Journey (2012 video game)

Lore & Background

In Journey, the player controls a cloaked figure in a vast desert, traveling toward a distant mountain. The path is subdivided into several linear sections. The figure wears a magical scarf that allows brief flight, recharged by floating red cloth. Singing transforms dull cloth into vibrant red, affecting the game world and enabling progress. Players may encounter one other anonymous player per level; they can assist each other but cannot communicate beyond musical chimes, and names are hidden until after the credits. The game takes two to three hours to complete.

Reader's Guide

Journey received critical acclaim for its visual and auditory art and the sense of companionship created by playing with a stranger. Critics have called it a moving and emotional experience and have listed it as one of the greatest video games of all time. It won several game of the year awards and received a Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media nomination at the 2013 Grammy Awards. The developers sought to evoke a sense of smallness and wonder and to forge an emotional connection between players. The music, composed by Austin Wintory, dynamically responds to the player's actions, building a single theme representing the game's emotional arc. A retail Collector's Edition, including Journey and Thatgamecompany's two previous titles, was released in August 2012.

Did You Know?

• Journey was the last game made under a three-game contract between Thatgamecompany and Sony Computer Entertainment.
• The game's development began in 2009 and took over three years, exceeding Sony's initial one-year expectation.
• Players cannot communicate via speech or text and cannot see each other's names until after the game's credits.
• The music, composed by Austin Wintory, dynamically responds to the player's actions and builds a single theme throughout the story.