Journey

A nameless figure in a red robe travels across a desert toward a glowing mountain in the distance, uncovering fragments of a vanished civilization and meeting another anonymous traveler with whom they can cooperate without text, voice, or names. Thatgamecompany created a short, emotionally intense experience built on minimalist storytelling, stunning visual design of the sand dunes, and music by Austin Wintory, which became the first video-game score ever nominated for a Grammy award. The whole experience fits into under two hours, and the player controls only movement, jumping, and a short call used to communicate with their fellow traveler.

The character's power is determined by the length of a scarf, which recharges from flying pieces of fabric and allows longer flights above the dunes, while the other player can recharge a stranger's scarf simply by being nearby, so cooperation arises naturally without a single instruction. Gliding down golden-lit sand slopes is one of the most cited images of the entire generation. The multiplayer element worked anonymously and gently, making encounters with a stranger feel intimate and often moving, a wholly unique approach to online cooperation at the time.

Critics showered the game with near-unanimous praise, and Journey became one of the fastest-selling titles on the PlayStation Network, as well as proof that a short, artistically driven experience can compete with big-budget blockbusters. The game won numerous Game of the Year awards and is still cited as evidence of video games' emotional potential as an artistic medium. Journey firmly cemented Thatgamecompany's reputation as a pioneer of art-game design and influenced an entire generation of independent developers pursuing similarly contemplative experiences. The game deliberately never revealed the other traveler's name or voice, eliminating the toxicity common in online multiplayer, and this approach later influenced the design of many other socially focused titles.