thatgamecompanys Journey Gets Perfect Review Scores

Sony has finally lifted its review embargo for Journey, which is slated for release on March 13 exclusive to the PlayStation 3.

The game, which was developed by Flower creators ThatGameCompany, is a new multiplayer experience where unnamed players adventure alone or are paired up with another in a sandy, anonymized environment.

The game has met the cut from UK's game reviewers, who awarded it a perfect 10. Among the reviews to first hit the web are TheSixthAxis, the Official PlayStation Magazine UK, and SPOnG. The game is slated for release in the UK on March 14, a day ahead of the US.

The review embargo for Journey in the US has yet to be lifted.

10

officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk review
It’s one of the few games you’ll genuinely reflect on after completion, and an object lesson in how less can be more when it comes to crafting narrative and eliciting investment. This is a game about which I would change nothing, and I can’t remember having said that too many times before.
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10

shoptonews.net review
To say that Journey isn’t unique would be a complete lie, the game offers a completely different experience for each type of player. The solo player can explore and take their time with the game, whereas a group of players can tackle the game together, there is something special about this simple format of play. ThatGameCompany is following in the footsteps of Naughty Dog by creating some of the most impressive sand and terrain effects I have seen in a game, and certainly the best I have seen in a downloadable title. Journey is the Fantasia of the gaming world, it is bright, it is fun and overall it is an experience not to be missed.
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10

godisageek.com review
VERDICT: Is Journey for everybody? Maybe not. However, critics of the studio’s previous efforts will find it more appealing as it’s one of their more “gamey” works. Journey, at its core is something that everyone should play. It is an experience like no other, and it is worthy of the word “experience”. The wonderful lighting, the fantastic sound cues, simple gameplay and the unrelenting beauty only add to the fairytale. All of these things are the reasons why Journey is one of the best games you’ll play all year, if not your entire life.
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10

spong.com review
Journey is ThatGameCompany’s finest achievement. The gameplay is gripping, the premise (or lack of it) is incredibly exciting and the dazzling spectacle of the world around you gives you a genuine sense of wonder and joy. A truly fantastic example of interactive entertainment, and a title that every gamer worth their salt needs to play.
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10

thesixthaxis.com review
Allegory and metaphors in games of this ilk are mostly, intentionally or not, subjective, but Journey for me is simple and defined without any ambiguity: we all have a simple beginning and a simpler end and are – as the nondescript, universal cloak the character wears throughout demonstrate – all created equal. It’s who we meet and what we do along the way with those people that matters above anything else.
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10

gamerevolution.com review
So what else do I say? You'd pay more at the movie theater for an experience like Journey. You'd pay even more for a Blu-ray you can watch over and over at home on your PS3. As a development studio, thatgamecompany has transcended the typically meaningless bullshit gamers consume on a day-to-day basis. They've created a piece of moving, living, breathing artwork, that tells a story, and deeply involves players in its pages.
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10

giantbomb.com review
Who is Journey for, then? It is for those that are able to lose themselves in the experience. That is perhaps a vague, nebulous recommendation, but that’s similarly the grand sum of Journey. It’s not a game you can easily pigeonhole into a specific genre or niche. There isn't an easy "if you like this, then you'll definitely like this" kind of comparison to be made. Perhaps the blandest description I can give for it is that it is a game made more to be felt and appreciated rather than simply consumed, as we so often tend to do with new games nowadays. Journey may be a game predicated on familiar mechanics and concepts, but what it does with them is something that borders on revelatory.
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10

guardian.co.uk review
Journey's visual and sound design sets new standards for interactive entertainment. This alone makes it an extraordinary work, but it's the way that these aesthetic elements come together with beautifully subtle direction and storytelling to create a lasting emotional effect that elevates this to one of the very best games of our time.
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10

totalplaystation.com review
Really, there i nothing more to say about the game. If you have even the slightest inkling that you want to play Journey, you should stop reading anything about it and set aside some time to play. I'd love to hear back from any of you about the experience, and I can assure you you'll want to talk about it. Games like this are what keeps me playing games in an industry often bankrupt in creativity.
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10

ugo.com review
There are such few games out there right now like Journey; it's really the antithesis of modern gaming and the spectacle really demands your attention. This is a quiet game, without traditional moments of conflict, that doesn't guide you around with any indication of what you should do. You just go and experience the game and take everything in. A friend recently asked me what PlayStation 3 exclusive titles this year were really worth getting; well, Journey is, and it's worth more than its sticker price in what it tries and succeeds wildly at doing.
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10

g4tv.com review
Other games depend heavily on the time you spend with a character to develop a demonstrative connection with them. This is the case with Fallout 3, Mass Effect 2, and myriad other games. However, in a mere hour and a half, Journey made more of an impact on my psyche than any game I have ever played. Honestly, I still don’t think Trent has quite recovered.
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10

psu.com review
Journey's storyline itself is an emotional roller coaster. After awakening in the middle of a desert, you come across and explore ancient ruins of a lost civilization. What happened to them? Where did they go? Why am I here? These are just some of the questions Journey’s narrative presents you with. After completing each level a “ghost” reveals to you a small portion of the lost ..
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10

vandal.net review
No Synopsis Available
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10

eurogamer.es review
No Synopsis Available
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10

eurogamer.pt review
No Synopsis Available
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10

escapistmagazine.com review
Journey is best experienced with someone at your side, but you might want to play a few times by yourself simply to stand around and gawk at the stunning imagery. This game understands the power of nuance - the way the sands shift under your feet or how your scarf flaps as you climb to the top of a ruin. Bits of fabric will come together to form fantastic creatures, a change in lighting will turn an otherwise unremarkable chamber into an underwater seascape. Journey is quietly beautiful, demanding your attention not by shouting at you, but by whispering. The game's soundtrack is as moving as its scenery - the cello solo that serves as the main theme is especially striking. Journey doesn't just want you to shlep through a bunch of wrecked buildings and sand, it wants you to feel the solitude of the empty spaces and discover the life still within.
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10

darkzero.co.uk review
The last thing I’d like to mention is the length of the title. Players expecting a 10-12 hour romp through the fantastically-designed locales of Journey’s world will be disappointed to know that the title lasts about two or so hours. Now, I certainly wouldn’t consider this a bad thing. Journey plays like a fantastic, riveting silent film and has the timespan of one. The only thing that disappoints me about this is leaving the sheer beauty of the world thatgamecompany has managed to craft. You’ll be happy to know that while I can’t divulge the plot of Journey to you, I can definitely tell you that it begins and ends in the title. There is no cliffhanger. There is nothing to keep you coming back for more besides the absolutely exquisite environments, the very-clean interface, solid controls, and Triple-A camera cutscenes.
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9.0

nowgamer.com review
Journey batters the senses through these moments, with each section of the pilgrimage introducing new puzzles and threats, and in around a listless hour and a half it’ll all be over. Some might feel short-changed, but while it lasts Journey manages to enthuse, excite and entertain in equal measure, and this is testament to the expertise of the developer.
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9.0

eurogamer.net review
Granted, thatgamecompany's done most of the work for you. The studio has poured the deserts, trashed the temples and filled the world with the floating presence of a nameless almighty. The truly brilliant move, though, was to leave a space at the very centre of the design that only a stranger can fill.
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8.3

beefjack.com review
But this is much more of a game than an interactive gallery like Dear Esther’s slow trudge from A to B. Journey is a gorgeous, captivating world you get to hang out in for a little while, to really feel you’ve accomplished something while you were there. It’s a cruelly short road trip, but a meaningful one, and the brief running time doesn’t stop it from being a truly epic.
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