journey ps4 story line

Journey is an adventure game developed by ThatGameCompany and released by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2012 on PlayStation 3, as a Sony Exclusive title.

Due to its ongoing success, it got ported to several platforms:

• See Release dates

Since the very start, the game had a very strong community, people that fell in love with the game and playing it all over again. Over the years, they discovered many interesting things and are still playing it. Journey is a very special game, it's best enjoyed "blind", with no knowledge about it before playing it for the first time.

The Journey effect [ ]

"According to Chen (one of the founders of TGC), the company focuses on creating video games that provoke emotional responses from players." [1]

You will be thrown into a scary, yet, wonderful new world, with no idea who you are or what you're doing, besides one singular goal.

Even worse: there is no guidance, no helpful hints to bail you out: you have to find out everything by yourself and make your way through the what seems like an endless desert.

The stunning visuals (best enjoyed on a big screen, played with a controller) and the Grammy nominated soundtrack will do their part to cause a wide variety of emotions.

Beware: Journey is a beautiful game, but it often manages to cause emotions like despair, confusion, fear or sadness too. This is part of the experience.

Journey is all about empathy and respect. Upon meeting a figure like you, you are forced to make decisions. Sometimes, they want to go further or go on an endless exploration. If both are stubborn, they will part ways.

Just like finding a new friend in life, you might walk for a while, lose contact or stay friends until the very end. You will enjoy the time spent together and probably respect each others flaws.

Journey is also a game about sand, cloth, and various creatures you meet on the way.

The more you play Journey you will discover slight differences or see things, that seem new. It may be hard to describe, but here are some expressions from longterm fans of Journey :

• Does this look different now?
• This never happened before.
• It's so scary.
• I have never seen this.
• It is a hard game. (meaning not only gameplay, often the game causes emotions and not all are "nice", just like experiences in life)
• I want to learn more about this.
• Interactive zen video. So relaxing.
• Everytime something new.
• It's so funny.

Journeys success continues through the years, it received over 100 awards. Several "Game of the Year", many BAFTA awards, the soundtrack got nominated for a Grammy (Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media ) and so on.

Wikipedia link to awards: Journey (2012 video game), Reception .

Game support [ ]

This wiki does not provide technical support for Journey .

If you have any technical support questions or concerns, please contact platform support teams:

• PlayStation versions: Sony Computer Entertainment
• PC and iOS versions: [email protected]

As of mid-2021 it appears that technical support and updates have ceased from SCE and Annapurna Interactive

https://thatgamecompany.com/journey/

Trailer [ ]

Further reading [ ]

For further hints about approximate game length, bug warnings, settings etc. Read this Guide .

ThatGameCompany

• Homepage: https://thatgamecompany.com/journey/
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thatgamecompany

Annapurna Interactive

• Homepage http://annapurna.pictures/interactive/
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annapurna_Interactive

See also [ ]

• System requirements
• Guide: Your first Journey , general hints about setting, length etc, without saying more about the game itself. It will lead you to further guides and provide links to useful articles at the start of your journey through Journey .
• How to play guide for Journey
• Category: Gameplay Basics

References [ ]

• ↑ Wikipedia
• 1 Wayfarers
• 2 How to play guide for Journey

Journey is a PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 game by thatgamecompany , that is distributed over PSN and was released on March 13, 2012. The player plays as a robed person journeying towards a distant mountain through a sandy desert. The game has a multiplayer component, in which players can interact on their journey and assist each other. As of May 29th 2012, it has become the fastest-selling PSN game ever.

• 1.1 Multiplayer
• 2.1 Features
• 2.2 Trailer
• 3 Reception
• 4 Development team
• 6 References

Gameplay [ ]

The players take the role of a robed figure traveling through a desert towards a large mountain. The player is not given any instructions on how to play the game or what the game's goal is, nor any map of the game's world.

There is no spoken dialogue besides the chirping call of the player, and the cutscenes are shown without any words. It is up to the player to interpret the storyline of Journey, leading to many theories as to what exactly is taking place.

Multiplayer [ ]

If the player is playing online, they can encounter other players while on their way, called companions . However, players cannot speak to each other (neither via voice nor text), nor are identified by any username, gamertag or avatar. They can communicate only via a wordless shout, and have symbols on the front of their robes, so players can identify whether they have already encountered a given fellow traveler or not. They can, however, assist each other.

According to the game's designer, Jenova Chen:

Items that players can find in the desert include pieces of cloth that they can fly on for a short period of time. There are also magical items and ruins including Glowing symbols , Ancient Glyphs , and Cloth Creatures . Easter eggs from other thatgamecompany games are a Hidden Desert Flower and a Mysterious Creature .

Collectors Edition [ ]

Journey Collectors Edition is the first retail disc release for thatgamecompany . It features Journey as well as the studio's previously released flOw and Flower and more. It was released August 28th, 2012 for the PlayStation 3.

Features [ ]

• 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of Journey
• Creator Commentary play-throughs of all three games
• Three exclusive mini-games from thatgamecompany
• Concept art and screenshot galleries for all three games
• Original soundtracks for all three games
• PS3 dynamic themes and wallpapers
• PSN avatars including 8 exclusive new Journey avatars never released before
• Official game trailers and developer diary videos
• Reversible cover art
• One-month trial subscription of PlayStation Plus

Trailer [ ]

Reception [ ]

Journey received critical and commercial success worldwide. After its release, it became the fastest-selling game to date on PlayStation Store in both North America and Europe. [1] Review aggregator Metacritic scored the game at 92/100 for both PS3 and PS4 versions. [2] [3] Most critics praised the visual and auditory art direction, IGN even described the game as "the most beautiful game of its time", [4] while Slant community collectively agreed that the game offers a simple but really enjoyable gameplay. [5]

Development team [ ]

The development team of Journey on Christmas 2011. The scarves were hand-crafted by Robin Hunicke (bottom row center) and Matt Nava (leftmost) with a unique symbol for each team member. [6]

19 people participated in the creation of the game. [7]

Gallery [ ]

References [ ]

• ↑ Chen, Jenova: Journey Breaks PSN Sales Records . Accessed on February 2, 2018.
• ↑ Metacritic: Journey for PlayStation 3 . Accessed on February 2, 2018.
• ↑ Metacritic: Journey for PlayStation 4 Accessed on February 2, 2018.
• ↑ Clements, Ryan: Journey Review . Accessed on February 2, 2018.
• ↑ Slant: Journey - What are the best PS4 exclusive games? Accessed on February 2, 2018.
• ↑ Kellee Santiago's blog post . Accessed on January 9, 2017.
• ↑ The Journey page on thatgamecompany's website , the "Development team" section. Accessed on January 9, 2017.
• 1 Glowing symbols
• 2 The Traveler
• 3 White Robe

Journey (PS4) Review

• First Released Mar 13, 2012 released

The light by which my spirit's born.

By Kevin VanOrd on July 23, 2015 at 10:41AM PDT

This review contains spoilers. For a spoiler-free review of Journey, you can read our original review here .

It was my eighth playthrough and the tears still streamed, almost inexplicably; Journey is a song without words, reliant on its rapturous presentation and liberating movement to stir your mind and move your heart. With many games, I have wished that I could play them again for the first time--to experience that buzz that inevitably diminishes with each return visit. I will never need to waste this wish on Journey, however: each pilgrimage is as bittersweet as the last. How appropriate, given the game's theme of death and rebirth, that it feels so sorrowful, so joyous, and so true , each and every time.

"Journey would be just as effective as a movie," a friend once told me, but I must contradict her. Not that I can argue against the game's sumptuous environments and its sublime musical score, which earned masterpiece status the moment Journey was initially released on the PlayStation 3 in 2012. Certain landscapes have rightfully gained iconic stature, becoming the very definition of video game beauty. One shot depicts the cloaked figure you control standing atop a sand drift and gazing at the mountain you must reach, which rises above the desert and pierces the clouds. The view is a master class in simplicity and color story; the peach-orange tones of the sand give way to a sea-green sky--hushed hues for a hushed visual revelation. Another seminal sight: you skate across the sand from right to left, illuminated by a godly beam of sunlight while watching the remnants of a lost culture rush past. The screen is awash with shades of amber, and the warm sand glimmers as if mixed with golden crystals. Yes, even as a work of cinema, Journey would instill wonder.

But Journey is not a film, and its power is not gained by pretty pictures alone, but by your presence in its world. That side-scrolling glide would not choke me up if I couldn't feel the sand beneath my feet, and couldn't hit a ramp in just the right way to propel myself into the air. I wouldn't feel so beat down by the wind if I didn't feel it pushing against me as I trudged forward, and I wouldn't be so euphoric if I didn't personally experience the joy of skimming the ground. You see, you hear, and, vitally, you do . You surf the sand, you ride the wind, you seek shelter from danger, you make a friend. Seeing is believing, but it takes interaction to understand and know.

Describing Journey means describing these moments and these emotions. The mechanical basics are almost secondary, and quickly explainable. As a mysterious robed figure, you cross sand and other terrain en route to a far-off mountain. You make use of only two buttons. By pressing X, you leap into the air and soar, an ability that is limited by the length of the scarf that trails behind you. By pressing circle, you cry out to whatever or whomever might heed your call. Journey is desolate, but you are not alone. You call to flocks of ribbons that hover about like restless robins, and they provide energy to your scarf. You meet cloth creatures that become travel guides and provide magic-carpet rides to higher ground. And presuming you play while connected to the Internet, you may encounter another lone individual in your travels--an individual you can ignore, or one you can accompany, chirping to her when you locate secret hieroglyphs, or when a fearsome ribbon-dragon appears and you don't want to continue alone.

The mechanics are simple, but they establish a direct connection to the heart. Consider that flowing scarf, which trails behind you as you surf and soar, growing larger whenever you locate and touch a glowing flower. On a mundane level, it functions as a power bar that you fill up by making contact with cloth, and deplete by leaping. In context, the scarf is your life force, governing your ability to joyfully drift through the air. Gliding is Journey's most exuberant act, and by limiting its use, the game makes joy itself a currency.

Journey uses this ecstasy-based economy to craft an emotional arc across its entirety, as well as to emphasize individual moments. Your scarf grows longer and longer, but a frightful encounter with that terrible ribbon-monster turns your rippling shawl into a mere stub. You cannot fight--you can only hide. Being discovered is devastating because the scarf is where the cheer and comfort of flight are stored. You were offered a heartwarming gift, only to have it yanked from your hands. Journey also uses this moment to connect you with your wordless cooperative companion. By this stage, you understand the meaning the scarf carries with it. Seeing your sidekick succumb like this forges empathy: you know that the monster has abolished his joy.

This give-and-take is how the final levels gain their potency. Your ability to glide is diminished, then revoked. You no longer drift through sand, but brace yourself against an exhaustive wind. Then, the moment comes when all hope seems lost. You hold your breath and assume the worst. And then, the controller rumbles--just once, like a single heartbeat. And all that was taken away is restored, then multiplied, and multiplied again.

This is the source of those tears. It is not the sadness of the loss, but the bliss of being honored for your perseverance. These are tears of elevation, so perfectly described by Roger Ebert in 2009 . I have heard people describe this final climb in terms of an afterlife, and that's a reasonable interpretation of the scene, in which you float higher and higher towards the mountain's zenith. But even in the moment, whether or not you make this conscious religious association, you might feel weepy in spite of yourself. The gift was given, and it was taken away. And then, you were liberally showered with gifts, and so you ascended, higher and higher, towards your next journey.

It is possible that Journey will not move you. In such a case, it is simply a beautiful game with a glorious soundtrack, grounded by a wistful cello melody later threaded through a warm quilt of winds and strings. The chance you might be swept away, however, makes it worth plunging your feet into the warm sand. If you are returning to Journey, a higher resolution and a higher frame rate are your ostensible rewards for returning--a return that doesn't cost you anything if you already own the game on the PlayStation 3. But Journey's real rewards aren't so pedestrian. Journey offers you comfort. It gives you companionship in a lovely but forsaken world. It gives you reason to dream even when facing loss.

• Leave Blank
• Sumptuous visuals
• One of the best game soundtracks written to date
• Simple mechanics that elicit powerful emotions
• Instills empathy between cooperative partners
• Iconic moments that stay with you for years

About the Author

Kevin VanOrd

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Journey PS4 Review: A Classic Reborn

Neil Bolt / April 15, 2020

Journey on PS4 is divisive. Journey is overly artsy. Journey is an emotionally-charged masterpiece. Simply put, Journey is many things to many people. To me, Journey told a wonderful tale back in 2012. In the brief, yet perfectly paced, two hour playthrough it encapsulated its name perfectly, and despite having to go up against megahits like The Walking Dead and Borderlands 2 that year, it held its own as a truly outstanding member of the PlayStation family; to this day remains among my favourite games of the PS3 era and now we finally have Journey on PlayStation 4.

Journey PS4 Review

Now, in the hazy heat of midsummer’s gaming limbo, thatgamecompany’s magnum opus joins the PlayStation 4 ranks to try and captivate a new audience who were not fortunate enough to partake in it last generation. But what about those who have already experienced it? Granted, it is free to anyone who bought it on PS3, but can the game still have an impact after the initial glorious hit?

At the start of the game, where you traverse down the sand dune to begin your quest to reach the light-emitting mountain seen in the distance still holds the same magic, as Austin Wintory’s haunting theme plays out. It’s worth pointing out early on that the soundtrack is a huge player in conveying the emotional peaks and troughs of the otherwise near-silent narrative. It says things more eloquently than mere words could convey. Respect has to be paid to a game that can tell a captivating story without anybody uttering a single syllable.

Your adventure consists of the previously mentioned “journey” to the mountain, and the path there is filled with the task of your mysterious robed figure completing small, simple puzzles along the way.There is no combat, but there are dangers to contend with at certain points. All of which are there to seemingly prevent you from making that ascent.

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The overarching theme of Journey is how you keep going in the face of adversity, pushing ever-onwards to that goal in a determined, single-minded fashion. It isn’t until you reach the game’s closing moments that you truly understand why this is. The short, non-spoilery version is to describe it as a pilgrimage, one that the game expects you to be joining in on beyond just pushing buttons on a controller. It’s hard to describe exactly why Journey’s narrative can be effective — even if you explain the themes in greater detail it remains something to be experienced hands on, not viewed from afar.

An aspect of it that can and should be discussed is Journey’s multiplayer. Another player can join your quest, and they simply appear without any notice being given during your playthrough (if you’re online of course). There is no matchmaking, no aggressiveness, no natural co-op structure and you only communicate through simple noises.

You won’t even know who you played with until you finish the game. It can often turn out the person you thought was your sole companion was in fact six or seven different people; as players fall behind or press on ahead they are subtly replaced. There are some genuine moments of bonding to be had, even with so little in the way of interaction. It’s a refreshingly different take on online multiplayer, one that fits Journey perfectly.

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Even three years on, and on a more powerful console, Journey remains a technical treat. The simple yet elegant graphical style is timeless, looking as beautiful as it did in 2012. Towering, glowing structures and billowing fabric-like movement are constants in this world, being used in interesting ways throughout, while the way the sand shifts beneath your feet and the swirling winds above your head flapping your ever-growing scarf around are wonderfully crafted details.

The visuals are even more striking with the touch ups the PS4 provides. It’s like a series of paintings come to life, and any number of scenes would be fit to capture and stick on your wall. Journey also runs more smoothly now. It was fine before, but the difference in quality is a noticeable enough upgrade when compared to the original version.

Otherwise, there’s nothing new added to the PS4 edition of Journey, not that there would be much worth adding that could actually improve the game and, as I mentioned earlier, you aren’t paying any extra if you’ve already purchased it before. So while those like myself can treat this remaster as an excuse to revisit what made the game so memorable -and for many, a chance to join in at the start when there are plenty of other players active- this is still mainly for those that missed out entirely last time round. Journey will no doubt cause fresh debate and split opinions with those people, which is just fine, because it’s a magical game that still deserves to be discussed.

Journey is out now on PS4 and PS3.

Review code kindly provided publisher.

The Final Word

Whether you played and enjoyed Journey before or are curious to see what the fuss is all about, the PS4 version provides a great excuse to experience one of PSN's greatest titles for a first or second time.

• PS Plus required for online play
• Supports up to 2 online players with PS Plus
• Online play optional
• Remote Play supported
• PS4 Version DUALSHOCK 4 vibration

The critically-acclaimed title makes its debut on the PS4™ system. Explore the ancient, mysterious world of Journey as you soar above ruins and glide across sands to discover its secrets. Play alone or in the company of a fellow traveler and explore its vast world together. Featuring stunning visuals and a Grammy-nominated musical score, Journey delivers a breathtaking experience like no other.

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Journey (PS4 port) Review

Journey , a small indie game from thatgamecompany, was released on the PS3 in March 2012 and enchanted many gamers with its gorgeous visuals, captivating music and unique multiplayer experience.

Although the game is rather short, around two or three hours, it won multiple awards for best soundtrack, game of the year, best downloadable game and was the first video game ever nominated for a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media in 2013. So clearly this game is quite the amazing little diamond in the rough, and this week it was brought to the PS4.

The question is: does this next-gen port do this critically acclaimed video game experience justice?

As my Traveler moved along the dunes, each step caused a ripple in the endless desert.

Something that is tantamount to making Journey a successful port on the PS4 is that it has to keep the gorgeous visuals and music that made the original so memorable. In the beginning of the game, the player starts off controlling their own “Traveler,” who can only talk via chirps, in the middle of the desert. 

The visual updates definitely smoothed out and enhanced the already gorgeous environments of Journey.

Your “Traveler” chirping and making its way downtwon… to a mountain.

These breathtaking updates to Journey were not solely limited to the desert section of the game, each new environment felt as breathtaking and as vast as it did when I first played the game. The score is just as pretty and adds to the immersion of the voyage of your Traveler.

The sole goal in Journey is to reach the mysterious mountain

I had not played Journey in a very long time, but I still cracked a smile once the title screen flashed up. It was a special kind of experience as your Traveler can meet other players going through the game, however, you can’t really communicate.

During my playthrough, I met a few players and had different experiences with them. One player was clearly new and it felt nice to show him/her some hidden secrets along our journey. In the second half of the game I met another player who was definitely a veteran player. This time, they actually showed me some secrets and collectibles I had never found in my previous playthroughs of Journey .

It was good to be both the student and the teacher. The gameplay in general for Journey is rather simple, so I was not really worried about it in the first place.

Final Thoughts

Taking in the gorgeous scenery and seeing the visions of the history of the world of Journey again was enjoyable nostalgic and fun. If you are a fan of the original Journey or curious about this highly acclaimed indie game should definitely check it out.

Once again, the game is rather short but the game makes up for it with the breathtaking quality of the environments and its simplicity and interesting storytelling. This PS4 port is currently available on the PlayStation Store for $15, which to some might seem really pricey. However, if you have already bought a digital copy of Journey on PS3 this new port will be a free download, thanks to Crossbuy.

Despite a rather high price at the outset, Journey on the PS4 is as magical as ever. There were some moments where some of the visual enhancements of the environments and the “Traveler” character seemed a bit too synthetic, but those moments were rare and unobtrusive. Journey is a short, yet memorable experience.

thatgamecompany

life’s companions

Experience the wonder in this anonymous adventure where you travel on a life’s passage, with the chance to connect with companions along the way.

a mysterious world

Alone and surrounded by miles of burning, sprawling desert, you soon discover the looming mountaintop is your goal. The passage will not be easy but this experience of a lifetime will help you discover who you are, what this place is, as you arrive at your purpose.

beautiful art and music

Soar above ruins and glide across sands as you explore the secrets of a forgotten civilization.  Featuring stunning visuals, haunting music, and unique online gameplay, Journey delivers an experience like no other.

The release of Journey attracted over 100+ industry awards and media accolades, with some naming the game as their ‘Game of The Year’ in 2012.

"A glorious, thoughtful, moving masterpiece"

- entertainment weekly, "mysterious and beautiful", "an incredible, emotional game", "one of the most amazing game experiences of my life", - gamesradar.

© 2012 Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Developed by thatgamecompany. Journey is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC.

Journey review

A quest well worth embarking upon.

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Gorgeous art design

A profoundly unique co-op experience

A soaring and emotional experience

Missing out on it

Not being able to experience it for the first time again

Arguing with people who missed the point

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

There are no gaudy explosions, no zippy one-liners, no grandiose set-pieces. And it’s all over in around two hours. But Journey is one of the longest games we’ve played in quite a while. And that’s a rare compliment.

Journey is long because it’s long-lasting . It’s a game that we will remember for years to come – one whose themes and imagery have already embedded themselves deep in our psyche. We remember, more than anything, how we felt after completing each chapter, and we recall (with fondness, melancholy and joy) our sense of accomplishment at finishing this singular quest.

In short, Journey succeeds because it takes so many of the conventions of contemporary games and turns them on their heads.

Journey’s story is deceptively simple: It’s told with no dialogue (though we began to analyze its many symbols after we completed it). We begin as a robed humanoid creature in the middle of a rolling desert. Almost immediately we saw our objective: a shining beacon of light atop a mountain.

Thatgamecompany, Journey’s developer, is now well-known for producing titles that encourage a sense of awe and bliss through self-guided discovery. And just like Flow and Flower before it, Journey put us in the midst of wilderness and gave us just enough tools to poke and prod around it until we slowly formed an idea of how to navigate. We have a button that functions as a beacon. It takes little time to understand how useful the beacon is to unlocking the other crucial ability, that of jumping. These simple features beget even larger ones as we continued playing, since players can jump and glide only for a limited time.

By the time we navigated through Journey’s initial sections, we felt just familiar enough with its controls to play alongside another wanderer. And that’s when it happened to us: another wanderer (just one) appeared in the distance. The game’s approach to co-op gameplay is utterly unique. When another player appears – seemingly at random, and at different points in any playthrough – all we have to work with is the limited vocabulary of the game. We had no idea who that person is until we completed our Journey – there is no PSN ID indicator, nor any voice chat. Our only communication is via the beacon, or by jumping around, or however else we choose to try to reach out to our fellow wanderer. And if we choose, we can simply ignore each other and wander off in different directions. The best part: it’s almost impossible to grief your partner, because the game is designed so that the limited resources can’t be hogged or stolen from each other.

By the end of the game, we felt an amazing sense of accomplishment and – dare we say it – affectionate camaraderie for our fellow traveler. We helped each other through some tough challenges. We communicated via a language we created ourselves: a series of chirps and jumps and circling around each other. Thatgamecompany should be applauded for the incredible technical achievement of subversively giving us a warm, human connection by providing the most anonymous gameplay experience in some time.

Journey works so wonderfully because it has the courage to restrict elements that we’ve come to take for granted in other games. One can make a granular argument that it’s a game that consists of jumping and Morse Code. And while that person would be right, that person is also missing the point and playing the wrong game. The execution on these simple gameplay ideas is so exact and precise that it’s ultimately more than sufficient to keep us in its thrall up until the heart-wrenching finale. Indeed, we didn’t need anything other than that which was provided for our Journey. It also helps that the soundtrack truly augments both the emotion and, at points, the tension of the experience. It’s an outstanding score.

Caveats here are minor. Journey is a calming, relaxing game, so you might not want to start it late at night, lest you find yourself a tad too hypnotized and dozing off with controller in-hand. However, by the time you stumble upon a co-op partner, you’ll have the pressure of co-dependency to keep you engaged and alert. Also, like other Thatgamecompany titles, it’s an experience that’s at its best in the first playthrough, because the magic comes through discovery. We plan to play it again, but armed with the knowledge of what’s to come, it won’t be quite the same. Don’t let that stop you from playing it, though. There’s new magic to be discovered as we find new partners to join us on this trip.

Journey is an unforgettable experience. Even when the details fade, the emotions that it evoked will stay with us for years. The pacing, the sense of scale, and the feeling of awe are all razor sharp. It all merged together as we discovered another player in our traversal. We won’t play another game like it, and frankly, we won’t need to, either. If you’re a gamer, it’s an outstanding reminder of why love this medium. Do not hesitate to embark.

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• Will you be able to play Journey offline instead of just only online? General 7 Answers
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Deciphering the Journey

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It doesn’t take much longer than an hour to reach the end of Journey, thatgamecompany’s recent indie jaunt across the desert. On the surface, it’s also a relatively lean game, stripped of all but the most basic interaction methods and never overtly thrusting a story in your face. In its seas of colour and its wordless narrative, it’s a fabulous exercise in minimalism. At least, that’s how it first appears.

In Journey, you walk, jump and play. You interact with the world by leaping or by singing at it, and you solve the game’s few puzzles via experimentation, learning the rules of this land as you exist within it. There are no dramatic characters intoning long, expository dialogue sequences, and you won’t find any diary entries bafflingly ripped out in chronological order. You uncover Journey’s mystery simply by experiencing it.

An hour isn’t long to unfurl the tale of an entire world, especially when much of that time is spent experimenting with its systems, sliding down sand dunes and singing to the co-op buddies who sometimes quietly drop into your game. And yet, Journey is infused with more character, more ideas and more meaning than any other recent release that springs to mind.

So: what does it all mean?

There are lots of theories, of course. It’s that way by design. Journey’s like a silent movie without any captions, and one in which the action on-screen is always faintly abstract, otherworldly and expressive. Or perhaps it’s like a ballet, an aural and kinetic display of ideas, but one where you’re not familiar with the source material. You come away with a thousand possible answers, but nothing to confirm your suspicions. You just know it was a hell of a show.

I’ve heard quite a few of these theories now. They range from the sensible to the surreal, from religious to scientific. I even had a discussion with a friend recently who was absolutely certain that Journey is a game about the nine months between conception and birth: he thought the ducking and diving fabric creatures represented sperm cells, the occasional enemies were threats of miscarriage, and the mountain – with that gaping opening at its peak – was the game’s enormous vagina.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think Journey is a game about sperm and vaginas, but I do think it’s a game about life. In fact, I think it’s a game about quite a lot of things. I spent a couple of days after finishing Journey thinking about what it could all mean. Each time I came up with a theory, or heard someone else’s, it seemed eminently plausible but still didn’t quite seem to fit. That lightbulb moment, the one where it all clicks into place, stubbornly refused to arrive.

And then it did, and I settled on the theory I’ve stuck with. So here goes: Journey is a game about everything .

I do distinctly mean ‘everything’ rather than ‘anything’, too. While Journey was clearly intended to have its intricacies discussed and debated, I don’t view it as a story without a specific meaning. The reason none of those individual interpretations seemed quite right on their own is because they function as part of a much larger picture – a microcosm of an entire universe, its past, its present and its future.

The most obvious of Journey’s strands is the story of a civilisation, one that was built up from nothing but ultimately collapsed, leaving the starkly ruined landscape you see before you. This story is the one told in the abstractly animated cutscenes that bookend each chapter – the beautiful mural that scratches and paints itself as you watch, its symbols slowly growing into something more recognisable.

Why did this civilisation grow so huge, and why did it ultimately fail? These answers prove more elusive. We see what appears to be electricity flowing through a city’s veins, and it seems to be brought to its knees by explosive blasts. There are hints at scientific advancement, and of war, which would make perfect sense given the content explored in the rest of the game.

There are very obvious religious overtones. At times the symbolism is enormous, with spiritual apparitions, Middle Eastern architecture and, in the game’s closing moments, a joyous take on the rapture that sees you rise from your body, through the snow-filled clouds and into the beautiful blue skies above. After lingering on your dying moments for an uncomfortable length of time, Journey shakes things up, and the game turns out not to end with your death, but with your incredible reincarnation.

But while Journey is a game about religion, it’s also a game about science. One of its other major themes is evolution: it’s about species adapting to their environment, growing and changing, gaining new abilities as they fight for survival. This is the case with your own character – you begin the game without the ability to jump, and the distance you may do so develops over time, allowing you to rise to Journey’s challenges. By the end, you find yourself in a place where the conditions are radically different – a blizzard-filled mountainous region, instead of a baking desert – and natural selection ostensibly writes you out of the story.

There are other visual cues to evolution, too. It might sound strange, but it’s the fabric that’s key. It begins as floating particles whose only ability is to increase the length of your own scarf. By the end they’ve become enormous floating dragons that transport you around the world, or coral-like formations that boost you skywards, allowing you access to areas you’d otherwise be unable to reach.

Journey is a game that operates on a macro and micro level simultaneously. So, while it’s a game about evolution, it’s also a game about simply growing up. You don’t understand Journey’s world when you first arrive in it. You learn by experimenting, by playing, and with the gentle guidance of others whom you don’t always fully understand.

As you progress, you begin to understand them better. You meet more people. They all have slightly different ways of communicating – always through sound and movement, but in idiosyncratic styles – and you learn to recognise patterns. Meet someone late on in the game and you’ll likely find yourself communicating effortlessly, guiding new players around the world or being tempted towards hidden secrets by more experienced journeyers. You’ve learnt the communication systems of this world. It’s a game about language acquisition.

And it’s a game, perhaps most significantly, about the inevitability that life will follow its own path. Of course Journey’s society fell: it was inhabited by living, sentient beings, with all the flaws that come with such an existence. But along the way it birthed culture, and belief, and wonderful technology, the remnants of which you can see scattered around the retrospective showcase you experience as you jump, slide and glide your way through the game.

I might be wrong, naturally, but I hope I’m not – because I haven’t played many games that tackle such a range of huge topics with this majestic confidence. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen many films, or read many novels, for which I could say that either.

For something so starkly minimalist in its presentation, and a game without any dialogue, Journey is an extraordinary achievement: a game about life and death, and a tale that’s both personal and vast in its scope. It’s the story of existence, the enormous number of ways we interpret our lives, and the ways in which we react to those beliefs. Not bad for an hour-long game in which all you do is walk, jump and play.

About the Author

Andrew kirkcaldy.

• Platform(s): iOS, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
• Genre(s): Adventure, Family, Indie

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• Entertainment

10 years later, there’s still nothing like Journey’s multiplayer

Journey turns 10 today.

By Jay Peters , a news editor who writes about technology, video games, and virtual worlds. He’s submitted several accepted emoji proposals to the Unicode Consortium.

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I’ll never forget the first time I played Journey .

Throughout the game, real-life players can join you on your quest toward a mountain on the horizon. Players can fade in and out of your adventure — maybe they want to go faster than you, maybe they just quit — but in the latter half of my game, I had found somebody who stuck with me. Journey has no voice or text chat and no names identifying other players you meet. The only way we could communicate was through our movements, sticking close together to refill each other’s energy, and singsong chirps. Despite those limitations, we built a rapport.

Near the end of Journey , you have to scale the mountain, and as you approach the peak, you get caught in a storm. Much of the game is filled with sunlight, flight, and joyful music, but the mountain is gray, winds buffet your character, and the music is, at times, uncomfortable. Even though the level was draining, I was happy that I had my companion, and we huddled together as we marched toward the peak.

Eventually, the music fades out, and you can only hear your footsteps trudging ever more slowly through the elements. Then, as the game grew silent, my friend collapsed into the snow. I actually cried out in dismay. Then my character fell over, too, and the screen faded to white. 

In many video games, you die a lot. That was the only time a virtual death has made me feel like I had actually lost a friend.

Fortunately, that’s not actually the end. In a cutscene, I was revived soon after I fell, and then, in an exuberant celebration of color and music that’s perhaps my favorite video game “level” of all time, soared toward the top of the mountain — with my once-fallen friend flying alongside me.

Journey turns 10 years old today, March 13th, and I still haven’t experienced anything like that moment. To mark the anniversary and learn more about the game’s bond-forging multiplayer, I spoke with Jenova Chen, president and creative director of Journey developer thatgamecompany. While it may feel like the game is effortlessly pairing you with companions as you go along, based on what he told me, it wasn’t quite that simple.

The goal for Journey was to “innovate how it feels between people on the internet,” Chen said. “Can we invent the right environment, the right feedback, to bring out something that we’re more proud of? And to have an online game where people feel friendly and compassionate towards each other?” He elaborated further later in our conversation. “We want to see two people going through the journey together, [like when] in our life, we meet someone special, and we travel with them, and eventually, we might depart from each other.” 

“Human beings, unfortunately, are giant babies”

While it was a profound ideal, “the reality is: human beings, unfortunately, are giant babies in the virtual world,” Chen said. “No matter how old you are, even if you’re in your 70s, if we move you from Earth and into a virtual space, [that person] would become a giant baby. A baby doesn’t know what is a good moral value versus what is a bad moral value. The baby only knows: if I’m in a new environment, I’m going to try to push the buttons and see what kind of feedback I can get, and babies are great at looking for maximum feedback.”

To encourage compassion, the team tested a lot of ideas. They tried a system inspired by Gears of War that let you help out an incapacitated friend but found that even in playtests among the developers, the player would rather not help the other person out. “That way, they create a lot of anxiety in the other player and make the other player more angry. And they actually get more gratification out of the feedback,” Chen said.

They also tested a mechanic where one person could push the other high up, and then that person would pull the first. “But once we gave this physics simulation to the players, they chose to push each other off the wall and see them fall from the cliff and die, waiting to be helped,” Chen said.

During those tests, people would say, “I would rather play this game alone. Why do you force me to play with this other person? I hate them,” according to Chen. That’s because “killing is much bigger feedback than just helping the other person to get on a ledge,” Chen said. 

“At the time, I was like, ‘Is humanity at its core just dark?’”

The challenges of making those mechanics work affected Chen. “At the time, I was like, ‘Is humanity at its core just dark?’” he said. But a child psychologist helped Chen see things in terms of the way babies view feedback. “If you don’t want babies to do something terrible, give them zero feedback,” he recalled learning from her. “Don’t give them negative feedback because they will misinterpret that as positive feedback.” 

That led to a change that would have a huge effect on the game: when you got close to someone, you’d recharge their energy. (In the final game, you use your energy to fly.) “And so that makes people feel like ‘Oh, I love to stay near someone because I don’t have to run to find the energy,’” he said. “So they end up sticking together, and they travel together, and they form a companionship. That was just one simple change. From assholes who want to kill each other and dancing around their corpse, creating hatred, to ‘hey, they’re all lovey-dovey, they’re helping each other, and they couldn’t leave each other.’”

The team also had to experiment to land on the musical chirps that players can use to communicate with each other. They tried a “thumbs up and thumbs down idea” where you could push the thumbstick up to show a green ping and push it down to show a red ping. But in testing, the majority of pings were red as players spammed them to bug their partner to do what they wanted, which created feelings of stress.

“Eventually, we realized it’s better just to keep it neutral,” Chen said. “And then we let the frequency and the amplitude [of the ping] be interpreted by the other player. But we noticed that when we don’t add context, people usually interpret the other person’s intention positively. I think that’s deep down our human nature.”

The chirp is like a musical instrument

Even though the chirp is intended to be neutral, it’s not a static noise. It’s almost like a musical instrument, and its sound evolves throughout the game, Journey composer Austin Wintory told me. “At the very beginning of the game, it’s very bird-like, and there’s flute and little bits of cello,” he said. But over the course of the game, you’ll hear more of a human voice within that sound. “So by the time you’re in the clouds and the very big finale, especially if you do one of the big charged up [pings], you can really hear there’s a human voice in there.” (The human voice used in the pings is Lisbeth Scott, who sings Journey’s end credits.)

The humanity in the design of Journey , from the human voice in the chirps to the multiplayer design that encourages cooperation, is so much of what makes the game memorable for me. As I climbed the mountain with my companion the first time I played the game, I realize now that while I may have been huddled close to my friend to try and share my energy, deep down, I just wanted to do everything I could to help them get up that mountain — and I knew they were doing the same for me.

Ahead of talking to Chen and Wintory, I replayed Journey for the first time since it came out. Despite how much I love the game, I’ve always worried another run would change how I feel about it. I was so fearful of how it might contort my memories that I was actively procrastinating on playing it. 

To my surprise, the experience was just as powerful. Ten years on, there are still people playing Journey , and I met four other companions who were part of my adventure. I even made a new friend who stuck by my side through the snowy climb to the mountain’s summit — and through the joyful flight to the peak.

Journey is available on PS3, PS4, PS5, PC, and iOS. Composer Austin Wintory has also just released a re-orchestration of the Journey soundtrack performed by the London Symphony Orchestra titled “Traveler — A Journey Symphony.” I’ve listened to it and thought it was very good.

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The Long Journey of Eric Adams

In today’s newsletter, a rare first for the city of New York, and then:

• “The Perfect Couple” is un-prestige TV
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• The fate of the finance bro

The Most Obvious Scandal in New York City’s History

Mayor Eric Adams swaggered right into a corruption indictment.

By Eric Lach

It took four centuries for a mayor of New York City to be charged with criminal conduct while in office. There have been some close calls: in 1986, agency heads in Mayor Ed Koch’s administration were indicted in a sprawling scandal, but the Mayor himself was not charged, and finished out his term. Before this week, Jimmy Walker, the ninety-seventh mayor of the city, arguably came closest to being indicted while on the job. Known as Beau James, and sometimes as the Night Mayor, Walker was forced from office in 1932 amid allegations involving bribery and municipal contracts. He skipped town, and went to Europe with his girlfriend (and, later, wife), a Ziegfeld girl named Betty Compton. He never faced prosecution.

It’s interesting to think about what foreign countries Eric Adams might hole up in. According to an indictment that was unsealed on Thursday, the hundred and tenth mayor of New York City is facing five federal counts of fraud, bribery, and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. The charges are not exactly surprising: last year, federal agents took at least two of the Mayor’s phones, and an iPad, as part of an investigation into his campaign’s and administration’s ties to the Turkish government and Turkish business interests. These charges are the result of that investigation. And over the years Adams himself has made no secret of his fondness for Turkey, its people, and their financial resources. Keep reading »

“This is going to be one of the most fascinating mayoralties in history,” Eric Adams told The New Yorker’s Ian Parker, last year, in a comprehensive Profile that detailed the embattled mayor’s personal mythologies. He later added, “Anyone who believes there’s not a God, they need to watch my journey.” Read more on Adams’s tumultuous tenure:

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P.S. Ninety years ago this week, Babe Ruth played his last game as a Yankee. As this colorful Profile of the slugger from 1926 makes clear, Ruth had a “thousand and one failings,” perhaps chief among them a superhuman ability to spend, lose, or otherwise mismanage money. “One thing and one thing alone Ruth does well,” the writer Arthur Robinson noted, “and this he does with supreme distinction. He can hit a baseball harder and farther and higher than any hitherto recorded.”

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Mukesh Bansal's journey: From Myntra and Cult to Nurix AI

Mukesh bansal started by building a fashion e-commerce brand myntra to fitness-focused startup cult. fit and now exploring ai. here is the inspirational journey of this eternal entrepreneur.

Thursday September 26, 2024 , 4 min Read

Mukesh Bansal's journey from IIT Kanpur to becoming a trailblazer in India's e-commerce and health-tech sectors showcases the power of innovation, resilience, and vision. As the co-founder of Myntra and Cult.fit, Bansal has redefined how Indians approach fashion and fitness, cementing his place as a pioneering entrepreneur in the digital age. His story of building successful startups, navigating challenges, and continuously evolving reflects his relentless spirit and ability to adapt in a rapidly changing business landscape.

Mukesh Bansal: The eternal entrepreneur

Early life and education.

Born in Haridwar, Mukesh had a passion for learning from a young age. His academic prowess led him to crack the competitive entrance exam for IIT Kanpur, where he pursued a degree in Computer Science and Engineering in 1997.

The rigorous environment at IIT honed his technical skills and ignited his entrepreneurial spirit. It was here that he began to envision a future beyond traditional career paths, ready to explore the vast potential of technology and business.

Silicon Valley and the e-commerce revolution

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After finishing his studies, Mukesh went to the United States and worked at several top Silicon Valley startups. This experience immersed him in the fast-paced world of innovation and entrepreneurship. However, his desire to make a significant impact back home in India made him return

In 2007, Mukesh co-founded Myntra as a platform for customised t-shirts. He led the company's evolution into one of India’s leading fashion e-commerce platforms by using advanced technology and innovative marketing strategies. His leadership helped the company grow quickly and capture a significant market share.

Later on, Myntra was sold to Flipkart for Rs 2,000 crore in 2014 , showcasing its success and Mukesh’s entrepreneurial skills. After the acquisition, he took over the head of commerce and advertising vertical at Flipkart.

A new chapter in health and fitness

Despite his success at Flipkart, Mukesh recognised a growing need in the health and wellness sector. In 2016, he along with colleague Ankit Nagori co-founded Cure.fit (now Cult.fit) a pioneering gym chain that commits to fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being.

Under Mukesh’s leadership, Cult.fit grew into a health-tech unicorn valued at $1.5 billion in 2021 , making significant strides in reshaping how Indians approach fitness and wellness.

Mukesh's commitment to health extends beyond business. He also runs a health podcast called "SparX," where he discusses various aspects of well-being to promote health awareness. Apart from that, he serves as a board member at the Olympics Gold Quest, showcasing his passion for fostering sporting excellence in India.

Navigating challenges and launching new ventures

Like any entrepreneurial journey, Mukesh faced challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to adapt quickly, and Cult.fit was no exception. However, Mukesh's resilience and adaptability allowed the company to pivot effectively, expanding its digital offerings.

In 2020, Mukesh started Meraki Labs, the first startup studio in India to support new businesses and innovations. He has also actively invested in successful startups like Groww, CRED , and Skyroot. In June 2021, Mukesh became the president of Tata Digital, where he worked on important projects like Tata Neu. He stepped down from his daily operations there in early 2023.

A true eternal entrepreneur

Today, Mukesh Bansal is not just an entrepreneur but a thought leader in health technology. Presently, he is focused on Nurix AI, a venture that recently raised $27.5 million .

Nurix AI is Mukesh Bansal's latest venture focused on integrating artificial intelligence with healthcare solutions. The company aims to revolutionize personalised health management by leveraging AI-driven insights, positioning itself as a key player in the growing health-tech industry.

Bansal's journey is an inspiring testament to the power of vision, resilience, and innovation. From founding Myntra to becoming a pioneer in health tech, he exemplifies what it means to be an eternal entrepreneur. His story encourages aspiring business leaders to embrace change, learn from failures, and strive for excellence.

• Mukesh Bansal
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