Lauded by many as a purveyor of the intellectual evolution of video games, thatgamecompany has received high praises in recent years for developing minimalistic video games that leave an emotional impact. Released just a few weeks ago for the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network, Journey continues this trend.
Journey, is about just that, a journey. The journeyer in question travels through harsh environments on an unspecified quest. Lacking dialogue and an overt narrative, Journey is open to interpretation, which is what the bulk of this review will encompass – my interpretation of Journey. Before that, I’d like to briefly discuss the game.
Controlling the journeyer I navigated deserts, ruins, and mountains, all the while figuring out how to get around the occasional impediment, usually by jumping. When connected to the internet, people would randomly join my game and we’d attempt working together. Groups never exceeded two players, although I met three or four throughout the length of the game. These few players were never a hindrance but cooperation was tough due to the inability to directly communicate with each other, more on that in my interpretation. Speaking of which, let’s dive into it.
Set in the far-flung future, the journeyer I controlled was on a mission of enlightenment. The world he lives in might at one point have been described as the pinnacle of civilization. But the people eventually turned against each other and nearly destroyed the world in a process of unending war. Now, remaining humanity is in search of a reason; a reason for the past, a reason for the future, a reason to continue living in a harsh, unforgiving world.
Believing the enlightened one residing high atop a mountain at the peak of the world would have an answer to his questions, the journeyer set out. He didn’t get to skip down a yellow brick road either; his quest led him through an unforgiving desert that never seemed to end. Blanketed throughout this near-infinite desert were the ruins of the long destroyed ancient civilization. Their murals contained descriptions of similar journeys from ages ago. The wall paintings mirrored the journeyer’s travels with uncanny precision, and helped lead him to his destination while reminding him that he was no different from those who lived generations before him.
Along the way, the journeyer occasionally met contemporaries who also sought enlightenment. Lacking a common language but sharing a common destination, the journeyer aided the fellow travelers he met and developed an emotional bond with them. Even though communication was difficult because of the absence of a shared language, the journeyers were able to cooperate by studying body movement and using simplistic noises. The journey was tough and those he met did not always make it. The journeyer missed their presence, but knew he had to continue.
Obstacles in the journeyer’s way became ever more prevalent as he continued. Getting past them required thinking through straightforward puzzles, executing tricky jumps, and navigating around enormous enemies.
It wasn’t long until the journeyer reached the foot of the mountain. It was there that the red-orange of the desert ended and the white of the mountain began. Snow pelted the journeyer as he made his ascent. Fortunately he was not alone in this stretch of his journey. A fellow journeyer also reached the foot of the mountain and they inched forward, body against body, fighting with all their might to push forward against the howling snow. At points the winds were so strong that all they could do was brace onto windbreakers sticking out of the ground to not get blown off the mountain, no doubt placed there by journeyers before them. This part of the journey was tougher than anything previously encountered, but the journeyer prevailed, albeit alone.
When he crossed into the summit, the journeyer met with the figure that he’d seen scrawled onto the ruins, the figure that he’d been seeking, the enlightened one. Though he made noises that the journeyer was unfamiliar with, he could somehow understand the enlightened one. He said little, but what he said left a major impact on the journeyer.
“The civilizations before your time destroyed each other because they focused on their differences rather than their similarities. You may think you and the journeyers you met on your way here are far different, but you share more than you think. Without cooperation, you never would have reached me.”
“I can’t tell you what the future holds, you decide that. You pushed forward, now reflect on all that you’ve done. You sought enlightenment and you achieved it. It wasn’t the destination that you needed, it was the journey. Now shut up about Mass Effect 3’s ending.”
So that’s one way I interpret Journey. Pretty bleak huh? Civilization, reaches a pinnacle and then freefalls into a rapid decline through never-ending war culminating in the near destruction of EVERYTHING. So, does this interpretation reflect my inner lack of faith in humanity? Personally, I’d say yes and no. I’m an optimistic person, but I can foresee a future where humanity eventually destroys everything (although I imagine everyone can picture that). I’d also say my interpretation of Journey is derived from similar stories in entertainment. The story I envisioned is in no way a new idea and I know I’ve encountered it in multiple formats, such as books, movies, and other video games.
Although my interpretation also has positive messages too, namely that we can overcome any differences we perceive in each other. Cooperation eased the journeyer’s travels, even though he worked with journeyers far different than he, they couldn’t even speak the same language! Yet, the journeyers found a way to understand each other and overcame many obstacles.
The minimalistic nature of Journey has left me ruminating on it more so than any other game I’ve played. It was a brief, however enjoyable experience that is very open to interpretation. I’d recommend Journey, especially if you’re able to experience it with someone else.
If anyone else has played Journey, what’s your interpretation?
My Brain on Games 
I actually haven’t played Journey, but it seems like the perfect game for a wannabe writer. Thanks to you, I doubt I’ll have another interpretation of the game, but I’ll try to get one.
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I played it and I have so many interpretations in my head that I can’t decide on the correct one.
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Haha! Well, in all honesty this was only one of my interpretations. I’m sure thatgamecompany has their “canon” view of the game, but what’s great about personal interpretation is anyone can riff off of what they pick up in the game.
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I can’t wait to play this one for myself. I’ll check back in once I get a chance to run through it.
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Please do, I’d like to hear what you think about it.
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Sweet review man. I think you pushed me over the edge to finally buy this thing. Like the blog too. Mind if I link it?
Hit mine up some time iplayvids.com
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Thanks for the comment and the reblog! If you do give it a whirl, lemme know what you think of Journey – I found it super interesting.
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Reblogged this on iplayvids and commented:
Nice Journey review
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My interpretation is close to urs but different. I agree that in the visions it demonstrates the mountain as a source of all life even in the other cloth animals like the flying rugs and tiny cloth spirits. I also agree that the ancestors which i call the “White Cloths” had created a huge civilization and machinery at the expense of the other cloth creatures which is why u find tiny cloth spirits in the “War Machines” the ones that attack. However i think the journey is not about enlightenment because the “Red Cloths” are pure souls recently created from the mountain. When u collect symbols ur cape grows. When u chirp or speak similar glowing symbols pop up above ur head and on ur chest. I believe these symbols represent each individuals souls as in one vision they.are shown being showered over the world and being placed in each individual. Therefore when u pick up a symbol u are receiving a lost “White Cloth” soul that has not moved on to the mountain which is the afterlife. So u are helping these lost souls move on. Learning about the “White Cloths” tragedy should help the Red cloths learn from their mistakes and be a more united civilation. The fact that takeing on more souls makes ur jump stronger further help defend the.whole unity metaphor placed throught the story.
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Wow, I like your interpretation! It sounds like you put a lot of thought into it and I can’t wait to play through Journey again with it in mind.
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Thanks man came all the way back to this post to see if anyone liked my interpretation. Im playing the game as i post this actually getting the transcendence trophy 🙂
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Nice, I’m going to clean up on some trophies the next time I play for sure.
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I like your interpretation. I’ve heard different opinions from my friends: a simbolic journey through life (in which is better to be with someone else); a search for redemption, sacrificing yourself in order to give a new life to the world…
My opinion is a bit different because of my starting point: Everybody believe that the jouyneyer is alive, I believe that it is already dead at the beginning of the game. It starts buried in the sand, the desert is full of tombstones and nothing seems to be alive (even if you find the flower in the desert, it says that is a mirage). Also, in the first mural you see there are a lot of whiterobed people laying on the floor, with their hole/heart empty since they’re dead.
The only ones that survive are the cloth creatures. If the stars are like souls, like the enegy that gives life to all, maybe the cloths creatures are the purest impersonation of this, so they have plenty of this power. What they touch gains life, even machines and buildings. People used them and fighted for them; and eventually all dissapeared in the sand. The journeyer is seeking for reborn in a world that once collapsed itself and now has the oportunity to start again; but first has to expirience what they did to the cloth creatures becoming one of them. This is why it wears a cloak in the same colour and fashion that the cloth creatures and these come when the journeyer calls. It has to expirience their joy of liberty, their simpathy for their equals, the uneasy feeling of being captives and they fear for the stone dragons.
If the journeyer reaches the mountain, it will learn what the people made and why they musn’t to do it again; so with a new conscience and knoweldge it can born again an begin the real journey.
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Interesting, very interesting…
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Awesome interpretation this is exactly how I thought of it! I was just wondering, you mentioned that the company might have a \”canon\” view of the game. Did you ever find that?
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I never discovered their personal interpretation of the game, although to be honest, I never really looked.
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I finally played through this last night, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around what I just experienced. I like your interpretation. I had similar thoughts about this being a ruined civilization with the lead character searching for answers. Now that I’ve played it, it’s going to be fun to read through other theories… I had to come back and read yours all the way through first, though.
Definitely a memorable little game.
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It made me give a second look at thatgamecompany and I’m glad.
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