued since reading some pre-launch articles about it. They lead to watching trailers and developer diaries. The game released in March and I’ve been looking at it off and on since then.

Sunday, I finally took the plunge and downloaded the demo. Twenty minutes later I took the second plunge and bought the game. Two hors later, Lynn was questioning the wisdom of spending $14.99 for a two hour long game. Here’s the answer. It was totally worth it.

The visuals although simple are exquisite and perfectly suited to the story. In each stage, they limit their pallet quite sharply to create a visual distinctions without having to reinvent the core esthetic of the world. This allows for a constancy in tbe world in which you exist while still providing space to provide visual cues to the evolution of the characters progression.

Journey contains no dialog. The musical score is beautiful and serves exactly as it should. It enhances the experience without being intrusive. The games back-story is conveyed in pictographs revealed by a mysterious figure encountered repeatedly along the way.

I used the term “experience” quite deliberately in referring to this game. It doesn’t play out like a “normal” game. It’s difficult to describe without giving away too much, much so let me explain it this way…..

Think of your commute to work. Every day you take the same route and see the same things. This is similar to the way in which games within a given genre tend to have certain similarity of feel to them. This isn’t to say that’s a bad thing, only that one tends to do the same things over and over with limited variation. Then one morning the usual route is blocked so you go a different way. You get turned around and are unsure if this is where you should be. Suddenly you see something beautiful you would never have seen if you hadn’t taken that different path.

Journey is that reward for following a different gaming path. At least one time.

Cheers, Winston