You’re surrounded by desert. The sun reflects off the sand as if creating a sea of rippling yellow light. Your landscape is bland with pastel shades of yellow and green, yet it’s still oddly mesmerising. You’re drawn to a random group of pillars in the distance on a giant sandhill, with ribbons that bob and weave in the wind. As you move closer, the ribbons seem to come alive. Rays of light surround you and the ribbons disperse into the air. This is the beginning of your Journey.

There’s nothing like playing the beta for a game you’ve never heard of and being absolutely engrossed by it. It just doesn’t happen as often as it should. And although the developer of Journey (ThatGameCompany) has been praised for its innovation before (Flower, flOw), Journey really is something special.

You begin as described above, in a desert, taking the form of an alien-like explorer. Scattered throughout this desert are remnants of a city or ancient civilization, where grand monuments and temples once stood but are now fragmented and broken. As you approach each broken pillar, you can see ribbons waving in the wind. The ribbons act similar in fashion to a “power-up” that when collected, allow you to jump (and to fly for short periods) so you can obtain other ribbons. There are also other “power-ups” that you can collect by searching the rubble and pillars. Each time you collect a new ribbon, the ribbon that is connected to your body increases and fills with mysterious etchings that look like glyphs of some sort. The length of your ribbon indicates how much flight time you have.

The glyphs are also important but I’m still in the process of figuring out why. As you progress through the levels, you will discover hidden monuments that house statues with glyphs that look quite similar to ancient Egypytian hieroglyphs. These “pictures” unravel a story which somehow ties into your journey across the desert. It’s all very mysterious – which is part of the appeal of Journey.

Each level requires your explorer to locate and discover other ribbons while also unravelling the mystery behind the ancient monuments. The very sand itself seems to live and breathe. Rivers of sand create what looks like a waterfall from a distance. The more you discover, the more intriguing the journey becomes.

The vastness of each level will certainly beckon you to explore and you’ll find that in some instances, you’ll be guided towards certain areas of the level by more floating ribbons. The ribbons seem quite significant as are the glyphs that are etched into them.

The only two negatives I have discovered about Journey so far is that it’s way too short, especially when you find you can’t put down your controller! The second is that the camera controls might become a little annoying after a while. To control your camera angle, you’re required to swivel the controller left or right. It doesn’t sound like a big deal but once you’re moving around, you need to turn almost 180 degrees just to see where you’re going.

That said, it’s a minor annoyance and something that you’ll eventually get used to. I just can’t wait to play the retail version of this game and I’m kinda kicking myself that I missed it at E3 this year. If you’re offered a beta code for this game, use it! It’s easily one of the most unique and intriguing games I’ve had the pleasure to play so far this year.