Journey - In-depth Review

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  • Опубліковано 30 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 67

  • @InvincibleWereWeasel
    @InvincibleWereWeasel 8 років тому +50

    Journey was the first game my Mom ever played, she loved it and we made finding all the symbols into a family activity

  • @CampingforCool41
    @CampingforCool41 8 років тому +38

    To me, Journey is a monumental masterpiece. Not only is the art direction stunningly gorgeous, and the animation incredible, and the ai of the "dolphin" cloths subtle and believable, and the music flawless... but it also has so many layers of meaning. Anyone who is unable to find meaning in the game hasn't paid attention. There is the literal story of the world of Journey, which shows how the ancient civilization discovered that the red cloth was an energy source, which helped them build vast cities- but then they developed machines that over-harvested the red cloth and they began warring among themselves over the remaining resources- and eventually they completely destroyed themselves with a giant super weapon (one of the visions shows this huge stone serpent flattening a whole city). But beneath that layer, there are many metaphorical layers. There is the metaphor about the "journey" through life from birth to death (and in the case of Journey, reincarnation), there is the metaphor of forgiveness through understanding and righting past wrongs/stepping into others shoes (because, as we see at the very end, the souls of the people that were killed in the destruction of their civilization are reborn into bodies that are like a cross between their old humanoid bodies and the bodies of the cloth creatures so that they could both restore some of the cloth life, and understand from their perspective). There is also the layer that is a metaphor for our own destruction of our natural resources, and a warning about the kind of future over-use of these resources would bring to us. I also find it interesting that most people interpret the game as depicting a spiritual journey- ending with an ascension into heaven ("Apotheosis", the name of the song that plays in the final section means both "the culmination or climax" and "to become god/divine/deified") or reincarnation. There's nothing wrong with this interpretation- clearly that's the feeling the developers were trying to achieve. But I think there's another interpretation that is equally as valid, which I've never really seen anyone talk about. That is; You can interpret the world and story of Journey through an entirely sci-fi, non-supernatural lense. There's actually quite a bit of evidence for this provided in the game. For one, you'll notice that on the stones that surround each white guardian meditation spot, there are designs that very much look like computer chips, and when you activate the stones you are able to communicate with the white guardian, as though it is a preserved projection of one of the powerful leaders that died (I say powerful leader because the tower later in the game is shown to be built as a tomb for one of these white guardians). Perhaps the civilization became so advanced that they developed a way to preserve a person's mind as digital data; after all, you'll notice that when you get near the gravestones you can see a faint projection of their symbol (presumably their name) in front of the stone, and at the end of the game a glowing tombstone goes dark just as a shooting star comes out of the mountain (so, they are being reborn into the body of the smaller, red cloth humanoid). Not only that, but we are shown how advanced the white guardian race became, being able to convert the red cloth into energy to fuel their enormous cities and programming the ai of the flying stone serpents- so well that the serpents were able to continue to function hundreds or thousands of years after the extinction (or so we think) of the white guardians. It's plausible then to assume that they may have been advanced enough to be able to "upload" their minds in a digital format or something analogous to that, before their bodies were destroyed. It's possible that a small group to survivors made their way to the summit of the mountain- a powerful natural source of energy- and began trying to restore their world by using the preserved data/mind of each person and putting them in a body they designed specifically to insure that the same catastrophe would never occur again; a hybrid between the old, white guardian race and the cloth race (In the first cutscene with the white guardian, we learn that there were once two completely different life forms that existed side by side; one seems to be organic, as we can see depictions of birds and plants, and the other is the cloth based life forms. In other words, the white guardians were organic based life and couldn't float or fly like the cloth creatures- you can actually see that they had normal feet like humans if you look on the stone statues of them). One by one they resurrected the people that had been destroyed and set them on a journey to discover what they had done to their world through new eyes, to forgive themselves and their enemies from their previous life. It is only until they learn each piece of the story that they are able to progress, and it is only until they are judged worthy or saved by the white guardians at the end that they can return to the peak of the mountain, perhaps to start their new life without holding onto the pain of the past.

    • @Nutt_lemmings
      @Nutt_lemmings 7 років тому +2

      Mate chill there is no secret meaning if the fucking shits are on fucking walls

    • @Le_Samourai
      @Le_Samourai 2 роки тому

      use paragraphs

  • @jarredconnorg2980
    @jarredconnorg2980 6 років тому +16

    You can't even explain how this game makes you feel. You really have to play it to experience it. The best 15 dollars I've ever spent. Pure art.

  • @DarkDax
    @DarkDax 6 років тому +8

    An extremely intellectual analysis of Journey. I tip my hat to you sir.

  • @zephc
    @zephc 7 років тому +9

    Fantastic analysis. This video and Extra Credit's analysis of Journey using Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey formula are the two best videos on the game I've seen.
    Regarding other players, that's very perceptive that you saw that in yourself regarding playing alone. The general idea I have about multiplayer in the game is that, like life, sometimes people be with you until the end, but other times they with leave you behind, and go on with their own journeys, or you will leave them for the whatever reason. It's probably the best game-based metaphor I've seen in regards to how humans interact.
    Personally, I found the multi-player amazing, and especially when you're new to the game you don't realize until after the credits that the someone you were playing with might be multiple people. Which, I think is also an apt metaphor: sometimes, if someone leaves you but you meet someone new, this new person will take a place in your heart helping fill the space left behind. But in the long run you can't begrudge those who left you because they will helped make your life what it had become; they are part of the equation that is the sum of you.
    It's interesting that some people think the second player is an AI at first, but it was really obvious to me the first time it was a real person because of how they moved, chirped, and otherwise tried to interact.

  • @antonyward9060
    @antonyward9060 5 років тому +2

    I completed my first Journey last night. I loved it. Thanks to the players that joined me on parts of it. Brilliant experience.

  • @TimFisheroo
    @TimFisheroo 5 років тому +7

    Let's give some love to Austin Wintory and his absolutely stunning score.

  • @albalangedesign
    @albalangedesign 7 років тому +3

    Your in-depth reviews are wonderful. I really appreciate the way you both discuss structure and technology, but also that you speak of games as artworks. Very respectful. Thank you!

  • @jakobpurzel8786
    @jakobpurzel8786 8 років тому +1

    Beautiful.
    Good to hear others are discovering your channel as well.
    Will definitely forward your videos to my game interested friends.
    Keep up the good work.

  • @ragenFOX
    @ragenFOX 9 років тому +2

    the game play footage made me remember my playthroughs of journey. made me almost tear up. thank you for the video.

  • @tonydancer
    @tonydancer 8 років тому +1

    For me your Review is on point. Not because I agree with all your remarks but because the way you treat this game opened up a space for my better understanding of Journey. So I thank you very much, it was precisely one of your conclusions that I see as a little mistake that somehow enabled me to grasp my own interpretation. Continue your work, man.

  • @AndrewJYoung-ie8qw
    @AndrewJYoung-ie8qw 8 років тому +2

    This was a very interesting review. I haven't played Journey (I don't own a PS3), but I've always wondered what it was all about. It was nice to see so much gameplay and hear a well-composed commentary on the game from nearly every conceivable aspect. I look forward to watching more of your in-depth reviews. :)

    • @Hynotama
      @Hynotama 5 років тому

      I realize that I'm extremely late but the game is also available on PS4 and PC. But the PC version is an epic exclusive so try to pirate it if you're playing it on PC.

  • @UrsusMarior
    @UrsusMarior 8 років тому +1

    I believe that 'game' is a primitive tag for this title - it sounds stupid but I feel it moves out of the media and taps into something more emotional and abstract like sound waves. Because of the simplicity and non-gamelike structure it breaks away from the traditional concept we define games from. Great review and nice how u mirror your own life with the experience.

  • @victorhugodossantosgregori1573
    @victorhugodossantosgregori1573 7 років тому +5

    This review happens to be as poethic as the game. Congrats, mate!

  • @masterhuhwhat
    @masterhuhwhat 7 років тому +1

    well done review. i have had this game on my ps3 for years. i finally played it recently. and finished it.. and the meaning is open ended. but it always makes you think.

  • @crbskier08
    @crbskier08 6 років тому +1

    It's probably the first video game to make me cry via story alone that song at the end always makes me well up

  • @azizm.6031
    @azizm.6031 8 років тому +1

    Love your reviews, they're brilliant and thought provoking. Keep it up !!

  • @unknown-vy7od
    @unknown-vy7od 4 роки тому +1

    Theory:
    The mountain = Heaven
    Robed figure = a Messiah
    6 white robed people at the end = God and his angels
    Symbols (for growing the scarf) = Energy from the mountain
    Red carpet = Again, energy from the mountain
    Ability to change coloured robes - the Messiah transforming into God
    More than one player - if there are 2 people, then it could possibly be Adam and Eve
    The metaphor = the Life cycle

  • @MDthornton83
    @MDthornton83 8 років тому +16

    Excellent review. Very in depth.

    • @thinreaper
      @thinreaper  8 років тому +1

      +MDthornton83 Thanks very much!

    • @leandrotoniut1619
      @leandrotoniut1619 8 років тому

      Good analysis. Made me appreciate a lot of the things that, originally, I only understood at a subconscious level. Still, it's really bad that you played your first playthrough without help. Journey is definitely a 2 player game. I played it for the first time yesterday, went the entire game with the same partner, and the bond that subconsciously starts to form is really amazing, despite the shortness of the game. Instead of making it a race of sorts, like it could easily happen with most games, we found ourselves waiting for each other, and I was really worried when they were attacked by a robotic beast and I didn't know what effect it would have.
      In the part you mentioned at 16:35, when it's two players you see two figures, one standing up and one kneeling, and you don't know which one would be which, but both options are heart-wrenching.
      If proof is needed that it's the "right" way to play, though, one must only see the beginning of the game, with the two twin scarves hanging from the gravestones of sort.

    • @Nutt_lemmings
      @Nutt_lemmings 7 років тому

      I dont like journey cuz it was given game of the year by ign(they were...kinda still good at that time) in the year uncharted 3 was created like nigga if u want feels or want to play the game while ur high I can think of multiple better games and in fact the few puzzles and the platformer parts of uncharted 3 gave me better feels especially with that soundtrack also no substance and I just wanna play with my friend not some random hoe online like had to restart so many times and I still finished it under 1 hour and another hr to get everything

    • @Nutt_lemmings
      @Nutt_lemmings 7 років тому

      Also there is no open path if the games gonna be just sand if u walk off also takes too long the snow part was interesting only cuz me and my friend just tried cheating the game

    • @Nutt_lemmings
      @Nutt_lemmings 7 років тому

      Also the wind kinda made it harder while we got slower and the soundtrack and flying in the end was cool

  • @noinoeso
    @noinoeso 8 років тому +1

    Great review! I also experienced the same thing as you did with the coop. I was in the bridge "puzzle", and before I noticed the guy already built the whole bridge while I was exploring. I found it annoying that I couldn't even get to see how that happened, and put the game offline.
    The experience Leandro Toniut mentions below sounds very awesome. It makes me wonder which percentage of the player base takes their time and which just rushes through the game.

    • @thinreaper
      @thinreaper  8 років тому +1

      Yeah I think that was the exact same thing that happened to me too, I was having fun exploring at my own pace and then someone else finished the bridge and I felt robbed of the pleasure of doing it myself so immediately went offline!

  • @EngineeringWizard11
    @EngineeringWizard11 6 років тому

    19:20 Wow, real talk. I just got done with a playthrough (which I've run the game through completely and have all the solo trophies possible) where I let my companion do most of the footwork. But, I tell you, I got chills when I went through the Light Gate with them, and honestly had the same thoughts that you're expressing here.

  • @alexspogonz
    @alexspogonz 8 років тому +2

    Great vid ! You just earned a new subscriber !

  • @SolMalus
    @SolMalus 9 років тому +3

    16:30 to 16:50 made me tear up.

  • @JohnnyOrgan
    @JohnnyOrgan 9 років тому +1

    Nice critique. Subscribed.

  • @goobygenshingamer
    @goobygenshingamer 7 років тому +2

    Beautiful review. You captured everything I love I about this game. Would you consider doing a review of Abzu? It's from the same art director that made Journey and Austin Wintory, who did Journey's soundtrack, does Abzu's soundtrack as well.

    • @thinreaper
      @thinreaper  7 років тому +1

      Hey, thank you! Abzu is definitely on my radar, hoping to get a PS4 this year and it'll definitely be one of the first games I pick up for it!

  • @Hynotama
    @Hynotama 5 років тому +1

    Would you look at that! A game that respects the player without repeatedly kicking him in the balls. A game that respects the player without wasting his time with pointless deaths and repeating boss fights a million times until he get lucky.

  • @leechesg
    @leechesg 3 роки тому

    I really enjoyed this video, but I would've liked to hear a bit more of your opinion on the unlocking of the white robes. It's an interesting concept in my mind, especially when considering the multiplayer aspect, to unlock something through exploration and completion that gives you a similar appearance to the "elders" in the visions. I personally feel that it's meant to show how one player is just as much of a guide as the "elder" in the cutscenes, somebody there to facilitate your journey, the same one that they themselves have made many times before. Maybe that's just my own experience talking due to the fact that I would always act in that way, but... I would love to hear your point of view!
    Edit: Spelling

    • @thinreaper
      @thinreaper  3 роки тому +1

      I think I would have said something very similar to what you just said! 🤣

    • @leechesg
      @leechesg 3 роки тому

      @@thinreaper Makes me happy to hear that! Very glad that this video introduced me to your channel, I love this style of longform analysis and I can tell that much of your videos come from the heart. Keep it up!

  • @TheCodedtestament
    @TheCodedtestament 7 років тому

    The visuals are amazing !

  • @Deadforge
    @Deadforge 2 роки тому

    Always been a game I wanted to check out ever since one of my English teachers used in as an example for some in class. I've played one of the devs other games Abzu and hoping to play The Pathless when it comes to console because I don't wanna play it on pc.

  • @shaneoneilani
    @shaneoneilani 9 років тому +1

    Excellent!

  • @cashman201
    @cashman201 9 років тому +1

    another great review

  • @zetetick395
    @zetetick395 8 років тому

    And are the giant "Monsters" that steal your "Energy" the *creations* of this gone and partially lost civilization?
    And did _they_ destroy the civilization that gave them their existence?

  • @jelly_fish_wishes
    @jelly_fish_wishes 3 роки тому

    You know, I think that's why I didn't enjoy the gameplay of Sky. Its not as elegant and flowy like Journey. Don't get me wrong, Sky is a wonderful game. Its just that Journey did it better.

  • @dumlepumle
    @dumlepumle 8 років тому

    I have a hard time understanding the way you look at this game. You can project whatever ideas you want onto anything but that won't change what is actually being presented and while playing through the game i encountered no idea or novel thought of note being raised. Yes some sections were pretty and your character moved in a pleasant way at some areas but beside that Journey did nothing for me.
    I played through it with my brother sitting next to me and we were both sitting like question marks wondering what the deal with the game is. Each to their own but if the game was going for some zen experience then i didn't get it and i could probably replace the game with some nice animated background and have the same experience.

    • @CampingforCool41
      @CampingforCool41 8 років тому +1

      Perhaps you should read my interpretation of the story, up on top. Journey is a zen experience- almost euphoric in my opinion (something you can't get from an animated screensaver), but there's also a very interesting world lore to be found if you are willing to pay close attention.

  • @lucathecoolguy4854
    @lucathecoolguy4854 2 роки тому

    Anyone up to play this online with me?

    • @kenlen8029
      @kenlen8029 2 роки тому

      Yes. Still need that trophy.

  • @alexanderteuman7273
    @alexanderteuman7273 2 роки тому

    What he talk, i don't understand nothing.

  • @nescius2
    @nescius2 8 років тому

    there is no way i am ever buying playstation after how they did remove possibility of booting linux in there which was advertised by them as a feature originally.

    • @piotrmazek540
      @piotrmazek540 7 років тому +2

      They deleted it because of the cheaters/hackers. You can't blame them for that.

    • @nescius2
      @nescius2 7 років тому

      right... thats total BS.. hackers don't need playstation to do their part, cheaters cannot cheat using linux - playstation games don't work there ... or as well as on playstation itself.
      and sony lost class-action lawsuit on that subject

    • @piotrmazek540
      @piotrmazek540 7 років тому +1

      Hackers could hack the PS3's console OS using Linux.

    • @nescius2
      @nescius2 7 років тому

      Piotrek Mazek you have NO idea what you are talking about, do you?
      the only reason Sony disabled Linux on ps3 was that the Linux users would not spend more money buying ps3 games and instead would be building computing clusters (or something) based on now dead powerpc architecture.

    • @Nutt_lemmings
      @Nutt_lemmings 7 років тому

      Nigga u can hack ur ps3 using a god damn phone hacking it isn't really special

  • @aerohk
    @aerohk 8 років тому

    The graphics kind of took away the experience, at least on the PS3.

    • @aerohk
      @aerohk 8 років тому

      Excellent review by the way!! Thanks.

  • @daytonaflyer
    @daytonaflyer 5 років тому

    I'd say that Journey was a colossal fail. I thought the game was good until I got to that level with the flying dragon things that attack you. One of them hit me and it didn't seem to do any damage so I attempted to interact with the next one and it hit me and only then did I realize it took away almost all of my flying cape that I'd worked so hard to collect.
    I immediately tried to restart the level after realizing what had happened just to find out that you can't restart it anywhere except for the beginning of the entire game. I was so pissed off that I stopped playing the game and will probably never play it again. It's shit like this in a game which should have been stress free that pissed me off to high hell and makes me want to stop playing video games altogether. Why on Earth would you create a game where you can't save and restart in the middle of the game? Idiotic!

    • @jacquelineess1141
      @jacquelineess1141 4 роки тому +1

      .....because you can't do that in real life bro. That's what it means...

  • @lthallinto8802
    @lthallinto8802 7 років тому

    This game sux.. its not worst game but 15e for this p*** o*** ***** This game is 6/10 its very short and ending sux.. 10/10 reviews is scam

  • @investertiger3777
    @investertiger3777 7 років тому

    I played journey and it was a boring piece of crap. Just looking at sand, jumping and moving around...it is like if you stripped a game of story, enemies and plot then you get journey. The visuals by the way was not that good. I did not see a difference between this game and other games in terms of visuals.

    • @kurzeanimation2487
      @kurzeanimation2487 4 роки тому

      @Logan-James Lacson Yeah you should get its free in PS4 Store.