This article originally ran under a different banner/website in June of 2020 and is now being here re-uploaded for purposes of convenience and consolidation. Please enjoy.
I loaded into Journey to a sea of sand. Hills rising and falling across the land. I made my way up the hills as a somber violin plays in the background. The sand crinkles beneath my feet as I press forward. I noted my character dawning a large red cloak imbued with golden signatures and almost toothpick-sized legs jutting out under the cloak. I gazed across the golden landscape to see a towering mountain with a beam of light erecting from the top. My intuition told me that the top of the mountain must be my destination. I slid down the hill like a snowboarder descending the mountain. I soon discovered some ruins containing some floating pieces of fabric. With a small chirp, the fabric swirled around me engulfing me in light. The light-infused into my cloak causing it to glow signaling my newfound ability to float in the air for a brief moment. I began to leap into the air to come floating down to the ground and sliding along the sand as I touched down. I knew this ability would help me traverse the barren desert with ease. Cheerful with my new power, I pressed on.
I happened upon more ruins. I spotted a stream of fabrics swaying around at the top of a sunken ruin. I climbed to the top to investigate the sight and with another cheerful chirp, the streams of fabric opened to release a river of floating fabrics into the sky. A quick chirp soon caused those same floating fabrics to swirl around me and imbue me light allowing me to float to the next platforms. Crossing this platform led me to another sea of sand and platforms jutting out of the sand. I also noticed the streams of fabric jutting out of the sand. I wandered over to learn merely touching these streams caused a pathway to form between two of the platforms. The task seemed simple, but I noticed something off in the distance that caught my curiosity.
On the other side of the sea of sand, stood another Traveler. Dressed in the same robes as me. Performing the same tasks as me. They had seemed to have already connected the platforms at the other end of the path. He greeted me with a friendly chirp. I replied with a chirp of my own. He soon jetted up into the sky and quickly chirped at me almost to say “Follow me, I know the way.” I pressed on with my new companion.
My new partner seemed to be trying to reach the same mountain top as I was. We journeyed through the bodies of sands, unlocking more means to float above the golden sea below. We were able to discover these rug-like creatures that would chirp and float alongside us. A feeling of peace washed over me as my partner and I were making it through the long stretch of sand with ease.
As we continued along our trek, we reached a massive downslide. I eagerly jumped down anticipating the rush as I raced down the mountain. My mind briefly flashed back to SSX Tricky as sliding down the summit of sand left like snowboarding down a snow-covered mountain. However, when I looked back to see how well my partner was surfing, I saw nothing. They were no longer by my side. Unsure if I raced ahead or they fell behind, a feeling of loneliness crept in. A scenery of glowing architecture against the setting sun only highlighted the loneliness, as I longed to share these moments with the friend I had only made a few minutes ago.
I soon landed, in a cold, dark pit. The gold hue of the light against the sun had been replaced with a dark blue color that only helped the creeping scene of isolation sink in. It wasn’t until I saw a faint glow of light and heard a small chirp did I feel relieved. My partner had finally caught back up. Their light-filled me with a sense of comfort. We pressed on into the darkness. As we entered a large empty tomb, a monstrous machine groaned with life. A red beam of light from his one eye scanning for intruders. Dread filled the hole that loneliness had left behind. My partner, seemingly unfazed by this brute, gave a small chirp to signal to follow them. It almost seemed like they were appearing to say “take my hand, I will show you the way.” I trustingly followed my new friend’s guidance and was able to safely avoid the beast’s gaze.
The smooth soft sand soon became frigid snow beneath our feet. The top of the mountain was closer than ever before, but the perils seemed to be much harsher. The blinding wind seemed to be draining the light from our cloaks. Fearful that losing all our light would mean the end, I did the one thing I could do to stop the light bleeding from us: stand beside my new friend. They gave another chirp to signal they knew the way. I struggled against the wind as it attempted to separate the two of us. I tirelessly followed my partner as they ducked behind rocks when the winds became too much. It seemed like we were going to make it through the binding cold until one strong gust of wind blew me off a platform we were standing on. Panic rushed through me as the light was draining from me and my partner. I hurried to catch back up to them, but the damage was done. The harsher winds meant the light was not returning even when I was standing next to my partner. We attempted to carry on but the winds seemed to be too much as we both slowly fell to the ground. Guilt rushed over me knowing that I not only failed myself but my newfound friend.
We both awoke to a sea of vibrant colors. The sky a bright hue of blue painted against the crisp white snow. Millions of red and golden fabrics fluttering throughout the sky. They led us up the mountain. The higher we climbed the more lush colors we were greeted with. An orchestra of stringed instruments played as we climbed higher and higher until we had finally made it. We had finally made it to the light on top of the mountain. We chirped in excitement one last time. As we walked in the light, I was hit with a flood of emotions. I was grateful my new friend could join me, but sadden our time together was coming to end. I could have stopped and tried to buy more time. However, I knew that wasn’t the point, our time together was about working together along this journey we were both on.
Many might know that Journey is often classified as a walking simulator. A genre often sneered at for being light on gameplay and challenge in exchange for a story. While Journey does give some background into the lore of the Travelers characters, it is not focused on telling a traditional narrative. Rather, the focus is on the story of you and your partner. When Journey was first released on the PS4, players assumed that their partner was a clever AI. However, it was soon revealed that Journey is a co-op game in disguise. While knowing that twist doesn’t seem to diminish my enjoyment of Journey, it does call into question my view of multiplayer games. I generally don’t enjoy multiplayer games because they show how cruel we can be when we can all be anonymous. However, Journey was able to show how much I could care for someone even with that anonymity. I cared more about helping this player who I will never know, more than the countless usernames I have encountered in my endless hours in League of Legends or Team Fortress 2. It shows that we are all trying to reach the top of some mountain and we can do it with each other’s help. A message that almost feels lost in today’s world. Maybe this artsy walking simulator is just the game, this world needs right now. Maybe we all need to take that Journey.
