Ineffable – adjective: too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words; not to be uttered. All really touching or life-changing experiences tend to be ineffable in a sense. You can describe them, sure, but there’s nothing you can say that can really recreate the meaning of what you experienced in the mind and heart of your listener. Spiritual experiences are ineffable, the feeling you get when kissing your first love is ineffable, and the experience of playing through Journey for the first time is ineffable. Hyperbole? Maybe, but I really want you to understand that this game is so precious, and it’s something that everyone should go into blind.
Journey is an older game. It came out on the PS3 in 2012, and was re-released in 2015 for the PS4 with updated visuals running at 60 FPS. Though it may be a few years old, the story and experience are timeless, and they’re best entered into with no expectations. Does that make me a hypocrite for writing this article? Like everyone who finishes this game, as soon as I put the controller down I wanted to talk about it; I needed to share the experience with others and connect with someone who went through the same thing. The game can have such a lasting emotional impact that most writers and reviewers end up telling you how you’re going to feel while playing this game. I’m going to try to tell you why this game is incredible without suggesting how you should feel about it. Those feelings and experiences truly are ineffable, and they’re yours to discover.
If you’ve grown up playing games and you’ve seen and done it all, what makes this game so special? For starters, I can tell you that despite being a port of a 3-year-old PS3 game, Journey will be one of the most visually stunning games you play on your PS4. This isn’t about pushing the limits of your hardware and cramming in as many polygons as possible. This is about composition; it’s about creative and masterful use of resources; it’s about art. When you’re playing Call of Duty , there’s rarely a dull moment because you’re being shoved from one explosive CG cutscene to the next, but in Journey you’ll catch yourself staring at the tracks you leave behind you in the snow, and marveling at the way the sun sheds light across the sand, making each grain caught it its rays sparkle like a tiny diamond. You’ll be tempted to hit the share button every few moments as almost every frame is fit for an artist’s canvas.
If you’re like me, and years of gaming have forced you to approach games with the critical eye of a designer as well as a gamer, you’ll see that artistic and technical talents came together in a harmonious way in Journey . Musical cues always seem to compliment the action on screen, even when you abruptly trigger an action sequence. It’s as though an orchestra is being conducted live, just for you, to make every moment feel special. Transitions between objectives, chapters, gameplay, and cutscenes are absolutely seamless, making this a game that is as cinematic as it is fun.
Multiplayer in Journey is something that I almost hesitate to comment on. It almost has a Dark Souls feel to it. For the majority of the game you feel very isolated and lone. This doesn’t detract from the experience at all, in fact I think it was designed to feel that way. If and when you do see another wanderer in your game world you’ll automatically feel the urge to rush toward them and stay near to them. Coming across another living person and sticking with them throughout your journey is amazing. On my very first playthrough I had to power down the game before the end because I had to wrap up a “let’s play” video, and it was absolutely heartbreaking. There’s no way to communicate with people you meet, and you don’t even have access to their PSN name until the very end. While this may sound prohibitive, it makes cooperation with another human being, even on subsequent journeys, feel very special.
What more can I say without trying to project feelings into your soul? I’ve never come across a game like Journey , and I can only hope that thatgamecompany is working on something as groundbreaking and memorable. If you’ve never played this game, you owe it to yourself to check it out. The story is ambiguous and esoteric, but that just means that you’ll have plenty to think and talk about when it’s over. Take it from me: if you’ve been lacking a truly touching and haunting gaming experience and you’re yearning to play something deeper on your PS4, set aside two hours and play through Journey. Don’t watch any reviews or gameplay at all, just go into the game blind like you would a good book. Your journey will be unique and wonderful, and you’ll never forget it.