[ENG] Journey™ and The Reflection of Life
(Polska Wersja Dostępna Tu! - [PL] Podróż™ i Odbicie Życia)
I think that a lot of people already know what Journey™ is, but to those who still don't, I'm gonna explain as simply as possible. Basically, this game is probably one of the earliest 'walking simulators' out there, as the name suggests – in this game you're mostly just walking. And one could think that it must be incredibly boring – well, it depends on a person, there are many people that consider walking simulators a game to chill out after a really exhausting day or they find these games just a nice break from all other games filled with action.
Journey™ is incredibly short, it only takes around 3-4 hours to complete but... It's few hours really well spent and hours that I don't think I'm gonna forget in a while.
In Journey™ we play as a mysterious character known only as The Traveler – it's gender, age, name and story are unknown. It's dressed in a long red robe and as the game progresses, a scarf appears that can grow longer through the game.
The Traveler has two abilities – chirping and flying – though the second one is only available if your scarf is filled with mysterious magic energy. With our Traveler and these two abilities, we wander through the ruins, the remnants of some ancient civilization in our journey. We see our target right from the beginning – mountain, or rather it's summit. We don't know why, but we know we have to go there. With chirping we can awaken 'cloth creatures' and use them to travel faster.
On our way to the summit, we will solve simple puzzles and meet other Travelers with the same objective as ours. Each and every Traveler goes through it's own journey, we can ignore them and just follow ours but we can as well join them and wander through these ancient remnants together. Though the only way of communication is through chirping to each other, it's more than enough.
(Riding through the ruins, desired mountain summit shines in the background)
The Traveler has two abilities – chirping and flying – though the second one is only available if your scarf is filled with mysterious magic energy. With our Traveler and these two abilities, we wander through the ruins, the remnants of some ancient civilization in our journey. We see our target right from the beginning – mountain, or rather it's summit. We don't know why, but we know we have to go there. With chirping we can awaken 'cloth creatures' and use them to travel faster.
On our way to the summit, we will solve simple puzzles and meet other Travelers with the same objective as ours. Each and every Traveler goes through it's own journey, we can ignore them and just follow ours but we can as well join them and wander through these ancient remnants together. Though the only way of communication is through chirping to each other, it's more than enough.
Graphic side of Journey™ is simply wonderful (as you can see on screens attached to this post, all of them are taken directly from the game). If you add the music – it forms a beautiful experience. Although it may not look like it – this game can be quite emotional, mostly due to music and it's pacing – many tracks are really soothing and calm whereas some are incredibly dynamic and fast. Tempo of the game is dictated by music.
Okay, so now let me show you how Journey™ reflects life with all the similarities I could find in my initial playthrough. I started this game to take a short break from all the action-packed titles I play on a daily basis, I didn't have high expectations but to my surprise, I got curious and fascinated after just few minutes.
The very first reflection I noticed was in the title of the game – Journey™ - I think it has a double meaning. First one being the journey we experience in the game, the journey through the ruins of ancient civilization, and the second one being, well – the journey each person is going throughout life. If we take the mountain summit as a representation of an elusive dream which is different for each person – we may as well assume that both journeys follow a path to fulfilling that dream; path that is often treacherous, full of unexpected turns and hardships that every person needs to conquer.
(Path to the summit is long and dangerous)
Okay, so now let me show you how Journey™ reflects life with all the similarities I could find in my initial playthrough. I started this game to take a short break from all the action-packed titles I play on a daily basis, I didn't have high expectations but to my surprise, I got curious and fascinated after just few minutes.
The very first reflection I noticed was in the title of the game – Journey™ - I think it has a double meaning. First one being the journey we experience in the game, the journey through the ruins of ancient civilization, and the second one being, well – the journey each person is going throughout life. If we take the mountain summit as a representation of an elusive dream which is different for each person – we may as well assume that both journeys follow a path to fulfilling that dream; path that is often treacherous, full of unexpected turns and hardships that every person needs to conquer.
Sometimes we wonder if we will ever achieve that dream, we may question if this sometimes painful journey is worth it, but... In the end, we very often keep chasing it despite all the pain.
Every journey is different – just like how different people and dreams are. But if there is one thing, one pattern that every journey follows is it's beginning and the end – birth and death. You see, in Journey™ the experience is closed in a kind of loop. Once we arrive at the summit, we 'transform' into a star or similar entity and we fly over the land just to arrive where we started. The beginning and the end. 'Birth' and 'Death'.
(Not every journey needs to be walked alone)
Every journey is different – just like how different people and dreams are. But if there is one thing, one pattern that every journey follows is it's beginning and the end – birth and death. You see, in Journey™ the experience is closed in a kind of loop. Once we arrive at the summit, we 'transform' into a star or similar entity and we fly over the land just to arrive where we started. The beginning and the end. 'Birth' and 'Death'.
No matter how hard your journey will be, each and every single one of them begins and ends at one point or another. You were born at one point and you will die in another point in this cruel cycle of life.
In Journey™ we may meet other Travelers, as I said – we can ignore them, try to help them and join them in their journey or allow them to help us. Just like the journey of life – seemingly random people we meet along the way may become our friends. They can show that – yes, every journey is different, but it doesn't mean each and every one of them needs to be walked alone. People we meet in both Journey™ and life are initially strangers to us, but one can never know which stranger will turn into a friend.
At particular moments in Journey™ we see tall figures dressed in white. It can't be said for sure what they are – gods, ancestors, people of the ancient civilization? One thing is certain, they aren't here to harm us – quite the opposite – they often help us, guide us, show mysterious story of this land. In our lives, we usually look up to someone – be it our parents, older siblings, celebrities, gods, friends – you name it, and I think all of the aforementioned can be treated as white figures presented in Journey™. I think that white figures represent people who lift our spirits up during the hardest times.
Journey™ is full of opposites – hot, scorching deserts and cold, snowy mountains; tall mountain, high hills and long downward slides; walking in sunlight and enduring through the harsh blizzards... Just like in life – sometimes life is better and sometimes worse – ups and downs. It is said that we need to have worse periods in life so we can appreciate the good ones much more. Be it passing or failing an exam, getting the dream job or doing your best at one you don't really like, finding love or losing a friend... And so on – life is full of opposites, just like Journey™
There may be more reflections between Journey™ and life, but these are all I have seen or thought about during my initial playthrough. Walking simulators have a particular charm to them, one that cannot be found in other genres, you can focus on enjoying the view, the story and drift away into your thoughts. Sometimes you can even find connections between life and the title you're currently playing and... I think that Journey™ is one of, if not the best example of this. Though I may be wrong since my experience with walking simulators is quite limited, but... I highly recommend Journey™ - you can get it for laughably low price (aaaand for quite some time now it's also available on PC so you don't have to worry about not having a console) and though I got it for free, I would gladly pay for it.
It's a perfectly paced adventure, where mysterious story is shown through enigmatic cutscenes; an adventure through the scorching deserts and snowy mountains where ancient civilization lies buried beneath sand and snow. It's also a reflection of life for all what it is – sometimes better, sometimes worse, sometimes unexpected... Okay, though there is one difference – in Journey™ you achieve your dream, but as you do so – you pass through dozens of graves and tombstones (well, at least I don't have any other explanation to what they could be) which shows the dark truth... You may achieve your dream, but there will be tens, hundreds of maybe even thousands of other who will unfortunately perish on their way...
Kind Regards,
Wing.
In Journey™ we may meet other Travelers, as I said – we can ignore them, try to help them and join them in their journey or allow them to help us. Just like the journey of life – seemingly random people we meet along the way may become our friends. They can show that – yes, every journey is different, but it doesn't mean each and every one of them needs to be walked alone. People we meet in both Journey™ and life are initially strangers to us, but one can never know which stranger will turn into a friend.
(Mysterious white figures, ancestors? Guardians? Gods? It's hard to tell)
At particular moments in Journey™ we see tall figures dressed in white. It can't be said for sure what they are – gods, ancestors, people of the ancient civilization? One thing is certain, they aren't here to harm us – quite the opposite – they often help us, guide us, show mysterious story of this land. In our lives, we usually look up to someone – be it our parents, older siblings, celebrities, gods, friends – you name it, and I think all of the aforementioned can be treated as white figures presented in Journey™. I think that white figures represent people who lift our spirits up during the hardest times.
Journey™ is full of opposites – hot, scorching deserts and cold, snowy mountains; tall mountain, high hills and long downward slides; walking in sunlight and enduring through the harsh blizzards... Just like in life – sometimes life is better and sometimes worse – ups and downs. It is said that we need to have worse periods in life so we can appreciate the good ones much more. Be it passing or failing an exam, getting the dream job or doing your best at one you don't really like, finding love or losing a friend... And so on – life is full of opposites, just like Journey™
(The closer we are to the summit, the more graves and tombstones appear...)
There may be more reflections between Journey™ and life, but these are all I have seen or thought about during my initial playthrough. Walking simulators have a particular charm to them, one that cannot be found in other genres, you can focus on enjoying the view, the story and drift away into your thoughts. Sometimes you can even find connections between life and the title you're currently playing and... I think that Journey™ is one of, if not the best example of this. Though I may be wrong since my experience with walking simulators is quite limited, but... I highly recommend Journey™ - you can get it for laughably low price (aaaand for quite some time now it's also available on PC so you don't have to worry about not having a console) and though I got it for free, I would gladly pay for it.
It's a perfectly paced adventure, where mysterious story is shown through enigmatic cutscenes; an adventure through the scorching deserts and snowy mountains where ancient civilization lies buried beneath sand and snow. It's also a reflection of life for all what it is – sometimes better, sometimes worse, sometimes unexpected... Okay, though there is one difference – in Journey™ you achieve your dream, but as you do so – you pass through dozens of graves and tombstones (well, at least I don't have any other explanation to what they could be) which shows the dark truth... You may achieve your dream, but there will be tens, hundreds of maybe even thousands of other who will unfortunately perish on their way...
I strongly recommend you give this game a shot on either your PC or console, it may be one of the most interesting experiences you will ever have despite being seemingly simple walking simulator. Price isn't too high but if you consider it still too high, just wait for discount and grab it half-free. It's an adventure I surely won't forgot for a long time and I may return to it at some point to refresh my view of it.
Good luck on your long journeys, fellow travelers
Kind Regards,
Wing.
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