Journey is an indie adventure game developed by Thatgamecompany and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3.

The music, composed by Austin Wintory, dynamically responds to the player's actions, building a single theme to represent the game's emotional arc throughout the story.

A retail "Collector's Edition", including Journey, Thatgamecompany's two previous titles, and additional media, was released in August 2012.

After an introductory sequence, the player is shown the robed figure sitting in the sand, with a large mountain in the distance.

[3] These controls are presented pictorially at the beginning of the game; at no point outside of the credits and title screen are any words shown or spoken.

[4] Touching glowing symbols scattered throughout the levels lengthens the initially vestigial scarf, allowing the player to remain airborne longer.

Larger strips of cloth are present in the levels and can be transformed from a stiff, dull gray to vibrant red by singing near them.

While all the figures generally look the same, individual players can be told apart by unique symbols which are shown floating in the air when they sing and are displayed on their robes at all times.

Walking to the top of the dune, the character can see looming in the far distance a large mysterious mountain with a glowing crevice that splits its peak.

Scattered throughout the ruins at the end of each area are stones where the traveler rests and has visions of meeting a large, white-robed figure in a circular room.

Six of the white-robed figures appear before the character and grant the traveler new energy, allowing the player to reach the summit of the mountain and walk into the crevice as the screen fills with white.

The 18-person development team for Journey was composed mainly of creators of the company's previous games; co-founder Jenova Chen was the creative director and Nick Clark returned as lead designer.

[7] Kellee Santiago, producer of Flow and Flower, did not reprise her duties, concentrating instead on her role as the company's president, and was replaced by Robin Hunicke.

[10] Development ended up taking even longer than anticipated, as the team had difficulties paring down their ideas for the game and maintaining efficient communication.

[7][9] At the end of the second year, when Sony's extension had run out, the game did not spark the emotions in the player that the team wanted.

The developers ended up reducing the overtime they spent on the project to avoid burning out, though it meant further delays and risked the company running out of money as the game neared completion.

[13] The developers designed Journey like a Japanese garden, where they attempted to remove all the elements that did not fit, so the emotions they wanted to evoke would come through.

[11] The game's desert setting is largely based on the Middle East, and incorporates Arabic culture, art and architecture.

In addition, Journey also incorporates Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, drawing from Chen's childhood in China.

[29] The music in Journey was composed and orchestrated by Austin Wintory, who had previously worked with Thatgamecompany on the soundtrack for Flow.

[30][33] The cello begins the game as "immersed in a sea of electronic sound", before first emerging on its own and then merging into a full orchestra, mirroring the player's journey to the mountain.

While they were planning a large, dramatic conclusion to both, in the concert Wintory had the orchestra fall away at the end of the piece to showcase Guo's cello performance.

[36] The album is a collection of the soundtrack's "most important" pieces, arranged by Wintory to stand alone without the context of the player's actions.

116 on the Billboard sales charts, with over 4000 units sold in its first week after release, the second-highest position of any video game music album to date.

The ensemble will react to the player's actions, using a specially-scored version of the soundtrack, composed by Patrick O'Malley with Wintory's oversight, that breaks the music into small pieces to enable this reaction.

[73][74] Journey received high acclaim from critics who praised the visual and auditory art direction as well as the emotional response playing with a stranger created.

[5][51] Joel Gregory of PlayStation Official Magazine praised the game's story for being open to the player's interpretation, leaving an ambiguity that drew him in.

[49] The addition of an unnamed second player was described by Donlan as brilliant and as a "master stroke", and Edge said it made for "a more absorbing, more atmospheric experience".

Clements noted that not all players would appreciate a game with a "deliberate, melancholic pace" and short duration, comments echoed by the Edge review.

[3][5] Miller noted the lack of complex gameplay elements in Journey, and Shaw was disappointed that the game was only a few hours long, though Douglas said the length was perfect.