Where to begin with Journey….

Developed by thatgamecompany, the group that brought PS3 fans acclaimed titles flow and Flower, gamers are once again given a simplistic title with excellent visuals and accessible controls.

And yet, after the two hour (the only real downside) experience, it’s still tough to describe the beauty of Journey.

First let me say this, Journey isn’t not your conventional game, and even calling it a “game” feels like a disservice to the downloadable title.

As the game begins, players take control of an unknown being in a robe.  This being is sitting patiently in the sand as players get a quick glimpse at how the game controls.  From there, players will walk across the desert, while observing ancient structures on the road to a giant mountaintop, which is obviously the ultimate goal.

Throughout this journey, gamers will see themselves traversing dark caves, cold and windy mountaintops all while attempting to figure out who they are, where they’re going and what is going on.  With short glimpses of a past world, gamers will find deeper meaning to the entire experience, whether alone or with an anonymous companion.  And that’s part of the uniqueness of the game – players will randomly be joined by another person without so much as knowing a name (until the very end), but it’s an experience that seems so much more.  Surely, you can ignore this person and go about your travels, but there’s something fantastic about helping each other along the way.  It’s almost a spiritual experience, but clearly one that will be different for every gamer.

If the experience wasn’t awesome enough on its own, thatgamecompany gives us an absolutely gorgeous game to look at.  Many times I found myself simply walking around in order to see the visual candy, with so much detail, it was easy to get lost in this amazing world.  Add to that a gem of a musical score, and Journey is something that’s better experienced than explained.

Journey is unique, artistic, deep and full of expression.  If you own a PS3, you need to play this game, period.