Annapurna Interactive announced the June 11th date today and I’m honestly excited even though I’ve played the 2ish hour game many times over. If you aren’t familiar, Journey is short and very pretty adventure game set in a mysterious desert. Your faceless, hooded protagonist collects bits to their shiny cloak that allow them to fly about solving light puzzles as they learn the fate of their fellow robed folks. It’s a quiet game, told with emotional music instead of any voice over. There are cloth creatures that behave like friendly dolphins and whales. There’s a mournful cello, sun glinting off the sand at sunset, and just a couple stressful, spooky monster encounters. It’s grand, really.
One of Journey’s best bits is its multiplayer. Journey doesn’t allow any voice or text communication, so players can only attempt to address one another with the little melodic chirps of their characters. You can’t intentionally match with others either. If you play online, you’re randomly matched with another player. You may choose to stick with your partner or you may fly off solo. Most times, I’ve found folks enjoy having a partner until the end if they’re able, only seeing one another’s usernames in the end credits. Although I had my fair share of online companions when I played its Epic store debut last year, I suspect that a Steam release will introduce even more new travelers to the world. I’ll be quite glad to show some new folks my favorite secrets and tricks. You can wishlist Journey on Steam until it launches on June 11th. It’s currently available on the Epic Store.
