Dear Esther

This is so completely different from anything on my plate. A very simple experience to take in (there is no jump button, no running, no guns or interactions), a buttons press will zoom in your camera on whatever you're looking at. At times beautiful, calming, and eerie. Just played through the first chapter walking around hearing the stuff Old White Man has to say. Visually it can impress, but there are some bits and pieces where you see the limitations of the Source Engine. The game has a weird rendering effect going on, I thought it was a janky field of view, but it looks intentional at how askew you see the island you're walking about in. I'm liking what I've experienced so far, but I'm not going to say anymore and spoil it.

While playing this it reminded me of that one project the Flower/Flow team is currently working on. I look on Giant Bomb and their project is coming out on my birthday, hell yeah. I hope Journey delivers on a unique experience when that hits in a month.

This, along with Portal 2, are serving as technical training wheels for my wife who cannot adapt to dual analog first person maneuvering. She's okay with third person/isometric rpg/hacknslashers but gets frustrated when trying Skyrim or BioShock. I was surprised to see 360 controller support so I plugged her in for the night. She did the first two chapters while I was psp'ing it up. Not too long into it she asked me if I got one of those 3d computer monitors; she also picked up on how the craggy rock faces jump out of the screen when you're walking around.

I'm hesitant to call this a game because there are no intrinsic systems you are trying to beat. Of which doesn't deter from the value or price of admission of this project. This is just interactive narratives tied together by well crafted level design, event triggers tied to a random script generator for the story cues; Bastion without the hammer swinging or gun shooting. One thing that does stick out is that the Source Engine still has legs in it, if left in capable hands (so where the fuck is the next half-life valve?); E.Y.E. was so boxy and almost Unreal 2004 feeling, which made up for its visual shortcomings with the deeper deus exy systems under the hood.

That's one thing people need to be aware of should they decide to try this out - you're not getting a Myst or an Amnesia - this is a slower paced adventure without the combine the gerbil with the cactus to unlock weeping owl clock mechanics, there are none. Anyone who tries to review this as a game is a fool - and its unfortunate that they even categorize this as a game on the steam store page. The timing of this release, coinciding with the lame internet drama of the Mass Effect writer who was misquoted, this is the kind of experience she would probably like. A narrative without the gunplay or point allocations, the stress. The financial success of the project is nice to see. There is plenty of room for things beyond standard spray lead from the hip shooters. On a professional level its nice to see other people doing things different and finding success/recognition for their work...another indicator for bigger publishers and beancounters to trust their developers to deliver braver or at least original projects, but still that's more wishful thinking at this stage to be honest.