Wow.
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This is the only word I managed to get out after I finished what the Journey beta had to offer. To figure out what I just played, I went through it again. And again. And again. I managed to get 4 whole playthroughs in a day's time, and I still want to play it again. Journey is unique. It's the strangest, and most unique game I have ever played. It's also the easiest, and at the same time, hardest game I've ever had to describe. You'll have to bear with me here. I may go off on a tangent completely unrelated to the topic I'm on, or I may abruptly end a topic to move on. I'll just go about handling my impressions as I would playing in a Call of Duty multiplayer match; twitchy, and with no clear way of going about things. So, here we go..
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When I first started up the beta, I was greeted (after a few updates) by music that immediately caught my attention. It was the most calming music I had ever heard. The music sets your mood right up. When I heard it, I knew I couldn't play this the same way I play other games. I actually wanted to take my time with it. And that's exactly what I did (The first playthrough of the beta took me about an hour and a half. It normally lasts about 30 minutes). I spent a majority of that time just admiring the visuals. The graphics are very cartoony - but not in the traditional way. For anyone that likes anime, I would liken the visuals to one of my favorite movies; Spirited Away. A stark contrast to the barren wasteland around you. The sand. The sand really surprised me. As you're walking (or running) through the desert, the sand reacts very well. You leave a trail, kick out a wave ahead of your steps, and anything you'd expect sand to do when you walk through it. In the 3 levels the beta has to offer, the second was my favorite.
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As pictured above, the second level is pretty self-explanatory. You need to cross the high bridge that has decayed over time. To do this, you need to use banners. This part is hard to explain, so again, bear with me here. There are flags across the ground under the bridge, and you need to sing to release them. Singing is a pretty big part of the gameplay. You need to sing to get parts of the story together, to release flags, and to fly. The flags are also important. On your back is a scarf (seen in the first two pictures), this scarf acts as your stamina meter. It allows you to jump, fly, and glide. As you do these things, your scarf dulls out, and loses the markings (the 'meter' part of the meter) written on it. To gain back stamina, you need to get to flags. These float about through the levels, and are pretty easy to get to (though I wouldn't doubt if they became more scarce the farther you progress through the game). They fill back up your meter and allow you to fly again. There are a few different types of flags in the beta; the plain ol' ones that restore stamina, the banner-type flags that release more little flags, and golden flags that increase your stamina. As you find more golden flags, your scarf gets longer, letting you fly longer as a result.
So as I release these flags, creating a bridge to cross the gaps, I notice something. There's wind! The wind is very dynamic (from what I could tell), and it seemed to be random in its gusts. But when it did gust, I tried something. As the gusts hit, the sand rolls with the wind, so I run with the wind, and I moved quite a bit faster, sliding along the sand. Over dunes, I slid, and rolled with the wind. It was the most fun I've had in a video game in a long time.
That says a lot for Journey. ThatGameCompany pulled off something extraordinary. They made the simplest things the most fun.
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So as I'm about to stop playing this beta, I start to turn off my PS3, and I notice something in-game. Movement in the distance. I didn't notice that before, so I go to investigate. I walk along the sand, quietly admiring it even more, and as I get closer, I notice this movement looked familiar. It was another player! As he saw me, we both started jumping, and spamming the singing button (it wasn't as annoying as it sounds). So we hung out, not being able to communicate at all, and yet we knew what we were saying. The singing is like the ping tool in Portal 2. You use it to communicate. And even though you can't visually point somewhere, you can still basically understand what they're saying. So as we release these flags, and cross the bridge, we finish the level. We decide to stay together, so we move on. The next level shows off the sand wonderfully, along with a few more story elements that I'm still trying to understand. As we hit the first /real/ platforming level, the beta ends.
I can't give the story any time, mostly because I really don't know what's happening! It's explained through tapestries, given to you by spirit-like beings. Sound confusing? It actually is. I still don't really know much about the story, even having played through it about 4 times.
TL;DR?
The Journey beta is a lot of fun. ThatGameCompany pulled off everything right so far, I'll definitely be buying this game in the first week. The visuals are a perfect fit to the type of game, and are gorgeous to look at. The sand is very dynamic, and (IMO) looks much better than Uncharted 3's sand (from what we've seen of it so far). The music score also fit perfectly, and is insanely calming. The co-op experience is really unique, and I can't wait to see how it's used in later levels.
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