The Journey Might be Important, but Having a Destination Doesn't Hurt

As I said last week, I got Flow as part of a 3-pack of games because I really wanted to play Journey. And play it I did.

You start in a desert. Behind you. . .is more desert. Ahead of you is. . .more desert. But also a mountain! A gleaming light shines in a narrow slot that splits the peak in two. That's where you gotta go, with your character, a vague shape in red robes. One of the first things you see, besides a bunch of odd markers sticking out of the sand, is a platform with little carpets or rectangles of fabric fluttering around. You get a scarf there, and it allows a limited amount of flight or hovering before it's drained. The flying fabrics can recharge it, and you can sort of call to them with a button press that makes you emit a chime. This can also be used to reveal murals that detail either the path ahead, or the history of this place.

Other than the chimes and the music, the game is silent. You can make the chime sound whenever, even if there's nothing around to respond. Maybe you just wanna make some noise. You're along out there, who's gonna complain? Your character reaches altars at the end of levels, where you commune with a giant, white-robed figure whose face (or mask) kind of reminds me of an owl. You get to see a visual representation of things, but no dialogue, no subtitles. Take from the scenes what you wish.

Most of the levels let you proceed at your own pace. There are limits to how far you can wander afield, but you aren't rushed. Go on, investigate that shadow you saw in the distance. Maybe it's ruins, maybe it's another mural, maybe it's nothing, a trick of the light. Happened to me a couple of times, pressing through the dunes to find nothing at all.

Maybe it's a metal box caging more of the little fabric pieces that will help you on your way by forming a bridge or extending the length of your scarf. If there's a limit to how long it can be, I didn't find it. Journey is very mellow in those moments. When you use the scarf to fly, your character does a barrel roll with a little flourish and their cloak flaps around them. It's a neat little touch, I really like that. it makes me want to keep flying for as long as I can.

There are larger creatures of fabric, like carpets or jellyfish or even dragons later on, that you can hitch a ride on. So if you want to just sit back and let them cruise for a bit, go for it. If you're flying, and you stay close to those creatures, they'll keep your scarf charged and you can just keep going (as long as you're OK going the direction they're going.)

Or you can keep the mountain in the center of your vision and go straight for it.

The game does change things up. One level is an extended slide down a massive sandy slope, with branching paths and ledges to do high-speed jumps from. Doesn't lend itself to nosing around, but it's fun. A nice run down the hill, leaping off ramps and using the scarf to fly for a while, then drop back down to resume the slide. There's an extended bit near the end where the perspective switches so you're sliding right to left, with the sun in the background setting amid the remains of the city, making the sand glitter like gold.

In the later stages, as you climb the mountain, the frigid temperatures sap the energy from your scarf. You're reduced to slowly plodding through snow drifts as ice accumulates on your robes. It was an odd shift, to take away the mobility, make it a matter of how badly you want to keep going now that it's a grind. Adds an element of a pilgrimage or a quest to the journey, instead of simply a fun adventure.

There's one particular enemy, a flying, mechanical snake thing you encountered earlier that makes a return among the snow. Except now the ability to escape is gone. It's a game of hide-and-seek, watching its flight pattern, waiting for the chance to make it to the next bit of cover. I don't know what happens if it catches you. I didn't really want to find out, so the tension might have been self-inflicted, but it worked. I was trying to urge my character to walk just a little faster, cursing the game each time the wind picked up to the point I made no headway. It does make the very end, when you take flight again, all the sweeter.

Like Flow, not a lengthy game. I reached the end on my second time playing, and I hadn't been playing long the second time. I know I didn't find everything, and if you play again, the game gives the option to warp ahead to other places. I wish I'd known that before I walked into that floating image. I just thought it was an opportunity to commune with the god that I'd missed the first time around. Instead I was back in the snow. Whoops.