Journey Stories

A space to collect the stories of companionship, sadness, and joy experienced while playing the videogame Journey, created by thatgamecompany and avaliable on the PS3 and PS4. Please submit your experiences to this blog! Fanworks, images, and music will also appear here as a complement to the tales told. WARNING: THIS BLOG CONTAINS SPOILERS! I highly recommend that readers play through the game for themselves at least once before reading about the experience. **IMPORTANT SUBMISSION RULE** Please do NOT submit stories using the 'fanmail' feature. Submit stories by clicking on 'submit' in the menu bar. Thank you! ***For Sky-related news and posts please head over to our sister blog Stories of Sky!***

[aravshetikolava]

I made a poster for the 6th anniversary journey event. if you love journey and want to meet a glitcher i advice you to learn how to faceplant and then attend it :D maybe you will meet some legendary player who will show you how absolutely crazy this game can be! or maybe you will meet me *wink wink*

(faceplant because a glitcher won’t take an unaware first run reddie to OOB)

[arsuf]

Journey + The White Robe

[journeystories]

Mentor, Guide, Friend

Having bought the game yesterday, and played through it pretty much on my own (I bumped into a couple of other travellers, but they seemed, understandably, very intent on their own journeys), I decided to play again and attempt to find someone to stay with for the entire story.  My second ever journey got off to an inauspicious start - not realising that the strange glowing portal which had appeared in the hub area was a chapter select option, I dived into it and was immediately transported to the Underground, bypassing several of my favourite parts of the game.  Disheartened, I was about to quit and restart when I noticed another red cloak - a fellow traveller, whose scarf was significantly longer than mine. They sang out when they saw me, and chirped happily when I sang back, and I decided then and there that it didn’t matter that I’d skipped levels, I was going to go from here with my new friend.  It turned out to be an excellent decision. My new companion obviously knew more of the game than I, but they were patient with me when I fell, spent time directing me to find glyphs I’d otherwise miss and, when the Guardian in the snow ripped the last of my scarf away, they came back for me and circled, chirping agitatedly, until I’d got back to my feet and reassured them I was alright.  We climbed through the blizzard together, chirping back and forth even as we froze and our voices died away to nothing. And then, when we were resurrected, we span and soared through the air in harmony, singing out joyfully as we ascended towards the light.  As we rested on the snowy plateau I drew a heart in the snow for them - a small, wordless ‘thank you’ for having guided me through - and we walked off into the light together, chirping to one another until we faded from view.  Thank you, fellow traveller. Your kindness, compassion and willingness to look after a new arrival made this new player’s day. 

[journeystories]

To Astro-gerbil,

Thank you for the most fun, relaxing, moving journey experience I’ve had in a very long time. I’m sorry I couldn’t figure out how to do the faceplant and kept bumping into things, but it was wonderful to be your companion.

Take care my friend, wherever you may go!

[assassinborn]

[pixelroux]

[pixelroux]

[pixelroux]

[journeystories]

Stories of Sky

Hi friends and followers,

Now that thatgamecompany’s next game Sky has been revealed, I have finally been able to make a new blog which will be dedicated to the new game. Since ‘skystories’ and every variation thereof have been taken, the new blog will be called Stories of Sky.

You can find it here: https://storiesofsky.tumblr.com/

I am hoping that Sky will generate the same sort of unique and emotional social experiences that Journey has, and so I anticipate running Stories of Sky in a similar way, heavily based on fan submissions and sharing of stories. However, this is of course still to be confirmed, so the new blog is subject to change depending on how the game actually turns out. The blog will likely be very quiet until Sky is actually released, save for news updates and whatever fanworks crop up, but in the meantime I would love for you all to head over there and follow it so we can hit the ground running. :) And don’t worry, Journey Stories is not going anywhere! Even though it is understandably quiet nowadays, I love and cherish this blog and have had a blast running it for the past five years. I will absolutely keep it running as long as people are still reading and submitting.

Anyway, see you all over at Stories of Sky, let’s get excited for a new adventure! :)

Your mod, Tamika (rose-fatale.tumblr.com)

[ellohcee]

Realized I had none of these up here so I wanted to share them. The first 3 are from 2013, the first image being my very first Journey fanart. The last one is from 2015, and I can honestly say it’s quite a difference.

Journey was really important for me when it first came out, I played through the game several days a week for a few weeks straight, sometimes twice in a day. It was kind of like… therapy for me? It’s hard to describe but it helped me through some problems during that time. It’s kind of lost that for me now, but I still play through it from time to time since it came out on PS4. 

[journeystories]

Thatgamecompany Announce New Game 'Sky'

TGC have finally released the name and details of their upcoming game, Sky, coming first to iOS.

http://m.au.ign.com/articles/2017/09/12/journey-developer-thatgamecompany-reveals-sky

Mod here is deeply hoping the game is only a timed exclusive and also coming to Android, so those of us who don't use Apple products can also play the game.

Very shortly I will create a partner blog for Journey Stories for the new game - stay tuned!

[journeystories]

So We Walk Alone

I began the game like we all do, alone. I went through everything, collecting all the symbols to make my scarf longer, finding all the hidden murals and recounting the story of the game world. 

During the bridge level I found my first connection who I assumed would be my companion through the game. We helped each other find symbols that the other couldn’t see and played with the cloth creatures, and raced each other through the city. We stayed close together while the metal monsters chased us, and waited patiently for each other when we got separated. 

When we got to the temple and began our long ascent, my friend had to leave. I was waiting for them when I noticed their character had sat down, so I assumed that they’d had to step away from the game for a moment, and I went down to wait by their character until they got back. When they faded off, I was sad, but decided that I would continue on alone.

Seeing the large, circular mural that detailed our journey thus far, with my friend in each mural from the bridges to the desert to the tunnels, and then seeing that one lone figure, me, braving the mountain, was heart-wrenching. 

I found another companion on the mountain, but they lagged often and also eventually faded off. So when I finally reached the summit, I was alone. But for some reason it seemed more emotional that way. I’d had the game for months and had been waiting for the perfect time to play it, when I’d be alone with no distractions and I could go through this beautiful and emotional journey in peace. 

And even though one of the core components of this game is our companions, our friends that we make throughout the journey, and something that I’d definitely looked forward to, this emotional connection that we make through these little characters on a screen…walking through the mountain alone, just as I’d begun the game, made the game mean just a little bit more to me.

[yaoran]

> Start a new journey

I remember playing the game 3-4 times a day learning something new every time and meeting friendly players along the way. So here is a piece of fan art of my found memories for one of my all time favorite games.

[journeystories]

flight by chirp

i wore the white cloak, though you in your red were clearly the more experienced journeyer.

my trophy completion means little after seeing your fancy flying, faceplanting, and zen slides. i tried them all. and i failed them all. (save for one single faceplant - i still don’t know how i did it.) 

you showed me my first glitch, and what a gorgeous sight it was! i didn’t want to leave that dune overlooking the sunken city.

we were separated at the very end of the tunnels after soaring high above the war machines. perhaps you vanished into another glitch? i wish we could have finished our journey together, but i’m grateful for the time we had. perhaps we’ll meet again someday. (someday when i can better keep up with you.)

[journeystories]

Guidance

I downloaded and started playing journey when it first came out. I immediately fell in love with it. I didnt read up on it at first and had no idea about the multiplayer function. I’d just gotten a new ps3 and hadn’t hooked it up to the internet yet. I connected my console to wifi to watch Netflix and the next time I played Journey, lo and behold there were others in red cloaks flying around the stages with me. That’s when I read up about the game to see what was happening as this hadn’t happened before.

Later that day, I began a new journey and, when I got to the bridges, I walked out onto the first platform. I heard a chirp and looked up to see a white cloak standing atop a pillar near the entrance. I was still in my reds, everyone I had seen before was in red. I didn’t know what to make of this white cloak high above me. Ominous. Peerless.

She flew down next to me and chirped, then flew away toward the first Symbol. I followed her and collected it and we repeated this pattern for the rest of the game; chirping, following, collecting. She showed me all the Symbols and all the Ancient Glyphs, the flower, and the creature in the tower. We braved the monsters in the deep and the harsh winds of the mountain. At the Summit, she walked around in the snow to draw a little heart and beckoned me into the light of the End. I couldnt believe it was over. But after, when I found myself sitting in the sand, back at the Beginning, I was surprised to see myself sheathed in white. I had achieved Trascendence. I knew what I had to do with this new power. I made my way to the broken bridge and perched myself atop the broken column, waiting for a student.

[zimt-deathnote]

Oh Journey <3 This game never ceases to amaze me. This one is not needle felted! It’s 1mm felt glued together. And to make it posable (!!!) I glued wire between the yellow and red parts. THIS THING IS COMPLETELY POSABLE EVEN IF ITS JUST 1MM THICK The wanderer will follow somewhen (not in the near future). This will be one of my most desirable projects of all time. A posable and accurate NF of the wanderer from Journey.

[purplealmonds]

I completely forgot that I published this, whoops! I had the footage recorded on the day of the anniversary, but I didn’t have a chance to edit it until yesterday when I got home from vacation. Its a bit belated, but enjoy!