Journey

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1590 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,380 out of 1590
  2. Mixed: 104 out of 1590
  3. Negative: 106 out of 1590

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  1. pandasonthemoon
    Apr 14, 2012
    4
    I do not understand these reviewers, it's as if we played a different game. I encourage you to read this before you spend the steep 15 dollars on this game. In short, Journey had so much potential and was initially so intriguing but by the end your journey is for nothing; there is no pay off, no explanation, and if you really made a bond with your SIX (or more) random pals may I introduceI do not understand these reviewers, it's as if we played a different game. I encourage you to read this before you spend the steep 15 dollars on this game. In short, Journey had so much potential and was initially so intriguing but by the end your journey is for nothing; there is no pay off, no explanation, and if you really made a bond with your SIX (or more) random pals may I introduce you to my wall? Really.

    I enjoy artsy games and movies. I love a good and a simple storyline because generally games like those have one or two profound things to say. On the surface Journey seems to have that. When you meet your "partner" for the first time it's exciting: here's someone who can help me along in this place. But in the end it's a solo experience. At first, I thought it might be important to wait for my partner as they bounded this way and that, so I did. Then I lost them. Then I forged ahead and determined there was no need for them. You literally have no need for the other person and in fact they slow you down.

    Then things get more intense and you're faced with an enemy.... who hits you hard and does basically nothing to you, so there's no danger and nothing a partner could have done anyway. Things get more intense, you're fighting against the elements but while you're freezing nothing is really happening to you. I found another partner and they just ran from me, there was no reason for us to be together.

    You get to the end and you expect some epiphany, something as touching as these reviewers claim there is but there is NOTHING. You walk into a white light and it literally says "Thank you for playing Journey!" ...really? You leave the game as clueless as you entered it. The description promises you'll uncover or learn something and that is just a flat lie.

    A beautiful game with a great concept and tons of hype but in the end it could not be less worthwhile.    … Expand
  2. girlgamer1108
    Oct 11, 2015
    4
    It's pretty and the music is great, but my god is it boring. I actually fell asleep 20 minutes in the first play through. My online friends gushed about the online co-op mode, but everyone who joined my game would just run around randomly.
  3. pookio
    Jul 13, 2014
    3
    I think the best way to describe this game is to say that the person who referred me to it, and insisted it was amazing, was a huge stoner. Like, "I want to go through a car wash high to see what it's like, dude!" stoner.

    Journey is very, very pretty. And it's a story. Just a story. This is not a game; there is very little actual game play (lots of walking, though!) and literally no    I think the best way to describe this game is to say that the person who referred me to it, and insisted it was amazing, was a huge stoner. Like, "I want to go through a car wash high to see what it's like, dude!" stoner.

    Journey is very, very pretty. And it's a story. Just a story. This is not a game; there is very little actual game play (lots of walking, though!) and literally no difficulty or challenge in completing the game. The story itself is amazingly simple -- as in, I could literally tell you it in a 140 character blurb.

    So I could go on, but this game doesn't warrant it. It's not that exciting, it's not complex, it's just eye catching, and that has it's place, but it's strange to view this as a ground breaking game experience when it'd be better suited to most any other form of media.    … Expand
  4. Venavera
    Jul 18, 2014
    1
    This is the stuff that annoys me. The game didn't impede take up much of my time so it's only mild annoyance. I do hesitate to call it a game though. It's more of an movie where you have to hold the remote the whole time. I acknowledge that I clearly share the same passions over the game's message.

    I knew nothing about this game going into it. Sitting at a friend's house and he throws    This is the stuff that annoys me. The game didn't impede take up much of my time so it's only mild annoyance. I do hesitate to call it a game though. It's more of an movie where you have to hold the remote the whole time. I acknowledge that I clearly share the same passions over the game's message.

    I knew nothing about this game going into it. Sitting at a friend's house and he throws me a controller and says I have to play Journey. Naturally I think this is a waste of time because my file will be at his house and I'll never finish before I leave so I admit I went into it not wanting to play. So I sit there chatting with a few people while looking at the tv and moving around the game for about an hour and a half and then it's over.

    Based on gameplay I think it's terrible and it annoys me greatly to see it so highly rated. Based on artistic value it's great (probably, I don't art well). But I don't play games for their art merits. I play for gameplay immersion, mechanics, and story. I saw the pretty pictures, moved the character around, and was given the philosophical message. Didn't care one bit about the traveler or her journey. If this is a game you have to play then play a friend's copy. Don't buy, don't rent (not ever sure if you can).    … Expand
  5. Zetastein
    Feb 1, 2020
    0
    Overall the reviews on this game are just random and its a really bad journey
  6. Caestus
    Feb 24, 2013
    1
    12,99 just to go for a walk for an hour? Graphics look good but everything else is just not there. How anyone can be so amazed about Journey is gonna stay a secret for me.
  7. WyrdWolf
    Apr 29, 2014
    0
    To me, Journey is bad art.

    Art, by its nature, should challenge the viewer. It should invite subjectivity, speculation, and wonder. This doesn't have to be positive, as it can also provoke fear and paranoia, but in some way, a good piece of art will challenge its audience. If all a piece of supposed art does is tell a story, then that's not art as I perceive it. If all it does is    To me, Journey is bad art.

    Art, by its nature, should challenge the viewer. It should invite subjectivity, speculation, and wonder. This doesn't have to be positive, as it can also provoke fear and paranoia, but in some way, a good piece of art will challenge its audience.

    If all a piece of supposed art does is tell a story, then that's not art as I perceive it. If all it does is push an agendda, then that's not art either, that's propaganda. No matter how much you gussy up these things, you're not actually making art unless you're intellectually and/or emotionally challenging your audience.

    Journey is, quite essentially, a popular appeal to the masses dressed up as art. It provides three very mainstream tenets for people to relate to, so that they can have their values reaffirmed whilst being convinced that this experience was enriching for them. That's not at all different to how propaganda works.

    Creationism: To worship the one above is important, as they created all, and to seek any other than to do their work is an abhorrent sin. We were created, and as such, we obey our creator. It is through their glory that we will achieve; Rapture cometh, and with it, ascendancy.

    Uniformity: Individualism is a sickness external to the herd, it's an insightful thought which comes from inside, rather than outside. The introvert provides a new query to the crowd which breaks the flow, and introduces chaos. This dissonance is sickness, and must be fought.

    Neo-Luddism: Anything that existed before I was born is natural, anything that existed within my youth is new and exciting, and anything that exists after is an abomination. Our sciences will be the downfall of us all, we should return to a time when we churned our own milk and fought our wars with swords. They were better times.

    These are commonly held beliefs. I can't say I agree with them because:

    1.) Evolution.

    2.) That's the borg.

    3.) What about all those plagues?

    But that's what Journey eschewed, plaintively, and without any shame. The white cloths were always presented with a godlike aesthetic similar to mainstream theologies such as Christian or Muslim beliefs. There were the glowing 'god beams' of light from on high, the domineering and divine omniscient presence, sharing its wisdom, and so on. Fairly obvious.

    And then there was the fallen technology and the story of how it brought about the end of their civilisation. In this story, you're unable to challenge this notion, you can't challenge the god, nor can you try to get the machines up and running again. It is, essentially, 'push forward to understand how you should be thinking.'

    There's nothing challenging about it. It's regressive propaganda, plain and simple. And, to a lot of the mainstream (very commonly amongst less intelligent people), this is romanticised. Especially the downfall of technology. All of those evil nuclear reactors. The average person is a bit peculiar and precious about that, really.

    I mean, they want power, but not the nuclear plants. They want chemicals, but not the chemical industry. They want meat, but not the animal farms or slaughter houses. And this is what Journey panders to -- follow the ways of your godbeing and they'll take care of all that.

    Leading right up to the ending with iconography designed to be reminiscent of the Rapture and Rebirth (as part of the herd, no less), since those things are apparently inspiring.

    I was bored by Journey.

    I've witnessed art in games, definitely, plenty of times. I love art. But Journey seems to be a cathartic experience, propaganda for those who want it, to coo softly into their ears and tell them that their beliefs are okay because Art agrees with them. It's faux art, it's a snake-oil salesman with an 'Art' stand of kitsch, contemporary artefacts, ready to sell to whatever gullible schmoes happen to stop by his stand.

    It's for the mundane thinker who watches too much television, who's likely never visited an art gallery in their life, hasn't read too many books, et cetera.

    I have seen ART now, I am enriched.

    Except it isn't art, is it?

    It's a crock of bull, it's propaganda, but it's not art.

    It has this essence of the Emperor's New Clothes about it, where the developer told people it was art. And the common person believed it, not wanting to look stupid. They never analysed it, questioned it, or stopped to think about whether it actually qualified as art.

    And the rest of it?

    Exploring a desert with ancient ruins? Hardly original. Singing magicks? I've seen that before, even entire cultures based around DMT. It's not particularly new or clever. So there's no appeal there, either. And it isn't a game, either, so that doesn't save it.

    It's just fake art for simple people.    … Expand
  8. partyintheback
    Feb 28, 2014
    0
    Journey is indie hipster tripe. For whatever reason, this game's gotten praised, yet it's not much of a game, nor is it much of an "experience." It's a repetitive, AHEM, Journey *wink wink nod nod*, that isn't worth your money, much less your time. Go outside, teach your kid to ride a bike, and you'll have a much more worthwhile emotion than this hipster garbage.
  9. Isaac_adhd
    Aug 9, 2012
    3
    Sony promised us so much and I am so disappointed with this title. Flow was ok but this one is not. There are some great games coming out around this time and you should spend your money on those instead of this letdown. Ok I like the arty style but I do not get taken away by the game contents for even one moment.
  10. ZerotakerZX
    Nov 1, 2016
    0
    Didn't find any story here, and I wonder how could someone actually did. Yes, storytelling is an odd one, but the story itself as simple as it uninspired. It maybe not a big deal for the genre, but slow and stupid gameplay with kindergarned puzzles makes playing this 'game' a torture.
  11. G_Mackzy
    Apr 8, 2012
    4
    Journey is not bad game, it's not fun, yet still has an appeal to it, but the whole time I played it there was that niggle in the back of my mind saying "I only like this because I've been told how good it is." In truth journey is a fairly linear and boring, and my initial perception was altered by what I had heard of the game. Twenty minutes into the game this wore off and I began to seeJourney is not bad game, it's not fun, yet still has an appeal to it, but the whole time I played it there was that niggle in the back of my mind saying "I only like this because I've been told how good it is." In truth journey is a fairly linear and boring, and my initial perception was altered by what I had heard of the game. Twenty minutes into the game this wore off and I began to see what Journey really was; a obsessed with it's own self importance that it can't be bothered to tell a coherant story but instead uses pseudoistic imagery to cover up for the non-existant story. Towards the end I did garner something from the game as me and my fellow adventurer which the game had seamlessly connected me too slowly trudged through the snow. It was to say the least brilliant. It was the only real moment me and my companion shared and we'd been together since the start of the game. Marching onward close to death until we fell into the snow unable to continue. It was raw, it was powerful, no thought is as colloasal as that of failure.

    However in the game industry there is a misconception that for a game to be good it must have a happy ending and suddenly the raw emotion and loss I felt from me and my companion dying evaporated as we were miraculously revived and finished out journey. Regardless of how good a game is if that satasfaction only occurs for 15 minutes towards the end of a two hour game and that moment is then stripped away and may as welll never occured then I'm sorry but it's not worth my time or money.    … Expand
  12. kittymiow
    Jan 11, 2015
    1
    What the hell just happened, I've just been watching my boyfriend press 'UP' for 90 minutes, his finger hurt so I've been pressing up for him, why? Why is this game so lame that I've had to take time out of watching youtube seminars to relive his finger. This game is pointless the music is composed of midi crap and the whole thing is a lame stab at some art house peace of ****
  13. PuckMan
    Mar 18, 2012
    4
    After becoming fatigued from constant big budget games that require you to shoot stuff in the face I thought I'd give this a try as it looked so unique and different. After playing Journey though my feelings have changed. The game play isn't unique or different so much as it is none existent.

    All you seem to do is press forward on the left stick to the point where at the end of the game    After becoming fatigued from constant big budget games that require you to shoot stuff in the face I thought I'd give this a try as it looked so unique and different. After playing Journey though my feelings have changed. The game play isn't unique or different so much as it is none existent.

    All you seem to do is press forward on the left stick to the point where at the end of the game my thumb was starting to ache. There is no challenge, nothing to interact with, no humor and the game generally is all about the graphics.

    It's more of an interactive piece of art rather than a game that's meant to be experienced rather than played. But at just an hour and a half long I was relieved when it was over and for the price it's really not worth it.    … Expand
  14. Mirrored-G
    Jul 29, 2012
    0
    $15 price tag, 1 hour of game play, no challenge, and no replay value (unless you're a trophy hog). I don't see why so many people overrate this "game". Sure it's pretty, but if I wanted nothing but eye candy, I would've downloaded a screen saver and stared at that. At least it would be free.
  15. Pete_Digital
    Aug 9, 2012
    3
    the gameplay is just not satisfying enough, and the multiplayer element, (where you see another player with no gamertag or identification) while a cool concept, is utterly strange and not used to it's potential
  16. StoopidCityGame
    Jul 20, 2012
    2
    Well, this was a dissapointing game. I mean, if you're into art games like thatgamecompany's previous games, "Flower" and "Flow", you'll love this. Otherwise, don't bother paying the outrageous price of 15.00 for this hour-long game. Also, while the art style and music make up the 2 points i am giving this game, i have to say that the gameplay is just not satisfying enough, and theWell, this was a dissapointing game. I mean, if you're into art games like thatgamecompany's previous games, "Flower" and "Flow", you'll love this. Otherwise, don't bother paying the outrageous price of 15.00 for this hour-long game. Also, while the art style and music make up the 2 points i am giving this game, i have to say that the gameplay is just not satisfying enough, and the multiplayer element, (where you see another player with no gamertag or identification) while a cool concept, is utterly strange and not used to it's potential. Overall, one of the most dissapointing games of the year. I quite enjoyed Flower, but this was just another overhyped game that as another reviewer said on here "seems like a religion".… Expand
  17. poodzalgoo
    Nov 11, 2012
    1
    I went into journey by way of ps3 console which said u will be auto joined to a mini game. At least 20 tries at finding anything new to advance the progress of the game has failed. I am an avid gamer and not in the least dumb at solving puzzle games but this is ridiculously either the most impossible game to find answers to or it is made to be unsolved from the ps3 online direction. I seeI went into journey by way of ps3 console which said u will be auto joined to a mini game. At least 20 tries at finding anything new to advance the progress of the game has failed. I am an avid gamer and not in the least dumb at solving puzzle games but this is ridiculously either the most impossible game to find answers to or it is made to be unsolved from the ps3 online direction. I see many avatars wandering around and obvioulsy doing the same thing and finding no answers. It wouldnt be so obtuse if I could interact with another player in any way. The game is either made to be unachieved or I am a moron looking for a clue that isnt there. If standing in a sandpit waiting and hoping something happens is the new game genre for ppl who may like the sights and waiting for anything to happen while sand blows up ur nose and music gets boring from lack of anything new, I must be actually a fool for going into the game so many times looking for a new clue. You have really made whatever experience we are supposed to find frustratingly sad. If I am supposed to buy the game and play it, that is one thing, but it is offered on the ps3 homesite for gameplay...Hello! there is no gameplay on it. It's a tease of some unknown proportion that has made me never want to go further or buy the game at all. If it's only a 2 hour game anyway, and there is a journey art book out for sale of this game, what is the point of ever continuing in this farce of a game? Yes, I may sound angry, it is true, and angry because you took a game i may have tried and made it into an art that is unplayable. Thank you for destroying my want for art from this game company, because if I could play it for the art, now I wouldnt bother...… Expand
  18. SonyDrone
    Dec 7, 2012
    3
    Possibly one of the most overrated games of all time. This does not even classify as a game. What we have here is a 90 minute stroll through a barren desert. The gameplay is near non existent and only involve holding your thumb stick forward and watching the pretty image on screen move. Journey is a complete rip off for $15. The replay value is non existent since there is only one path toPossibly one of the most overrated games of all time. This does not even classify as a game. What we have here is a 90 minute stroll through a barren desert. The gameplay is near non existent and only involve holding your thumb stick forward and watching the pretty image on screen move. Journey is a complete rip off for $15. The replay value is non existent since there is only one path to follow so you'll be see the same non interactive environment every time you play. There is a co op mode for some reason that doesn't really add anything to the game aside from "hey there is another guy over there". There is no cooperation or anything. I can't really recommend Journey to anyone, if you like the music, listen to it on YouTube, if you like the graphics, play Trine 2, a game with outstanding art direction and actually has gameplay and meaningful co op.… Expand
  19. gstiker5
    Mar 23, 2013
    0
    Now I know this as loads of acclaim and stuff but it's way overrated with some awards for multiplayer and STORY. First there's no story just a random cloaked faceless thing that walks across across a desert for a bit then you get to the top of the mountain and a pointless ending £/$15 is a rip-off don't buy it NEVER
  20. Vagrant009
    Mar 14, 2012
    2
    After all the hype, when it's all said and done this is a terrible game. The developers tried to pull a Shadow of colossus or Ico kind of presentation but they failed miserably. The game itself is pretty but oh so simple and boring. As for the co-op all you do is watch other people doing their own thing. What a joke. and the game is so short it's not even funny.
    If you want to play games    After all the hype, when it's all said and done this is a terrible game. The developers tried to pull a Shadow of colossus or Ico kind of presentation but they failed miserably. The game itself is pretty but oh so simple and boring. As for the co-op all you do is watch other people doing their own thing. What a joke. and the game is so short it's not even funny.
    If you want to play games that are surreal and beautiful you're better off getting the Ico and Shadow of the colossus HD release. I can't believe sony made such a big deal out of this mediocre title, flow was good but not this. There are some great games coming out around this time and you should spend your money on those instead of this drivel. I'm sorry if my review is harsh but almost everyone is making this game out to be so much more than it really is and I can't stand it.    … Expand
  21. arkan007
    Mar 16, 2012
    3
    I really thought I was going to experience something new based on the reviews I read here. I think the reviews were actually written by the team who developed this game! This game is unfinished and feels like a very early alpha rough sketch. I really think this game would have been better off as a .99 cent download for a smartphone or iPad. There is nothing in this journey that isI really thought I was going to experience something new based on the reviews I read here. I think the reviews were actually written by the team who developed this game! This game is unfinished and feels like a very early alpha rough sketch. I really think this game would have been better off as a .99 cent download for a smartphone or iPad. There is nothing in this journey that is memorable and before you know the journey ends. The idea has a lot of potential but falls far short of the promise and final game play. Also, you do encounter others briefly but you have very limited interaction which again feels like they came up with a cool idea and just abandoned it, it could have been so much more then what the final product is like. I really wish this game had more to offer but just like the desert landscapes you will find very little content, what you see is what you get. Nothing more. I applaud your effort to create something new but next time don't rush to deliver an unfinished product and really focus on the game play.… Expand
  22. Gaiduk
    Sep 8, 2015
    0
    I though it was only an introduction, but when i saw The End... What? It was fraud, I presume. Creators swindled out my money using good picture and music.
  23. optimusprime69
    Feb 5, 2013
    0
    This isnt even a game its 90 minutes long and its $15 horrible deal there is almost no gameplay and no story if you gave this goty then you are a idiot
  24. the_blueprint
    Dec 11, 2013
    3
    I loved flower so much! So I was so excited for this one. But I just didn't get into it. The experience never got to me. The world has almost no color to speak of, and I have no idea what I'm doing in this desert. It's hard to explain what makes a game like this good or bad. It just works for you or it doesn't. this did not work for me. Although there was some enjoyment here and there.
  25. Gamer_007
    Aug 24, 2012
    4
    Sure it has fabolous graphics and great sound quality, but it has no story all i am very unclear of what is going on in the game, you also have no info about the character and only one goal you have to make it to the mountain, i think. But if you are a guy who doesnt care about the story or background info about the character, and just care about the graphics and sound quality then maybeSure it has fabolous graphics and great sound quality, but it has no story all i am very unclear of what is going on in the game, you also have no info about the character and only one goal you have to make it to the mountain, i think. But if you are a guy who doesnt care about the story or background info about the character, and just care about the graphics and sound quality then maybe this is your game, but if you care about the story, sound quality and graphics, like me, you should not play this game.… Expand
  26. Vanpire73
    Jun 25, 2014
    4
    I guess I just don't get it, no matter which way you cut it. As a game I rate it a 2, as there is zero challenge or fun involved in any way shape or form. As a story or "experience", I give it a 5. I can see that maybe it's trying say something deep and meaningful, but honestly, I wish I would've known how little I would have given a **** what it is or may be before trudging throughI guess I just don't get it, no matter which way you cut it. As a game I rate it a 2, as there is zero challenge or fun involved in any way shape or form. As a story or "experience", I give it a 5. I can see that maybe it's trying say something deep and meaningful, but honestly, I wish I would've known how little I would have given a **** what it is or may be before trudging through this pointless "game". What a waste of time. The "pro" reviewers I expected great reviews from, but you user reviewers really let me down on this one. You owe me $15.… Expand
  27. yanfel7
    Nov 6, 2014
    2
    Очень скучная игра. Не понимаю, как в такое можно играть и для кого она сделана. Провал
  28. saddiknin
    Jul 18, 2019
    2
    this is an android game, how do they rate it so high, beautiful? not much, game-play? holding up bottom forever, and it is just 3 hours long, i played 30 min and am done
  29. Delpiero23
    Oct 8, 2013
    2
    Sinceramente não sei o que as pessoas viram nesse jogo. Ir de um lado para outro, sem nada mais o que fazer.... Gráficos bonitinhos, e nada além disso. Um lixo, não compre!
  30. jman76
    Dec 8, 2013
    1
    I did not like this game. I got it and it took about 2 hours to download and then another hour to process and after that it didn't even work. Ridiculous and not worth your time. Don't get it. Enough said.

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best PS3 Game of 2012
4
#4 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2012
3
#3 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
92

Universal acclaim - based on 78 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 77 out of 78
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 78
  3. Negative: 1 out of 78
  1. Adventure Gamers
    Mar 22, 2013
    100
    An ethereal, innovative, emotional cooperative experience, thatgamecompany’s Journey is one that any PlayStation 3 owner should take.
    Read full review
  2. Console Monster
    Sep 20, 2012
    95
    If there was ever a game deserving of the word beautiful in it's description, it's Journey. The game is stunning to look at, satisfying to play and oozes atmosphere from every angle of its dynamic story and immersive world. Sure it's short by regular game standards but Journey is not a regular game. If your ready for an experience that will surprise you, move you and stick with you for many years after its done, then maybe this is the Journey for you.
    Read full review
  3. Hyper Magazine
    May 14, 2012
    90
    Clever, emotive, and easily the best downloadable game so far this year. [June 2012, p.58]
See all critic reviews »