Journey

Journey is an indie adventure video game created by thatgamecompany and published by Sony for the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4. The PlayStation 3 version was released on March 13, 2012 in North America, March 14, 2012 in Europe, and March 15, 2012 in Japan, and for the PlayStation 4 on July 21, 2015 for North America, July 21, 2015 for Europe, and July 23, 2015 for Japan. It was later ported to Microsoft Windows in June 2019.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It has an amazing original score composed by Austin Wintroy which fits in with the actions of the player and to act as sound effects that were caused by nearby objects.
 * 2) It has a great emotional story that has a story arc designed to follow Joseph Campbell's monomyth theory of narrative which is good because the game is driven by its story.
 * 3) It has incredible graphics, even for its time in 2012.
 * 4) Relentlessly beautiful art that is based on several different cultures throughout the game.
 * 5) The game has a two player online mode that lets you discover and experience together to have a ”Memory” of playing together, which is so deep and awesome.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Not all players would appreciate a game with a "deliberate, melancholic pace" and short duration.
 * 2) While the gameplay and story are good, there is still a noticeable lack of complex gameplay elements in the game.

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. At the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo, prior to release, the game won awards for best downloadable game from 1UP.com, GameSpy, and GameTrailers. After publication, the game was heavily honored at end of the year awards. At the 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, formerly known as the Interactive Achievement Awards, Journey won eight awards, the most honors received of the night (which includes "Game of the Year", "Outstanding Innovation in Gaming", "Casual Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction", "Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction", "Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay", "Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition", and "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design"); it was additionally nominated for "Downloadable Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering", and "Outstanding Achievement in Story". Journey was selected as the best game of the year by others.

Journey received high acclaim from critics who praised the visual and auditory art direction as well as the emotional response playing with a stranger created.