We’ve got an interview with two of the leading lights from ThatGameCompany this evening but in putting that together, we uncovered this interesting little nugget of news.
According to Bryan Singh, Game Designer with ThatGameCompany, the area we played through in the beta was, in terms of playtime, only between “15 and 30 percent” of what the final game will run to, meaning we can expect anything from 3 to 6 times more in the full thing.
It is difficult to judge how much of the full game they represent because levels vary drastically in size, speed, and intensity. Based on playtime, I would approximate 15 to 30 percent.
That would, we think, put Journey at around a similar playtime to Flower, if not a little longer. Of course, with a game like Journey, it’s not about how quickly you can “beat” it.
Judging from the beta, and what the designers talk about in the interview we’ll be publishing this evening, Journey is so much more than a traditional game to run through, beating enemies and collecting objects. We wouldn’t expect anything less from one of the most interesting development studios in modern gaming.
You can read our hands on with the beta here.
bunimomike
Purposely holding off from testing/demoing it. I really am happy to let the superlatives wash over it and will quietly (and patiently) wait until it’s available properly. The day that arrives makes me a happy camper.
cc_star
Would guess that some people would think it was ‘on the short side’
But I’d prefer a little something magical, compared to a whole load of been there, done that
Deathbrin
Tbh Journey looks far less magical than flOw or Flower to me.
BrainDiver
Looking forward to the interview, it’s nice that Journey isn’t going to be short though I would buy it regardless of the length.
jbni
Just picking up something Peter said in the article – about not beating enemies etc – are there ‘enemies’ in Journey (that you can kill…somehow) and can your character die?
I’m REALLY looking forward to this one. I’m guessing there’s still no release date?
Danlisa
So worst case = 1 hour long vs best case = 2 hours long. I hope they price it accordingly.
bunimomike
Flower and Limbo are short games but priced accordingly. Add to this that they’re experiences in gaming that are very much lauded and rarely captured elsewhere.
colossalblue
wow, if you ran through the beta that fast you missed so much.
Danlisa
Not really, the Beta level was about 20mins long and what was there to miss? Go here, activate this glyph, go here, activate this statue/pad etc…
Don’t get me wrong, I really like Journey but I’m not willing to shell out ~£10 on a game that lasts 1 or 2 hours with little re-playability.
TSBonyman
That does sound a bit short but i know i’m going to get many more hours of enjoyment out of it. I’ve been dipping into flower again recently too, still have some stuff to find yet :)
mugsybalone
Well, that’s good to know. It means there’s a good 70-85% of the game left where something interesting might actually happen. Can’t say I was overly impressed by the beta, it was pretty to look at, but a bit dull.
Deathbrin
When’s it coming out again?
aerobes
Golden Axe took me about 20 minutes the other day, best game I played all weekend.
I’m sure Journey will be as much about pacing and the experience rather than just working through it as a game.
hol
For me, journey beta was brilliant.ive got this down as a must have, closest game I’ve played to meditation.
Even the short beta made me feel peaceful, will be a great game to play after a chaotic fps I reckon ;)