Games Like Journey
Quick Answer
The closest games to Journey are Abzu, Sky: Children of the Light, Flower, Gris and Shadow of the Colossus. Below are 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Journey, and what does not.
What Made Journey Work
Journey is two hours long, has no dialogue, no names and no way to talk to the stranger it puts you with beyond a single chirp. The whole design is about scale, movement and one wordless relationship. Length is not the measure here — recommend games that do one thing completely.
Journey is thatgamecompany's 2012 PlayStation 3 game, directed by Jenova Chen, with a score by Austin Wintory that was the first video game soundtrack nominated for a Grammy. A robed figure crosses a desert toward a distant mountain, and other players may appear as anonymous companions who can communicate only through a musical chime. It takes around two hours. Fans usually want another short, wordless game with a strong emotional arc.
9 Games Like Journey
1.Abzu
By Journey's art director, and it works the same way underwater.
Why it fits: Giant Squid, founded by Journey art director Matt Nava, released it in 2016. You swim through ocean environments to a score by Austin Wintory.
What is different: Underwater and solo — there is no stranger to meet, so the loneliness Journey breaks is never broken.
Where to play it: PS4, Xbox One, PC and Switch.
More about this game →2.Sky: Children of the Light
By the same studio, and the anonymous-stranger idea became the whole game.
Why it fits: thatgamecompany's 2019 free-to-play game, first on iOS, builds its world around meeting and helping other players.
What is different: Free-to-play and ongoing, with events, cosmetics and friends lists; it is less focused than Journey's single trip.
Where to play it: iOS, Android, Switch, PlayStation and PC.
More about this game →3.Flower
Thatgamecompany's earlier work, and just as wordless.
Why it fits: thatgamecompany's 2009 PS3 game has you control the wind, carrying petals across landscapes without words.
What is different: You are the wind, not a traveller, and there is nobody else to meet.
Where to play it: PS3, PS4, PS Vita, PC and iOS.
Games like this →4.Gris
The most beautiful of the wordless emotional platformers.
Why it fits: Nomada Studio's 2018 platformer, published by Devolver Digital, uses colour and music to tell a story of grief without dialogue.
What is different: A 2D platformer played alone, with some puzzle rooms; there is no online companion.
Where to play it: PC, Switch, PS4, iOS and Android.
More about this game →5.Shadow of the Colossus
Emptiness and scale used as storytelling, with much more to do.
Why it fits: Team Ico's 2005 PS2 game uses empty landscapes and huge creatures to tell its story with very little dialogue.
What is different: Sixteen boss fights and a horse, rather than a walk; it is lonelier and has real challenge.
Where to play it: PS2; remastered for PS3 and remade for PS4.
Games like this →6.Ico
One companion, no explanation, the same restraint.
Why it fits: Team Ico's 2001 PS2 game follows a boy escorting a girl out of a castle, with no shared language between them.
What is different: Puzzles and combat in one castle, and your companion is a character you protect, not another player.
Where to play it: PS2; remastered for PS3.
Games like this →7.The Pathless
Traversal as pure pleasure across an open landscape.
Why it fits: Giant Squid's 2020 game has you run and glide across open landscapes, using a bow to move faster.
What is different: An archery-driven open world with bosses and puzzles; it has more game in it and no other players.
Where to play it: PS4, PS5 and PC.
More about this game →8.Inside
Wordless, short, and it commits absolutely to its ending.
Why it fits: Playdead's 2016 puzzle-platformer tells a dark story without words, known for its ending.
What is different: Dark and oppressive rather than hopeful, a puzzle-platformer with many deaths along the way.
Where to play it: Xbox One, PC, PS4, Switch and iOS.
More about this game →9.Everything Everywhere Journey to the Savage Planet
If you want the exploring without the melancholy.
Why it fits: Journey to the Savage Planet, Typhoon Studios' 2020 comedic first-person exploration game, has you catalogue alien wildlife on an uncharted planet — a lighter take on crossing an unknown landscape.
What is different: A comedy shooter with scanning and upgrades; it shares the exploration, not the quiet.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
More about this game →
Where to Start
Abzû is the closest, made by Journey's art director. If you want to play with other people, Sky: Children of the Light develops the anonymous-companion idea. Gris is the pick if you want the same emotional arc in 2D.
How We Picked These Games
Every pick had to tell its story without dialogue or rely heavily on landscape and music. We favoured thatgamecompany's own work and the studio that its art director founded, then short, wordless games of the same spirit.
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How These Picks Match Journey
Journey is catalogued here as an art-led game and action-adventure on the PlayStation 3. Eight of the nine picks share at least one of its genre tags — eight adventures among them. The other one — Inside — is a different genre and is on the list for one specific thing Journey did, so read the reason before ruling it out.
Going by the "where to play it" notes, seven can be played on PC, nine can be played on a PlayStation, five can be played on a Nintendo system and three can be played on an Xbox. Abzu, Sky: Children of the Light, Flower, Gris, The Pathless, Inside and Everything Everywhere Journey to the Savage Planet are from small or self-published studios.
| Game | Genre | Shares with Journey | Where to play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abzu | Adventure, Indie, Casual | Adventure | PS4, Xbox One, PC and Switch. |
| Sky: Children of the Light | Adventure, Casual, Indie | Adventure | iOS, Android, Switch, PlayStation and PC. |
| Flower | Adventure, Casual, Indie | Adventure | PS3, PS4, PS Vita, PC and iOS. |
| Gris | Platformer, Adventure, Indie | Adventure | PC, Switch, PS4, iOS and Android. |
| Shadow of the Colossus | Adventure, Action, Puzzle | Adventure | PS2; remastered for PS3 and remade for PS4. |
| Ico | Adventure, Puzzle, Action | Adventure | PS2; remastered for PS3. |
| The Pathless | Adventure, Action, Indie | Adventure | PS4, PS5 and PC. |
| Inside | Platformer, Puzzle, Indie | Different genre — see the reason above | Xbox One, PC, PS4, Switch and iOS. |
| Everything Everywhere Journey to the Savage Planet | Adventure, Shooter, Indie | Adventure | PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. |
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