Why Journey Should Be Game Of The Year

Kotaku - The first time I played Journey, I thought, "Okay."

It had been a lovely experience, sure. I'd played it to around the halfway mark, taken a short break, then finished it. It seemed very nice. Remarkably pretty, and with a gorgeous soundtrack. Past that, I couldn't quite nail it down.

The second time I played Journey, I thought, "That was one of the most beautiful video games I've ever played."
I guess I just needed some perspective. Journey is the rare game that exists as a coherent whole, a fully-realized work in which each fifteen-minute chunk of its two-hour runtime is equally important. Because of that, it's a rare game that needs to be taken and digested as a single entity.

[-Mezzo-]

Moe, Rage and redDevil can explain better.

I bought it last week during the Holiday sale, will definitely start playing it today, i sure hope it lives upto all the GOTY Awards.

[LOGICWINS]

The reason it got all those GOTY awards is because it drew in people who aren't gamers and showed that creativity can trump bigger budget high production value titles. If GOTY is judged on what game demonstrated the biggest milestone for the industry, then yeah, I suppose Journey or the Walking Dead would be appropriate.

But if GOTY is judged by what game offered the most flawless, wildly entertaining experience then maybe Borderlands 2 would've been more appropriate.

[GamersRulz]

I disagree with you. Journey got all those GOTY awards simply because it was THE BEST in 2012.

you are trying too hard to downplay Journey's achievements.

[LOGICWINS]

Not downplaying anything. I'm giving it credit where its due. Didn't you read the first half of my comment?

[MultiConsoleGamer]

It's definitely at the top of my list.

[NeverEnding1989]

Great game, but sorry, anything that takes 2hrs to beat cannot be considered GOTY. Maybe DLC of the year.

I know this generation has seen a sharp decrease in singleplayer campaign/story mode. But come on, are we really going to support 2-3hr game lengths? I thought 8-10hrs was the bare minimum? Journey is one of my favourite games of the year, I just can't compare it to...more complete games.

IMO GOTY is a toss up between Walking Dead and Halo 4.

[zgoldenlionz]

I'd say if it's an amazing 2-3hrs then yeah it can be.

[LOGICWINS]

Doesn't matter. For some, a 2-3 hour game will not satisfy them to the point that they would call it their GOTY..despite the quality of the experience. Everyones different.

[Ezz2013]

halo 4 is 5 hours long on hard
i only played it once on hard and that what it took me to finish

[Quiescent]

Marshmallows

[Enemy]

It's already the most awarded game of 2012. Nothing compares, already leagues ahead. Even when the PS3 isn't putting out AAA games like Uncharted, Sony still manages to put out yet another game of the year through PSN.

Next up: The Last of Us GOTY 2013

[LOGICWINS]

By your logic, Avatar is leagues ahead of every other movie in the past decade simply because its the most awarded. For every publicized GOTY pick you see on the net, there are thousands of other GOTY picks from gamers that you will never hear about.

[Enemy]

Actually, Avatar was hated on by pretty much everyone and wasn't even nominated for an oscar or anything, if I recall correctly. You're talking sales here. Try again.

[specsmatter]

So true the word innovating and setting benchmarks in gaming software always goes hand and hand with a Sony game whether it be a high budget production or not. And ppl on here hate that to the core!!!!!!! So many innovative software titles on Ps3!!!!!

[xursz]

WHAT?! Try yelling louder!!!!!

[YodaCracker]

It's also not the most awarded. The Walking Dead is well in the lead at the moment and Dishonored is tied with Journey for GOTY awards.

http://gotypicks.blogspot.c...

[Lvl_up_gamer]

OUCH.

Looks like Yodacracker just gave you a hard dose of facts....must be much harder to swallow then your made up fantasies.

I guess The Walking Dead doesn't compare to Journey...it's better.

[xursz]

I've beaten this game probably more than 5 times in one sitting exploring every single nook and cranny and even met some compelling people along the way who've "thanked" me for the Journey.

No matter what anyone says the Journey is marvelous from beginning to end.

edit:
Wait, did i just read a well written piece from... Kotaku...?

[Sidewinder-]

Wasn't this the same site that said something along the lines of:

"I didn't realise it was multiplayer till after finishing the game"?

[RandomDude655]

Kotaku is a glorified blog, so it was probably a different blogger

[Redempteur]

except that can happen to a lot of players

[Number-Nine]

I really don't see how this game is considered one of the best games this generation. Art and Score were great but it did nothing exceptional.

I didn't experience that "emotional" aspect when playing Journey.

Not going to knock the people who made it their GoTY though. Even thought I personally don't see it, it's nice to see a couple of Indie games get these honors.