Journey is the third game from Thatgamecompany and is on par with the uniqueness and subtle craziness that we have come to expect from them. Your character is a nameless cloth person with no distinct featured other than, well, being made of cloth. Your main goal is to reach a glowing mountain far off in the distance but how you get there or how to get there is never spelled out. Your mission is to explore and discover anything and everything in the desert and in a sense create your own adventure. Innovation and creativity are both something Thatgamecompany excels at and this game seems to be full of both.
The land is sparse and barren with sand, a few landmarks and ruins here and there to guide your way. There are no maps, no guns, no time limits, no direction, and most of all no pressure. If you feel that heading towards the glowing light in the sky is suddenly boring then turn around keep exploring the desert sands for some ruin to traverse or a waterfall to watch. This “desolate” wasteland is actually surprisingly full of things to with or without the help other other online Journeyers.
The games Creative Director Jenova Chen likens the online play to camping. Walking along on your own trail you might stumble upon someone else, it is then up to both of you if you want to stick together or go on your separate ways. Communication in the game is done through one of the two usable buttons and it brings fourth a musical melody. No word has been given as to how exactly this sing function is used but it will be vital considering there will be no other way to contact your new friend. No PSN ID will be displayed over their heads and no voice chat will be enabled. You will never know if this is someone who will help you or attempt to foil your exploration bliss. Quite possibly the most interesting multi-player since Demon’s Souls, it is sure to be quite a feat and require quite a bit of work, which explains the beta.
The beta itself is for the majority closed to new participants, at least through the traditional means. But for those of us who do not have a four leaf clover in our pockets the wait to play, and pay, this game will both surely be worth it.
[Source] -Giant Bomb
