Ah, it has been many months since i’d last played Journey , an experience that was beautifully sublime the first time through (i have completed it twice to date, and currently have a 57% trophy completion rate). Since it’s release via PSN digital download on the ps3 over a year ago (mar13th2o13 in North America), there have been countless fan-art created and blogs written about the game, with some reading religious themes within its wordless tale. I personally see the entire experience of that game as an allegory for life and reincarnation, the latter of which is a concept that i find fascinating to read about, but am uncertain about when it comes to belief. I consider myself agnostic, and i feel it’s more truthful to say that i want to believe—rather than do believe—in something greater than our tangible human experience…whatever that means.
With its unspoken philosophy that has been deliberately left open to various interpretations, Journey stands a shining paragon of video games as an art form, and a fine contemporary example of how the story of a game can be told through visuals and music, rather than through text or recorded speech. And my, are the atmospheric visuals truly something to behold.
As for the music, the game surrounds one with a layered, epic score as varied in tone and mood as the environments that one will traverse throughout the quest.
The image at the beginning of this post is one that i’d created for my sackiCon series in adobe illustrator (i love vector art!), with the look for this particular sackiCon based on the Journey Costume in littleBigPlanet . >[:)
I really need to get around to playing this game! Sadly there are currently no PS3s in my life. But I gave my friend from back home Ni No Kuni with full intent to commandeer the game and the PS3 at some point, so maybe then. I’m so torn about listening to the sounds track because I’m sure it is beautiful but I feel like I should wait in case I get a chance to play the game and experience it for the first time with the game.
Anyways, just wanted to say that I thought this piece was quite eloquently written and I think that “want to believe” is kinda where I stand too… I think… maybe?
~Dyl
thanx much for your kind words! but to be honest, in retrospect i personally felt this piece to be a bit wanting, as i do plan to describe the music’s impression upon me in further detail…and actually say a thing or two about the gameplay!
i think it is worth the wait (to experience the music & gameplay simultaneously), and apparently the retail “Collector’s Edition” (a Bluray compilation of Jouney, Flow, and Flower) contains addioton content in the forms of creator commentaries, art, galleries, and soundtracks for all three games, plus non-related minigames. it seems likely that i’ll be buying this game again. :)