Journey and Dear Esther Comparison

A comparison between Journey for the PS3 and Dear Esther for the PC. This video contains heavy spoilers for both games.

[parokki]

So basically Journey was an experiment to see how much story you can have in a game with no words and Dear Esther was an experiment to see how many words you can have in a game with no story?

[mechanicalorchards]

That F bomb at five minutes is so much more powerful because of how scantly you say it

[chrislee]

*Long, passionate ode to words*

"...That said, Dear Esther has way too many fuckin' words."

Gets me every time.

[neoman]

"Is this some new genre of walking simulators that will really take off?"
Matthewmatosis: Unwittingly predicting the future of the games industry since October 19, 2012.

[burlong]

10 years later and I still love that underhanded dig at DE in the beginning right before the review proper.

[horplesmoff]

"dear esther has far too many fuckin' words." I love this. You rarely ever swear at all in your videos, so this makes your sparing use of them very poignant, so this simple statement holds much more depth than if anyone else had said it.

[collette]

>I have no agenda against words..
>Saying that, Dear Esther has too many fucking words

Love this guy

[ballacaust]

I feel that my experiences with both games come down to my reactions playing them with each of my parents. With Ester, my dad and I were simply wowed at the caves visual design. With Journey however my mother and I felt more connected and hugged after the end while she thanked me for the experience. I feel that you've represented that perfectly in this comparison.

[TheStephenm]

Another thing Journey taught me: *That everyone in this world is likeable when you don't need to communicate nor know fuck all about them*
=)

[krombopulos_michael]

This is by far the best criticism of DE I've seen. For once it's nice to hear someone criticising it on it's own terms rather than "not a game! pretentious! hipster! etc!"

[michaelkemel]

"That said, Dear Esther too many fuckin' words."
Eloquently put Matthew.

[MrMadalien]

It still amazes me how Journey seems to just leave most players emotionally vulnerable so quickly. It's something about the way it presents itself, in a purely visual and phonetic way without words or text, that just completely strips away your preconceptions about emotion, or something. I'm a very reserved person when it comes to emotions, and yet Journey can make me cry just by REMEMBERING my several playthroughs of it. It was soooo emotional and I still can't explain why.

[cannonfodder]

11:20
My favorite part about this review: Matthewmatosis talks about the enemies in Journey twice in this review, yet never actually shows those enemies in action. To me this feels purposeful, as the reveal of the enemies is one of the best parts of the game, and felt like he didnt want to spoil it

[JeremyComans]

I remember getting to that Fibonaccci spiral in Dear Esther, and, the optimist that I was, thinking that there was a nearby puzzle I had too solve.

One thing that really stands out to me about Journey, which I replay occasionally, is that whilst its mechanics are minimal, it feels absolutely gorgeous to control. The jump, the float, the slide; everything is so well tuned to feel enjoyable to do. Far too many of the 'emotional, minimal' indies that have come up since fail to nail the gamefeel that helps elevate Journey.

[SylvanBLd]

When you criticize the Fibinachi symbol, you're really just arguing over lines in the sand.

[Pwrplus]

The first time I played Journey, I was in the first area when a gold dude who looked just like me showed up and started following me around. My friend told me it was the multiplayer and that he must have gotten some kind of special upgrade to look gold. The gold guy then led me through the game and help me out, and shortly before the snow level(underground with all the enemies and you slide down) he sacrificed himself to distract the enemies. I finished the Journey just for him. ;~;
Great video.

[duncanelliff]

Great, I laughed out loud when you said the best thing Dear Esther did was let you think about journey more clearly. I just found that hilarious!  

[alexcoleman]

You made me burst out laughing MM: "That said, Dear Esther has too many fucking words." Classic.

[jackiesstories]

15:21 '...I though about my life and what had happened to me during the game. Halfway through my first playthrough I lost my
wow, heavy stuff
I spent a few minutes waiting to see if they would catch up to me, or if they were gone for good.'

Oh, he's talking about the game.
Nevermind

[Dr.Strangelewd]

Found this channel only today, and I must say I really enjoy your in-depth analysis, all your points are fair and it's obvious that you do a lot of research for your reviews. Keep up the good work!