YMMV / Journey (2012)

• Awesome Music: Yes, it's good enough to stand on the same page as the band Journey. It plays on a recurring motif that can be heard in its simplest form in "Nascence", the first song, and at its most awe-inspiring in "Apotheosis", the very last song.
  • While all the music you hear throughout is amazing, the ending credits song "I Was Born For This" just tops them all. You can listen to it here.
  • Now has the honour of being the very first videogame soundtrack ever to be nominated for a Grammy Award! And not just some small obscure award either, it got nominated for Best Score, placing Austin Wintory amongst heavyweights like John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore and Trent Reznor. Not to mention that to be recognized alongside the former was also a lifelong dream of Wintory's.
• Awesome Video Game Levels: The Apotheosis stage and the level with the sandsurfing are the most likely to be brought up in conversation on forums, for nothing but the sheer levels of Scenery Porn and Shocking Moments they contain.
• Breather Level: The Temple is a perfectly safe location wedged in-between two patrolled by the War Machines. Not to mention that it is literally overflowing with energy.
• Catharsis Factor: The makers of the game specifically said that they set themselves the challenge of crafting a game that was capable of generating catharsis.
• Fan Nickname: Several, but one example would be "Gary the Scarf", named for a scarf attached to the ground at the end of the fifth chapter.
• Goddamned Bats: The flying war machines. They can knock you miles away when you're trying to go somewhere else.
• Hype Backlash: Its winning of several major game of the year awards has not been met with blanket enthusiasm. Many commenters are accusing the writers of pandering to gaming hipsters and bringing up the It's Short, So It Sucks! arguments.
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: Costs $15 and you will most likely finish it in one sitting, but what a sitting that is.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • For a game that up until that point is nothing but pleasant, the war machines making their first appearance by bursting out of the sand completely without any warning is responsible for quite a few pairs of soiled pants. And the subsequent stealth-sections are almost worse. It's even worse because their eyes look like the little symbols that make your scarf longer from a distance, and if you run towards them and don't realize what they are until it's too late there's no time for you to get away.
  • And after the first one pops out of hiding, realizing that there are dozens sitting immobile, any of which could come alive at any time. Especially nightmarish when a second one activates halfway through the level.
  • It can also be upsetting when you have a companion that is spotted by the war machines, because once they find your friend, the only thing you can do is watch in horror as they are attacked. That's right, you have no way to help your friend.
• Spiritual Successor: The minimalist adventure style seems similar to ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. Then Journey got its own in ABZÛ.
• That One Achievement: The "Companion" achievement requires playing through most of the game with the same companion, "most" in this context meaning at least from the Underground Passage to the end. The game is short enough to pull this off easily if you get a companion that sticks around, but the co-op system leaves no way to coordinate this and you have no guarantee that the other player will be able to stick around due to your shared internet connection. You won't know that you've done it until you've watched the credits.