Journey Collector's Edition

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Flow is a good game. Flower is a GREAT game. But Journey... Journey is the best game I've played in my life, and I've been playing since the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the 1980s. The following review is SPOILER FREE.

It's difficult to put into words what exactly makes Journey so special. As the title implies, it's more of an "experience", and I might even call it a spiritual/digital pilgrimage, as odd as that might sound. I have never before been so captivated while playing a game, so fully immersed, and so interested in what would come next. This accomplishment is even more remarkable when you consider that Journey contains no dialogue (written or spoken), and breaks many of the standard conventions that gaming relies upon.

My recommendation for your first time through is to play it in solitude, in a darkened room, preferably with a good sound system, as the music is phenomenal. On the visual side, an HDTV is a must, and the larger the screen, the better. This is an incredibly immersive experience, and the more you can focus on it, the more you will get out of it. On subsequent playthroughs, it's fun to watch a friend play, and take joy in their reactions to the wonders they experience.

Journey contains an orchestral soundtrack that is breathtaking, and fits the game perfectly. The visuals are equally spellbinding, and they become more and more fantastic as your journey progresses. Photos do no justice to the feelings that Journey's sweeping landscapes will evoke in you.

One of my favorite aspects of Journey is that it can be completed, from start to finish, in a mere two hours. This means that going back and revisiting this incredible experience is relatively easy, even for those of us who are pressed for time between jobs and real world responsibilities. Journey can be played any evening after work, and it's fantastic to revisit its immersive, therapeutic, and breathtaking world. Making this game short was not a mistake, but a stroke of genius. There is no bloat, and every minute spent in the experience is finely tuned to provide maximum enjoyment, emotional stimulation, and thought provocation.

I downloaded each of these games as they were made available on PSN. Therefore, I do not own the physical copy, so I cannot comment on the packaging or the bonus materials. My review is strictly for the content of the games themselves, and I give this collection my highest possible recommendation.

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I've played through Journey several times, for a few reasons. The first time I played the game, the typical "gamer" in me came out. The goal, to get from beginning to end, while trying to take in some sights along the way. After I completed the game, I got it. It hit me what the point was of the game, and I restarted my Journey again the next night. I spent more time looking around, and found little hidden symbols along the way. Then suddenly someone showed up in the game with me. You can't talk, or type in the game. They are just there. You can chose to run around together or not. These other people just drift in and out in the game, all on their own journey. After I completed the game a second time, I had spent longer enjoying the amazing music and the astonishing visuals through the game. I put it away and didn't play for a while.

Then some time later, I learned there was such thing as players called "white cloaks". I wanted to see one, so I went again into the game and meandered around online. I met one who was on their journey, and decided to play through the game with them. We had so much fun working together. We had no way to communicate, we just had to use our intuition. We completed the game together, and it was almost a shocking moment for me. This game and it's meaning are so much deeper than one can understand on the first play through. The older you are, the more the meaning of this game will touch you.

After working for a while, I finally found all the hidden symbols in the game, and became a white cloak as well. My red garment turns white when I play, and my scarf regenerates itself, letting me fly for longer periods of time. While the game itself is short, it's got enough content for several play throughs. There is an incredibly deep meaning to the Journey, it's what the journey stands for. It's who you meet along the way, and your choices of whether to go alone, or take the journey with someone else. You can't "die" in the game as others have mentioned, but that's because it would defeat the meaning of the game. I agree with what others have said. Play this game alone (not offline, just alone at your home without distractions of other people around), on the best TV you have, with the best sound and in a dark room or in the evening. You will get the best visuals from the game, and have a better environment for contemplating the full meaning of the game. There is much depth to be found in it's simplicity.

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I was cautiously optimistic as I prepared to play Journey for the first time. There were so many glowing reviews by game journalists that I could not discount its quality, however I wasn't completely convinced of its greatness and so approached it with hope and a slight amount of pessimism.

There have been many defining moments with video games that I've experienced in my life. The joy and wonder of discovering likes of Pac Man and Centipede in the arcade as a five-year-old. As I grew up and video games changed, my horizons opened up with the possibility for adventure in The Legend of Zelda on the NES. Super Mario Brothers, Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Doom and Half Life. Each of these represented major evolutional steps in video games. Exploration, adventure, 3D worlds, immersion, storytelling. I look back fondly on all of those experiences but in doing so realized that as the years have gone by these types of moments came with less frequency and impact. I love games such as Mario Galaxy, Red Dead Redemption and Skyrim. I can appreciate the mind-blowing quality and depth of these games but they don't stack up to the experiences of my youth with, arguably, vastly inferior games.

It only took a short time with Journey to come to the realization that I was experiencing something that I had been missing for many years. Chills ran down my spine. My pulse quickened. I was enthralled. It was not immediate but grew like a wave, building slowly and consistently until the wave broke in a crescendo that was moving and awe-inspiring that left me speechless and teary-eyed. I had not been affected like this in years and perhaps ever.

Journey is an experience that is a privilege to partake in. It evokes a range of emotions from joy and wonder to fear and heartbreak. The visuals are a sight to behold. It is simple, but not simplistic. It will make you ponder life, friendship, love, loss and triumph. Journey deserves to be experienced.

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I just played through Journey and that was the most amazing gaming experience I've ever had. When I started, it was pretty cool but nothing mind blowing but you just keep going and somehow it turns into this really awesome experience. By the end, I had tears streaming down my face and I'm choking up and I'm 40 yrs old and my main game of choice is Gears of War. Absolutely amazing.

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Being a person who is detrimentally opposed to purchasing any and all digital content it killed me to not play these games so I overjoyed at finally being able to buy a physical copy of these games and I did so without hesitation. I can only comment on the 3 main games as of now since I haven't checked out the bonus content or the mini games yet and waiting till I have finished and satisfied with the 3 main releases in this collection.

Flower: An absolute joy to play. It has been decades since I played a game and found myself smiling and actually feeling happy playing it. It's such a simple game with no spoken dialogue, no words, no context given or anything. You use one button essentially, have the visuals and music throughout the game and nothing more. I found something akin back to a Disney movie of sorts about good and evil that is told so subtly that its mind boggling as to how they told a story that is barely there using so little and having such an effect on me. I played the game twice and had just as much fun the second time. Its a very soothing game, very peaceful and yet instills a sense of dread at certain points.

Journey: Like so many others, it made me cry at the end. I can't explain why or how but I just felt a surge of happiness that it made me tear up right at the last section of the game. Again it told this story using very little at all beyond just images and interpretation. Although this game seemed to have more story to it. Sadly I can't go into details without spoiling anything, but once you play it you will see what I mean. Wonder, happiness, sadness, danger, loneliness and excitement were feelings I had when playing this game. I played it twice but I'm holding off as I don't want to overdue, this will be a game I come back to again soon but I don't want to wear out its welcome.

Flow: Not a terrible game but just not something I enjoyed. It was fun, interesting and different. But it just felt unfinished and the controls left something to be desired. I didn't hate it by any means but it just didn't resound with me the way the other 2 games did. This was also their first game so growing pains are to be expected and you can definitely see they made a huge leap in their skills when making flower and further polishing themselves with journey.

All in all I can't recommend this collection enough. For 30 bucks purchasing it new shouldn't be a problem because I got more out of these for 30 bucks than I have spending 500 bucks on big name games from the past 2 or 3 years. I reminded me of why I love games like I did when I was a kid instead of just spending 60 bucks on brand x AAA title of the month and going through the motions only to finish it and forgetting most of what I just played. Not to mention your measly 30 bucks will support this amazing developer and keep them making more great titles.