Journey 4+

The first time I played Dune on PS4 was very recently, and I honestly had a spiritual experience, a first for me with a video game. The visuals and gameplay are so simplistic but even without any writing or dialogue they tell a very moving story, with a dreamlike sense of sacredness and a deep touch of humanity on a desolate alien world. The multiplayer aspect of the game is what really binds you to the experience, in my opinion.

On this iOS version, you’ll find the multiplayer experience is lacking. I’m not sure why, but you simply can’t find another player to travel with you for the entire length of the journey. It may just be that because this is a mobile platform, people are swiping the app off in the middle of things, although I can’t see this being a “pick up, play, put down” kind of game, so I’m guessing it’s a connectivity issue. This is an older game with kind of a niche following so I can see why, with “Sky: Children of Light” doing so well now, Journey is a low priority, or maybe there is some issue that makes multiplayer of this kind harder on iOS for reasons I wouldn’t understand as a layperson.

Journey gets 5 stars for PlayStation, and I could easily say 10/5 stars, but 4 stars from me for iOS because you typically lose the companionship aspect of the gameplay.

A really enjoyable game. There can be so much toxic behavior in the gaming world sometimes, but this isn’t that kind of game. I feel lonely very often, and don’t often see friends or socialize; I didn’t know this game had multiplayer when I started playing it, and had played through it maybe six times alone, so I was quite shocked when I ran into someone. See, I have a disability; I cannot feel my hands, and the muscles in my fingers don’t work, but the player I ran into patiently helped me and stayed with me even though I am very clumsy, and repeatedly fell off of a tall structure at one point. We had to start over many times because of me before we succeeded, and it would be very understandable if it was frustrating for them, since they wouldn’t know why I was struggling with certain things that would probably have been much easier if my hands worked, and yet they still played through that part with me.

After reading more about it, I know this game’s designers intended for their to be an emotional connection bond/connection formed between anonymous players who run into each other, and that the lack of text or speech comms is meant to add to that, and for me, that was an incredibly powerful experience. Also, it’s pretty cool that if I can play this game on iOS, then it is probably pretty accessible for other players with motor disabilities that affect their hands.