Do not miss this collection of amazing examples of "auteur games": the world would surely be a better place if everybody had the chance to play these games and live these breathtaking experiences.
Three titles that changed the common concept of videogame for many. If you still haven’t played any of these brilliant experiments, this is a must have.
9.5 out of 10 (rounded off to 10).
You can't read a review of Journey without seeing the word "beautiful", and it is for good reason. You just can't describe Journey any better than as an astonishingly beautiful game. It amazes me how such a small development studio can achieve such wonders. Although Journey isn't completely perfect, as I found the details in the story quite sketchy and it is sadly a very short game. But these are hardly any big complaints though, so I'm not judging too hard.
With the success of Journey came finally this retail version that comes packing with "ThatGameCompany's" two other games: flOw and Flower (games that are also beautiful and amazing in their own rights).
So if you've got the money, this is a "Collector's Edition" you don't want to miss out on.
Being a person who is detrimentally opposed to purchasing any and all digital content it killed me to not play these games so I overjoyed at finally being able to buy a physical copy of these games and I did so without hesitation. I can only comment on the 3 main games as of now since I haven't checked out the bonus content or the mini games yet and waiting till I have finished and satisfied with the 3 main releases in this collection.
Flower: An absolute joy to play. It has been decades since I played a game and found myself smiling and actually feeling happy playing it. It's such a simple game with no spoken dialogue, no words, no context given or anything. You use one button essentially, have the visuals and music throughout the game and nothing more. I found something akin back to a Disney movie of sorts about good and evil that is told so subtly that its mind boggling as to how they told a story that is barely there using so little and having such an effect on me. I played the game twice and had just as much fun the second time. Its a very soothing game, very peaceful and yet instills a sense of dread at certain points.
Journey: Like so many others, it made me cry at the end. I can't explain why or how but I just felt a surge of happiness that it made me tear up right at the last section of the game. Again it told this story using very little at all beyond just images and interpretation. Although this game seemed to have more story to it. Sadly I can't go into details without spoiling anything, but once you play it you will see what I mean. Wonder, happiness, sadness, danger, loneliness and excitement were feelings I had when playing this game. I played it twice but I'm holding off as I don't want to overdue, this will be a game I come back to again soon but I don't want to wear out its welcome.
Flow: Not a terrible game but just not something I enjoyed. It was fun, interesting and different. But it just felt unfinished and the controls left something to be desired. I didn't hate it by any means but it just didn't resound with me the way the other 2 games did. This was also their first game so growing pains are to be expected and you can definitely see they made a huge leap in their skills when making flower and further polishing themselves with journey.
All in all I can't recommend this collection enough. For 30 bucks purchasing it new shouldn't be a problem because I got more out of these for 30 bucks than I have spending 500 bucks on big name games from the past 2 or 3 years. I reminded me of why I love games like I did when I was a kid instead of just spending 60 bucks on brand x AAA title of the month and going through the motions only to finish it and forgetting most of what I just played. Not to mention your measly 30 bucks will support this amazing developer and keep them making more great titles.
For now though this collection is the perfect excuse to experience some of the best, most unique games of this generation and either encounter them for the first time, or dive back in for one more play.
If I was just reviewing Journey itself, I'd give it a 10 out of 10, but I'm reviewing this whole package, priced at twice the cost of the PSN version of the game that's in big letters on the box cover. If you've already played thatgamecompany's previous two games, then this isn't the best value.
This game is amazing, the most beautiful adventure i ever seen in the playstation, and only for 15 dollars? the best game for download ever, if you have an ps3 you will need that game
I had seen everyone reviewing Journey really well over the past year or so and decided to buy it in the collector's edition to see what the other games had in store. While Journey was nothing short of absolutely amazing, when I played Flower, I was blown away. Controlling the wind to guide petals to do various things was genius using the SIXAXIS movement. Flow was ok on singleplayer, but I suspect that playing with another person would be much more fun, despite the awkward control scheme. It also came with a grand number of 24 avatars and 3 Dynamic themes for your PS3, along with 3 Minigames that I have yet to play because of my lack of another player. Overall, I would gladly spend 10$ more for this collection, even without the inclusion of a month trial of PSN+.
Pros: Freaking beautiful piece of art that gamers should not miss.
Cons: $15 and you can beat it in about 2 hours.
My advice is to beat the whole game in one sitting. This is one of those kind of games that you can probably replay at different points in your life when you just want something beautiful for about 2 hours, and you may interpret it spiritually in one way or another.
The only people I wouldn't recommend this to are people that have the artistic temperament of pig's anus. Hope that helps!
SummaryThe Journey Collector's Edition features all three best-selling games from acclaimed indie developer thatgamecompany: Journey, Flower, and flOw.