I've been waiting for this game since the day it was announced. I'm a huge fan of Cloud, Flow, and Flower. Flower is in my top ten DLC games of all time. I could never guess what direction Journey was going to take based on the trailers. I tackled my first playthrough last night, and I say "first" because there will be many more where that came from. Anyone can read about the mechanics in this game and everyone knows about the accolades this game is receiving. That being the case, I want to dedicate this review to what I thought was  this game's best feature.

 When you roam the beautiful locales in this game, you have nothing telling what to do or where to go. This allows the player to set their own pace. This also allows them to interact with complete strangers. I came across four players in my first playthrough. There is zero communication. You don't even know their gamertag. The first three people separated from me pretty quickly, but the fourth one decided to join me in my quest. From that point on a bond grew between this person and myself. If they got ahead of me, they'd stop and wait and visa versa. I've played many online driven games and none of them matched the emotions I felt playing Journey.

It doesn't matter what your age, race, sex, or creed is. This game forges bonds based on a shared goal. To explore the world together and see how traveling together changes the experience. By the end I was dying to find out who shared that experience. To top this amazing experience off, the last line of the end credits gives you the gamertags of the people you encountered. I immediately fired a friend request to that fourth player that I met and started a new friendship. That is my favorite aspect of this game. This game has the ability to forge a gamer's bond between two people. Two people who might have nothing in common but their love of video games. Isn't that what life is all about. I don't want to curse people out or blurt out racial slurs. I'm a 26-year-old, veteran gamer who plays online to meet new people who share my interests. Journey encourages new friendships and forges them in the most unique way I've ever seen, through complete anonymity.

If you're on the fence about this game, this is my verdict. If you're a serious gamer who wants new experiences, you'll love it. If you're a frat boy who thinks COD is a good game, then why the *** are you reading my review. That should sum it up for everyone.