As we reported last week, the acclaimed indie adventure game Journey from thatgamecompany has made its way to the iOS platform. It is regarded by many as one of the best PlayStation games ever, so you have to wonder, how does the experience translate to the touchscreen? Let's have a look:
In the game, you will play the role of a robed character discovering a vast desert, and your task is conquering that mountain that you see immediately as you begin to play the game.
The game's story takes places via several cutscenes spread across the experience without any voices, and the gameplay plays a vital role in piecing together the narrative. Since people interpret things in different ways, each will have their own feeling about this one.
Journey is often compared to many other games such as ABZU and Giant Squid, but it does have many advantages over those. For one, it addresses the overall narrative far better than others despite its vague structure. The touch controls of the game seem more okay. And particularly, players can have different options to choose from on framerate and resolution with the system settings on iOS though the game's setting only comes with some control options.
That said, there are some drawbacks as well. One of the game's later parts feel rather tacked on and breaks the flow of the narrative - we won't spoil things, but you'll know when you get to that part. All the mechanics of that area are just plain bad.
Moreover, this iOS version still comes without MFi controller support, which is surprising considering that it started out as a console title. The touch controls are fine for the most part, but the camera might be a big issue for some players as its movement is sometimes very erratic at the beginning. We'd advise you to adjust the setting and experiment with the movement of your camera by using the right virtual analog stick. This will be extremely helpful later on when the game pace gets faster, or when you encounter a challenging platforming section.
Aside from that minor complaint, though, our experience with 'Journey' has been a really enjoyable one.
Firstly, the game is absolutely stunning, even when running on an older device such as an iPad Air 2 - although you might encounter some occasional freezing. We tried to play the game on various iOS platforms and found that it runs smoothly on iPhone 7 and iPad Pro. Notably, it even supports higher refresh rates up to 120 fps if your device is equipped with it.
Secondly, the game's sound design is wonderful. This feature allows you to communicate with your in-pair players via an audio signal or a single sound. The in-game sound is brilliantly done and keeps bringing you a mystery vibe while you are traversing this vast world. We've found that this iOS port has some issues on certain devices however. For example, while playing on iPad Air 2, the sound was randomly cut out or jerked around while this never happens on iPhone 7 or iPad Pro.
Multiplayer is supported as well, but it doesn't follow the traditional formula where you simply invite a friend to play with you. Thereby, you will be in pairs randomly with strangers via the Game Center. With this pairing function, players can communicate via an audio signal and support each other in some cases.
Finally, 'Journey' on iOS even provides players with iCloud save support.
As for the pricing, iOS games are usually more affordable than their console or PC counterparts, and ‘Journey’ at 4.99$ is an excellent price for you. It's worth noting, though, that this game is mostly a once and done experience for the most part. A lot of people still replay it to find out secrets. However, the magic is usually in the first playthrough, so it might no longer be as exciting for the second time.
Overall, if you have never played 'Journey' before, you should try it on your iOS devices. It is a stunning game with outstanding features at an affordable price. In case you played the game on other platforms like PS or PC, get it only if you want a portable version that you can take with you and enjoy on the go.
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