journey game for switch

thatgamecompany

life’s companions

Experience the wonder in this anonymous adventure where you travel on a life’s passage, with the chance to connect with companions along the way.

a mysterious world

Alone and surrounded by miles of burning, sprawling desert, you soon discover the looming mountaintop is your goal. The passage will not be easy but this experience of a lifetime will help you discover who you are, what this place is, as you arrive at your purpose.

beautiful art and music

Soar above ruins and glide across sands as you explore the secrets of a forgotten civilization.  Featuring stunning visuals, haunting music, and unique online gameplay, Journey delivers an experience like no other.

The release of Journey attracted over 100+ industry awards and media accolades, with some naming the game as their ‘Game of The Year’ in 2012.

"A glorious, thoughtful, moving masterpiece"

- entertainment weekly, "mysterious and beautiful", "an incredible, emotional game", "one of the most amazing game experiences of my life", - gamesradar.

© 2012 Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Developed by thatgamecompany. Journey is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC.

• Entertainment

10 years later, there’s still nothing like Journey’s multiplayer

Journey turns 10 today.

By Jay Peters , a news editor who writes about technology, video games, and virtual worlds. He’s submitted several accepted emoji proposals to the Unicode Consortium.

Share this story

I’ll never forget the first time I played Journey .

Throughout the game, real-life players can join you on your quest toward a mountain on the horizon. Players can fade in and out of your adventure — maybe they want to go faster than you, maybe they just quit — but in the latter half of my game, I had found somebody who stuck with me. Journey has no voice or text chat and no names identifying other players you meet. The only way we could communicate was through our movements, sticking close together to refill each other’s energy, and singsong chirps. Despite those limitations, we built a rapport.

Near the end of Journey , you have to scale the mountain, and as you approach the peak, you get caught in a storm. Much of the game is filled with sunlight, flight, and joyful music, but the mountain is gray, winds buffet your character, and the music is, at times, uncomfortable. Even though the level was draining, I was happy that I had my companion, and we huddled together as we marched toward the peak.

Eventually, the music fades out, and you can only hear your footsteps trudging ever more slowly through the elements. Then, as the game grew silent, my friend collapsed into the snow. I actually cried out in dismay. Then my character fell over, too, and the screen faded to white. 

In many video games, you die a lot. That was the only time a virtual death has made me feel like I had actually lost a friend.

Fortunately, that’s not actually the end. In a cutscene, I was revived soon after I fell, and then, in an exuberant celebration of color and music that’s perhaps my favorite video game “level” of all time, soared toward the top of the mountain — with my once-fallen friend flying alongside me.

Journey turns 10 years old today, March 13th, and I still haven’t experienced anything like that moment. To mark the anniversary and learn more about the game’s bond-forging multiplayer, I spoke with Jenova Chen, president and creative director of Journey developer thatgamecompany. While it may feel like the game is effortlessly pairing you with companions as you go along, based on what he told me, it wasn’t quite that simple.

The goal for Journey was to “innovate how it feels between people on the internet,” Chen said. “Can we invent the right environment, the right feedback, to bring out something that we’re more proud of? And to have an online game where people feel friendly and compassionate towards each other?” He elaborated further later in our conversation. “We want to see two people going through the journey together, [like when] in our life, we meet someone special, and we travel with them, and eventually, we might depart from each other.” 

“Human beings, unfortunately, are giant babies”

While it was a profound ideal, “the reality is: human beings, unfortunately, are giant babies in the virtual world,” Chen said. “No matter how old you are, even if you’re in your 70s, if we move you from Earth and into a virtual space, [that person] would become a giant baby. A baby doesn’t know what is a good moral value versus what is a bad moral value. The baby only knows: if I’m in a new environment, I’m going to try to push the buttons and see what kind of feedback I can get, and babies are great at looking for maximum feedback.”

To encourage compassion, the team tested a lot of ideas. They tried a system inspired by Gears of War that let you help out an incapacitated friend but found that even in playtests among the developers, the player would rather not help the other person out. “That way, they create a lot of anxiety in the other player and make the other player more angry. And they actually get more gratification out of the feedback,” Chen said.

They also tested a mechanic where one person could push the other high up, and then that person would pull the first. “But once we gave this physics simulation to the players, they chose to push each other off the wall and see them fall from the cliff and die, waiting to be helped,” Chen said.

During those tests, people would say, “I would rather play this game alone. Why do you force me to play with this other person? I hate them,” according to Chen. That’s because “killing is much bigger feedback than just helping the other person to get on a ledge,” Chen said. 

“At the time, I was like, ‘Is humanity at its core just dark?’”

The challenges of making those mechanics work affected Chen. “At the time, I was like, ‘Is humanity at its core just dark?’” he said. But a child psychologist helped Chen see things in terms of the way babies view feedback. “If you don’t want babies to do something terrible, give them zero feedback,” he recalled learning from her. “Don’t give them negative feedback because they will misinterpret that as positive feedback.” 

That led to a change that would have a huge effect on the game: when you got close to someone, you’d recharge their energy. (In the final game, you use your energy to fly.) “And so that makes people feel like ‘Oh, I love to stay near someone because I don’t have to run to find the energy,’” he said. “So they end up sticking together, and they travel together, and they form a companionship. That was just one simple change. From assholes who want to kill each other and dancing around their corpse, creating hatred, to ‘hey, they’re all lovey-dovey, they’re helping each other, and they couldn’t leave each other.’”

The team also had to experiment to land on the musical chirps that players can use to communicate with each other. They tried a “thumbs up and thumbs down idea” where you could push the thumbstick up to show a green ping and push it down to show a red ping. But in testing, the majority of pings were red as players spammed them to bug their partner to do what they wanted, which created feelings of stress.

“Eventually, we realized it’s better just to keep it neutral,” Chen said. “And then we let the frequency and the amplitude [of the ping] be interpreted by the other player. But we noticed that when we don’t add context, people usually interpret the other person’s intention positively. I think that’s deep down our human nature.”

The chirp is like a musical instrument

Even though the chirp is intended to be neutral, it’s not a static noise. It’s almost like a musical instrument, and its sound evolves throughout the game, Journey composer Austin Wintory told me. “At the very beginning of the game, it’s very bird-like, and there’s flute and little bits of cello,” he said. But over the course of the game, you’ll hear more of a human voice within that sound. “So by the time you’re in the clouds and the very big finale, especially if you do one of the big charged up [pings], you can really hear there’s a human voice in there.” (The human voice used in the pings is Lisbeth Scott, who sings Journey’s end credits.)

The humanity in the design of Journey , from the human voice in the chirps to the multiplayer design that encourages cooperation, is so much of what makes the game memorable for me. As I climbed the mountain with my companion the first time I played the game, I realize now that while I may have been huddled close to my friend to try and share my energy, deep down, I just wanted to do everything I could to help them get up that mountain — and I knew they were doing the same for me.

Ahead of talking to Chen and Wintory, I replayed Journey for the first time since it came out. Despite how much I love the game, I’ve always worried another run would change how I feel about it. I was so fearful of how it might contort my memories that I was actively procrastinating on playing it. 

To my surprise, the experience was just as powerful. Ten years on, there are still people playing Journey , and I met four other companions who were part of my adventure. I even made a new friend who stuck by my side through the snowy climb to the mountain’s summit — and through the joyful flight to the peak.

Journey is available on PS3, PS4, PS5, PC, and iOS. Composer Austin Wintory has also just released a re-orchestration of the Journey soundtrack performed by the London Symphony Orchestra titled “Traveler — A Journey Symphony.” I’ve listened to it and thought it was very good.

I traded in my MacBook and now I’m a desktop convert

This self-transforming megatron is as badass as it is expensive, tesla’s autopilot and full self-driving linked to hundreds of crashes, dozens of deaths, blizzcon 2024 has been canceled, dji might get banned next in the us.

More from Entertainment

The Nintendo Switch 2 will now reportedly arrive in 2025 instead of 2024

The best Presidents Day deals you can already get

Vudu’s name is changing to ‘Fandango at Home’

Tommy Tallarico’s never-actually-featured-on-MTV-Cribs house is for sale

50 Games Like Journey for Nintendo Switch

Explore the ancient, mysterious world of Journey as you soar above ruins and glide across sands to discover its secrets.

• exploration
• cooperative
• first-person

Submit a new Game

Start typing the game you would like to add. If the game you are looking for does not exist, it will be added to our database.

Thanks a lot for your contribution.

13 Beautiful Games Like Journey

Journey, an indie game that came out in 2012 from Thatgamecompany, is arguably one of the most beautiful games of all time. It’s even won several awards from various gaming publications around the world. It’s not hard to see why.

Journey has some of the most immersive graphics that you’ll ever find in a video game, with lush and vibrant colors that pop out on your screen. There are breathtaking views as you travel across your foreign land, and the soundtrack will stay with you long after you finish the game.

If you played the critically acclaimed Journey and fell in love with its stunning art, music, and gameplay, you’re in luck! There are plenty of other games out there that offer similar experiences. Here are 13 beautiful games like Journey to check out.

In Flower, the player manipulates the wind by moving the game controller to propel a flower petal through the air. When a player is flying near flowers, additional flower petals follow the player’s petal, which causes a visual spectacle.

The game world may behave in specific ways when the flowers approach, like activating stationary wind turbines. The game’s story arc is largely formed through visual representation and emotional cues; there is no text or spoken conversation.

Rather than being a challenging game, Flower aims to primarily to evoke good emotions in the user. If your objective is to watch something beautiful and relax, this is the perfect game for you. It’s a charming experience and fans of games like Journey will love it.

She and The Light Bearer

This is a game in which you follow the journey of a little firefly. This cute bug will venture through the heart of the unknown forest to find The Mother. Unfortunately for the little bug, this won’t be an easy journey.

The game strongly emphasizes poetry, conversation, and music to convey its message. It’s not a traditional game by any means but if you’re someone who found a lot of beauty in Journey, you’re sure to get a lot out of this unique experience.

The sacrifice made by the forest, the horror of the Devourers, and the method to awaken Mother are all things that the little firefly will uncover. It’s a very story-driven game in an untraditional sense, and it manages to be truly engaging.

This is a highly acclaimed point-and-click adventure game with plenty of creative dialogue and it’s one of the most atmospheric experiences you can find on Steam.

The evocative point-and-click adventure game Papetura was handmade entirely out of paper. In this beautiful, innovative game, two little creatures, Pape and Tura, must fight to protect their world. Their enemies are monsters who want to burn their paper world entirely.

Papetura is a game about Pape, a lonely paper creature confined in a flowery prison. When Pape eventually manages to get away, he encounters the miraculous child Tura, whom he decides to take care of.

Unfortunately, they must take action when monsters start attacking. In order to stop the flames from spreading to their beloved paper world, they will have to work together to defeat terrible, blazing creatures.

This game sounds a little more dramatic or action-packed than it actually is. It is a beautiful, cute experience that is worth trying out, especially if you’re looking for more games like Journey to add to your collection.

If you’re looking for a game that’s similar to Journey in terms of its art style and themes, you’ll want to check out Gris.

The game is absolutely gorgeous, with hand-drawn visuals and a beautiful soundtrack. While it doesn’t have the same focus on exploration as Journey, it’s still a moving and beautiful experience.

Gris is a young woman suffering from a traumatic event. The challenges of her fading world are there as a result of her melancholic journey, which you can see in her outfit. Gris grows emotionally and learns to perceive the world differently throughout the game, which grants her new powers and pathways to explore.

This game is a peaceful, moving experience devoid of peril, frustration, or death. It has a carefully constructed environment with a delicate aesthetic, intricate animations, and sophisticated music that the player can explore.

Even the bosses of the game are actually just problems to solve creatively, and you don’t have to worry about failing. This is not a challenging game, and it doesn’t intend to frustrate you. It’s just a beautiful journey for you to enjoy.

From the art team that brought you Journey, comes Abzu. This game is a beautiful and meditative underwater adventure. Explore the depths of the ocean, swim with majestic creatures, and uncover long-lost secrets in this stunning and unique game.

Engage in a beautiful underwater world teeming with life, color, and mystery. Use smooth swimming controls to perform elegant maneuvers.

Form a strong connection with the variety of marine life as you learn about hundreds of distinct species based on real-life species. You can interact with large groups of fish that behave in particular ways in response to you, other fish, and predators.

You can explore aquatic habitats that have been meticulously recreated while wandering among vast blue waters, and enter the depths of the ocean to find hidden ancient mysteries. The depths, however, are not without risk, so stay aware of your surroundings.

The Witness

The Witness is an adventure puzzle game that takes place on an uninhabited island. You explore the island, uncovering its secrets and solving puzzles. The game is visually stunning, with beautiful landscapes and intricate puzzles.

You suddenly find yourself on a mysterious island without any memory of who you are. Puzzles are all you can find on this island, and they will test and delight you.

There is only one thing you can do now regarding your situation: explore the island to hopefully come across hints. Solving the puzzles may lead to you finally regaining your memories and eventually finding your way back home.

Gameplay-wise, this is a single-player open-world game with hundreds of puzzles to solve and dozens of locales to explore. The Witness will keep you engaged for hours as you try to unravel its mysteries.

The Witness values your intelligence as a player and regards your time as a valuable resource. There isn’t any fluff; each of those riddles adds a different concept to the mix. This game is full of possibilities, and it’s one of the best puzzle games on the Switch for fans of games like Journey.

Spirit of the North

In Spirit of the North, you play as a common red fox whose tale intertwines with that of a female spirit fox who serves as the Northern Lights’ protector.

The stunning and enigmatic Icelandic landscapes served as inspiration for this single-player third-person adventure game. As you journey through breathtaking landscapes inspired by Nordic environments, you’ll solve puzzles and uncover secrets about your protagonist’s past.

Spirit of the North was carefully made with no dialogue or narrative on purpose. In order to solve numerous riddles and interpret the significance of a forgotten ancient society, players must make sure to pay attention to their surroundings.

Similar to Journey, Spirit of the North is a beautiful game that’s not only visually stunning but also offers an emotionally impactful story. This game will be a delight if you are looking for something that will leave you feeling both inspired and moved.

Koral is one of those games that manages to be memorable because of how different it is. This kind of game can only exist as an indie project, which is why we gamers should always celebrate indie games in general.

In Koral, the player enters stunning underwater environments as a sea current, which is already quite an innovative idea. You get to explore several distinct marine habitats, solve puzzles to revive coral reefs, and disseminate the beauty of the oceans.

There aren’t many games in which you can watch the seafloor turn bright and alive with life and diversity in real time. In Koral, all that happens as you flow anywhere you choose to find methods to convey healing energy to other corals and repair entire reefs.

Koral is an ode to the sea in which you dive beneath the surface to explore the breathtaking marine environment. Since this list is about games like Journey, I’ll be assuming you are looking for beautiful and relaxing games, experimental projects, or a combination of those things. If that is the case, this is most likely a game you will enjoy.

In this game, you are a wandering artist discovering Eastshade Island. You can use your artist’s easel to capture the world on canvas.

On the island, you can ask the locals about their life to learn more about them, meet new people, and assist the less fortunate. By talking to the locals, you can find out about the land’s mysteries and secrets.

You might have to overcome natural barriers to access remote locations, but it will be worth it. With time, you will discover the effects of your activities on the environment.

Eastshade is a character-rich adventure with a serene open world in which you can have fun exploring and talking to people. In order to discover mysteries and acquire goods in this game, you must work on your paintings.

To overcome difficulties and complete tasks, you will need to collect crafting supplies and schematics while traveling. Along this process, you will also meet new people through engaging chats and unlocked subjects.

It’s a truly unique experience, and if you like games like Journey, you’re sure to fall in love with this game as well. It’s beautiful.

Aspire: Ina’s Tale

As the title might suggest, this game follows the story of a character named Ina. After being detained, Ina was imprisoned within the Tower and forced to slumber.

However, she awakens abruptly at the beginning of the game. In order to find a way out and learn about her predicament, Ina must investigate the Tower’s rooms.

In this game, you will encounter intriguing personalities, solve clever puzzles, master platforming sequences, and travel through gorgeous environments.

Aspire: Ina’s Tale impressed me and is unquestionably among the top puzzle games I’ve played lately. The puzzles may not be the most inventive I have come across, but still, they are definitely difficult enough to be amusing without becoming frustrating.

The story is not the main selling point for this game. It is much more about how the mechanics and visuals match the whole idea of Ina’s Tale. That said, this game certainly is fun, immersive, and beautiful, so I couldn’t keep it out of the list. It’s one of the most unique puzzle games on Steam , for sure.

In the third-person combat-free game, you explore a mysteriously drowned metropolis and learn to appreciate the beauty of emptiness in wide outdoor settings. You take the role of Miku, a little girl who has taken her injured brother to the city in their little fishing boat.

Submerged is an exploration game where you must help Miku’s brother in the flooded city. The game is visually stunning, with a bright and colorful art style that makes the submerged city come to life. If you’re a fan of the art in games like Journey, you’ll love this post.

Use your boat to navigate the flooded streets, climb the submerged structures, and use your telescope to scout the city for the items you’ll need. You will come across the diverse ecosystem of this breathtaking place as you explore the city at your own speed and find hidden artifacts that reveal the tale of a world in ruin.

The gameplay is mostly about exploration, getting you to swim around the city looking for items to help you progress. The game is relaxing and calm, with a beautiful soundtrack to accompany your journey.

I found myself getting lost in the world of Submerged, forgetting I was playing a video game. It’s one of those games that are so good that playing it almost feels like being in another world.

This is a serene, free-to-play adventure game about sailing aboard a very special boat across gorgeous waters toward the sunset. Steering, logistics, crew member disappearances, capsizing, or even pirates won’t be a concern for you.

It’s a journey meant for you to sit back and relax, not to spend brain power on important decisions. Becalm’s variety of biomes is significant, and they are all vivid and dreamlike. Exploring them with the first-person perspective helps them feel more immersive.

Becalm also has field-recorded ocean soundscapes that accompany an outstanding synthesizer ensemble. Your adventure will be random each time you play.

There really isn’t much to say about this game besides the obvious. This game was meant to relax you, not to challenge you. Even the name of the game, Becalm, is very clear about the game’s goals.

This is not a bad thing, though. Video games are evolving and becoming way more than just mindless fun. This is great, since niche video games like Becalm might actually be very helpful for those who need to relax and can’t be overstimulated.

Areia: Pathway to Dawn

Areia: Pathway to Dawn might be the closest thing to Journey in this list. This game is a wonderful 3D journey through the various phases of awareness, offering a soothing experience with original gameplay.

In this game, you will make pathways and resolve challenges using simple mechanics. The game is beautiful, and there is a lot to see. There are many realms for you to venture into and delve into the unknown.

Chances are, you will get lost in the beauty of your existence and surroundings, in a similar fashion to Journey’s engrossing environments. If you want to discover the purpose of your existence in this game, you must gather the shards of your history, but you will have to travel over the sands in order to get them all.

More Comparisons

• The 9 Best Harry Potter Games
• The 16 Best Single Player FPS Games Like Fallout 4
• The 10 Best Horror Shooter Games Like Prey
• 10 Adrenaline-Pumping Action Games Like Hades
• 15 Futuristic Games Like Cyberpunk 2077
• The 10 Best Tactics Games on Steam
• 12 Third-Person Horror Games Like Silent Hill
• 18 Best Games Like Moonlighter
• The 13 Best Wacky Games Like Fall Guys
• 12 Heart Racing Games Like Dead by Daylight
• 14 Zombie-Bashing Games Like Left 4 Dead
• 13 Wonderfully Horrific Games Like Little Nightmares
• 11 Relaxing Games like Stardew Valley
• 10 Power Fantasy Games Like Prototype
• 8 Games Like Stranded Deep
• 8 Games Like Assassin’s Creed
• 8 Platform Fighting Games Like Brawlhalla
• 8 Games Like Terraria
• 8 Fun Arena Games Like Brawl Stars
• 8 Games Like Quiplash
• 12 Best Gang Crime Games Like Mafia
• 8 Games Like Evolve
• 10 Games Like Superliminal
• 9 Best Sim Games Like Dwarf Fortress
• 8 Thrilling Zombie Games Like Project Zomboid
• 8 Games Like Rollercoaster Tycoon
• The 8 Best Strategic Games Like Civilization
• Best 9 Souls Games Like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
• 10 Games Like Ace Attorney
• The 14 Best Shooter Games Like CSGO
• 8 Games Like Halo Wars
• 10 Games Like Summertime Saga
• 10 Games Like A Short Hike
• The Best 9 Space Games Like Starbound
• 10 Games Like Beyond: Two Souls
• 8 Games Like Dead Cells
• The 11 Best Games Like Slime Rancher
• 11 Best Games Like Monster Hunter
• 10 Games Like Halo
• The 10 Best Open-World Games Like Shadow of War
• 8 Games Like Blade and Sorcery
• 8 MMO Games Like New World
• The 8 Best Games Like Kenshi
• 7 Games Like Paper Mario
• 8 Games Like The Witness
• The Best 8 Games Like Code Vein
• 6 Games Like Yandere Simulator
• 15 First-Person Horror Games Like Alien: Isolation
• 10 Base Builder Games Like Conan Exiles
• 8 Games Like Metal Gear Solid
• 8 Games Like Sea Of Thieves
• 8 Games like Ghost of Tsushima
• 10 Medieval Fantasy Games Like Dragon Age
• 8 Great Story-Based Games Like Oxenfree
• 8 Games Like The Division
• 8 Games Like Satisfactory
• 8 Musou Games Like Dynasty Warriors
• 10 Team Based Games Like Overwatch
• 7 Games Like Plants Vs Zombies
• 9 Games Like Game Dev Tycoon
• 5 Immersive Decision Based Games Like Frostpunk
• 8 Games Like House Flipper
• Best 8 Roguelike Games Like Risk Of Rain 2
• 10 Games Like They Are Billions
• 9 Simulation Games Like Prison Architect
• 10 Games Like Polytopia
• 8 Games Like No Man’s Sky
• 10 Best Games Like Pokémon GO
• 8 Games Like Infamous
• 7 Games Like Enter the Gungeon
• 13 Best Exploration Games Like The Outer Worlds
• 11 Games Like Half-Life
• 8 Games Like Rune Factory
• 10 Games Like League of Legends
• 8 Games Like For The King
• 6 Games Like Graveyard Keeper
• 9 Exciting Survival Games Like Grounded
• The 15 Best Games Like Final Fantasy
• 8 Games Like Mass Effect
• 8 Games Like Far Cry 5
• The 15 Best Games Like Bloodborne
• 11 Rhythm Games Like Guitar Hero
• 14 Best Games Like Spyro
• 15 Platformer Games Like Crash Bandicoot
• 12 Best Games Like Danganronpa
• 8 Games Like Mad Max
• 9 Quirky RPG Games Like EarthBound
• 10 Action Games Like NieR: Automata
• 8 Games Like Little Misfortune
• 8 Games Like Mortal Kombat
• 9 Games Like Hotline Miami
• 8 Dramatic Story Games Like Heavy Rain
• 7 Games Like Factorio
• 9 Story-Driven Games Like Night in the Woods
• 7 Games Like Twisted Metal
• 7 Games Like 12 Minutes
• Top 8 Anime Games Like MapleStory
• 10 Quirky Co-op Games Like It Takes Two
• 7 Games Like Hitman
• 7 Games Like Tomb Raider
• Top 8 Games Like Kingdom Hearts 3
• 6 Games Like Poptropica
• 8 Stunning Games Set in Space
• 7 Games Like Fallout: New Vegas
• 8 Games Like Advance Wars
• 7 Games Like Infinity Blade
• 9 Difficult Games Like Cuphead
• 8 Hardcore Games Like DayZ
• 7 Games Like DDLC
• 14 Spectacle Action Games Like Devil May Cry
• 7 Games Like Squad
• 7 Games Like Champions of Norrath
• 7 Games Like Outriders
• 7 Games Like SOMA
• Top 10 Survival Games Like ARK
• 7 Games Like Human: Fall Flat
• 9 Best Games Like The Binding of Isaac
• 10 Games Like Grim Dawn
• 12 Games Like Pillars of Eternity
• 8 Emotional Games Like Emily is Away
• 8 Atmospheric Games Like The Long Dark
• 10 Best Loot-Based Games Like Borderlands 3
• 6 Games Like Star Citizen
• 10 Unique Games Like Undertale
• 8 Best Games Like Ratchet and Clank
• 14 Best Games Like Shadow of the Colossus
• 9 Games Like Command and Conquer
• 10 Grindy Games Like Black Desert Online
• 7 Games Like FTL
• 7 Games Like Apex Legends
• 10 Text-Based Games Like A Dark Room
• 9 Games Like Stellaris
• 10 Strategic Games Like RimWorld
• 10 Scary Games Like Metro Exodus
• 8 Space Sim Games Like Elite Dangerous
• 6 Games Like Spore
• 7 Games Like The Walking Dead
• The 10 Best Games Like Fire Emblem
• 7 Games Like Tomodachi Life
• 10 Games Like Path of Exile
• 10 Brutal Games Like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
• 11 Charming Platformer Games Like Mario Odyssey
• 10 Japanese Role-Playing Games Like Octopath Traveler
• 15 Best Games Like Persona 5
• 16 Best Games Like Epic Seven
• 6 Games Like Kingdom Come: Deliverance
• 12 Games Like Fable
• 9 Tense Games Like Dead Space
• 10 Best Games Like Ori and the Blind Forest
• 7 Games Like Friday the 13th
• 10 Games Like StarCraft
• 12 Survival Horror Games Like Resident Evil
• 7 Base Building Survival Games Like Valheim
• 11 Hero Shooter Games Like Valorant
• 15 Conversation-Heavy Games Like Disco Elysium
• The 9 Best Rhythm Games Like Osu
• 7 Games Like A Way Out
• 12 Best Games Like Saints Row
• 10 Games Like Smite
• The 10 Best Games Like Celeste
• 9 Games Like The Total War Series
• 15 Awesome Fighting Games Like Street Fighter
• Top 8 Games Like Deus Ex
• 9 Games Like Rainbow Six Siege
• Top 10 Games Like Super Smash Bros
• 11 Games Like Cities Skylines
• 11 Shooting Games Like Destiny
• 7 Games Like Classic Fallout
• 10 Epic Games Like Call of Duty

Journey review

A quest well worth embarking upon.

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Gorgeous art design

A profoundly unique co-op experience

A soaring and emotional experience

Missing out on it

Not being able to experience it for the first time again

Arguing with people who missed the point

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

There are no gaudy explosions, no zippy one-liners, no grandiose set-pieces. And it’s all over in around two hours. But Journey is one of the longest games we’ve played in quite a while. And that’s a rare compliment.

Journey is long because it’s long-lasting . It’s a game that we will remember for years to come – one whose themes and imagery have already embedded themselves deep in our psyche. We remember, more than anything, how we felt after completing each chapter, and we recall (with fondness, melancholy and joy) our sense of accomplishment at finishing this singular quest.

In short, Journey succeeds because it takes so many of the conventions of contemporary games and turns them on their heads.

Journey’s story is deceptively simple: It’s told with no dialogue (though we began to analyze its many symbols after we completed it). We begin as a robed humanoid creature in the middle of a rolling desert. Almost immediately we saw our objective: a shining beacon of light atop a mountain.

Thatgamecompany, Journey’s developer, is now well-known for producing titles that encourage a sense of awe and bliss through self-guided discovery. And just like Flow and Flower before it, Journey put us in the midst of wilderness and gave us just enough tools to poke and prod around it until we slowly formed an idea of how to navigate. We have a button that functions as a beacon. It takes little time to understand how useful the beacon is to unlocking the other crucial ability, that of jumping. These simple features beget even larger ones as we continued playing, since players can jump and glide only for a limited time.

By the time we navigated through Journey’s initial sections, we felt just familiar enough with its controls to play alongside another wanderer. And that’s when it happened to us: another wanderer (just one) appeared in the distance. The game’s approach to co-op gameplay is utterly unique. When another player appears – seemingly at random, and at different points in any playthrough – all we have to work with is the limited vocabulary of the game. We had no idea who that person is until we completed our Journey – there is no PSN ID indicator, nor any voice chat. Our only communication is via the beacon, or by jumping around, or however else we choose to try to reach out to our fellow wanderer. And if we choose, we can simply ignore each other and wander off in different directions. The best part: it’s almost impossible to grief your partner, because the game is designed so that the limited resources can’t be hogged or stolen from each other.

By the end of the game, we felt an amazing sense of accomplishment and – dare we say it – affectionate camaraderie for our fellow traveler. We helped each other through some tough challenges. We communicated via a language we created ourselves: a series of chirps and jumps and circling around each other. Thatgamecompany should be applauded for the incredible technical achievement of subversively giving us a warm, human connection by providing the most anonymous gameplay experience in some time.

Journey works so wonderfully because it has the courage to restrict elements that we’ve come to take for granted in other games. One can make a granular argument that it’s a game that consists of jumping and Morse Code. And while that person would be right, that person is also missing the point and playing the wrong game. The execution on these simple gameplay ideas is so exact and precise that it’s ultimately more than sufficient to keep us in its thrall up until the heart-wrenching finale. Indeed, we didn’t need anything other than that which was provided for our Journey. It also helps that the soundtrack truly augments both the emotion and, at points, the tension of the experience. It’s an outstanding score.

Caveats here are minor. Journey is a calming, relaxing game, so you might not want to start it late at night, lest you find yourself a tad too hypnotized and dozing off with controller in-hand. However, by the time you stumble upon a co-op partner, you’ll have the pressure of co-dependency to keep you engaged and alert. Also, like other Thatgamecompany titles, it’s an experience that’s at its best in the first playthrough, because the magic comes through discovery. We plan to play it again, but armed with the knowledge of what’s to come, it won’t be quite the same. Don’t let that stop you from playing it, though. There’s new magic to be discovered as we find new partners to join us on this trip.

Journey is an unforgettable experience. Even when the details fade, the emotions that it evoked will stay with us for years. The pacing, the sense of scale, and the feeling of awe are all razor sharp. It all merged together as we discovered another player in our traversal. We won’t play another game like it, and frankly, we won’t need to, either. If you’re a gamer, it’s an outstanding reminder of why love this medium. Do not hesitate to embark.

5 million people played Fallout games in a single day, with Fallout 76 alone accounting for 1 million, amid the TV show's massive success

15 days after Wii U servers were supposed to be shut down, the last surviving Splatoon player is still hanging on as the servers crumble around them

Al Pacino and The Guest star to play priests in a new exorcism horror movie based on a true story

Most Popular

OpenCritic Rating

Top Critic Average

Critics Recommend

Journey Media

JOURNEY | 10 Year Anniversary Trailer

JOURNEY | PC Launch Trailer

Journey Launch Trailer I Coming July 21 I PS4 Exclusive

Critic Reviews for Journey

Three years later, Journey remains one of the most powerful games in recent memory.

Read full review

Metro GameCentral

Less is most definitely more in this beautifully understated co-op adventure, that dares you to make sense of its enigmatic voyage.

Game Informer

An artistic tour de force of limited interactive complexity

Journey has only improved with time, earning its status as one of the best games ever created.

Game Revolution

At the end of the campaign, you'll most likely be surprised to find that the one person who hung out with you was really three, or four, or more. What's more surprising was that seeing all the people I'd come into contact with hits me emotionally. I don't know them, but I 'know' them.

Hobby Consolas

‎If you are one of those who did not play it on PS3, you have before you a unique adventure of its kind, of those that without words says it all. And if you have it, thanks to the Cross-Buy you can enjoy it on PS4 without costs and with visual improvements. The remasters like that, YES.‎

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Firing up Journey on PS4 is a delight. It's so gorgeous and fluid in 1080p and 60 frames-per-second. Even though that's really the only thing different about it, it's a wonderful experience.

‎A beautiful journey, unparalleled in the history of the video game.‎

OpenCritic Coverage

Journey is now available for steam, comes with a free game.

Journey has been released on Steam, and comes with a free game when purchased Read more

Sony Has Announced the Stay At Home Initiative

Sony has announced the Stay At Home Initiative, through which they will give out free games Read more

Journey is Making Its Way to Steam

It has been announced that Journey will be making its way over to Steam later this year Read more

24 Games Like Journey

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is an adventure game that blends an impressive story and interesting list of mechanics to create an emotional journey of two brothers as they tackle a range of challenges together. The game was first released in late 2013 on Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and has steadily been released on other platforms following initial launch success. The story of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons closely follows the journey of two brothers with players controlling both characters... [Read Review]

The Endless Forest

In The Endless Forest players can explore a beautiful and peaceful game world as a deer while encountering and interacting with other players. The game is available as a free to play adventure through a small downloadable Windows client and while it lacks overarching goals or objectives The Endless Forest is a relaxing sandbox style experience. While it doesn’t support speech or text players are able to communicate through the Forest Action system which lets players complete basic actions to com... [Read Review]

Creating another survival journey Shelter 2 adopts the same fundamental gameplay and style of the original while offering you a whole new emotional adventure of survival. Swapping out the badger from the original game players in Shelter 2 will this time guide a mother lynx through the harsh environment with its own range of challenges and deadly encounters. This setup allows new players to experience the same emotional journey of survival as returning players who are already familiar with the Sh... [Read Review]

Machinarium

Machinarium offers a unique and addicting puzzle adventure game across a number of platforms that utilises a point and click control scheme and a world without dialogue. Originally released for Windows in 2009 the game quickly expanded to mobile and console platforms allowing all gamers to explore the story adventure of Machinarium. You’ll start off solving puzzles in Machinarium but quickly get engaged in the story and almost forget that you are playing a puzzle game with the unique setting tha... [Read Review]

Never Alone

Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) takes an interesting setting and transforms it into a compelling video game focused on story and puzzle gameplay across a total of 8 game chapters. With a strong atmosphere blending with puzzle and platform mechanics Never Alone tells an insightful story of Alaska Natives that itself had development input by Indigenous people. Following initial release the game has grown the number of available platforms while also releasing a single expansion pack, Never Alone: F... [Read Review]

Dear Esther

Dear Esther is an adventure story without weapons, puzzles and other traditional video game mechanics which allow it to instead focus solely on the narrative and exploration instead. Controlling the main protagonist across a diverse range of environments you’ll step through unique locations with their own piece of the story that is slowly fed to players allowing you to piece it together one small element at a time. Originally released in 2008 as a free to play mod this first iteration was ... [Read Review]

Flower is a relaxing musical driven adventure that was originally exclusive to the PlayStation consoles before eventually coming to PC. From the same company (Thatgamecompany) that brought you Flow and eventually went on to develop the award winning Journey this title is visually enjoyable but still offers some challenge across the dozen or so game levels. Flower itself starts off with a single flower as players use the power of the wind to break one small petal away from the plant. With this sm... [Read Review]

The Last Guardian

With action-adventure gameplay, a strong bond with a strange giant animal and an unnamed young boy The Last Guardian has pieces of games you’ve likely seen. Combining them into a single high quality journey of connection, companionship and challenge The Last Guardian is a PlayStation 4 exclusive from Team Ico who have an impressive history of console titles. Told as a recollection from an old man reflecting on his youthful adventures The Last Guardian throws players into the body of a smal... [Read Review]

Ico (ICO) mixes puzzles and action-adventure together with an impressive game design from a well known studio (Team Ico) creating an experience that is both mysterious and full of fantasy elements. Core to the design of Ico was the minimalist approach undertaken during the game development to ensure the player could focus on the story and setting to reach a high immersion level. Originally released for PlayStation 2 Ico was later bundled with Shadow of the Colossus for release on the PlayStation... [Read Review]

The Unfinished Swan

The Unfinished Swan offers a unique adventure and story experience where you chase an escaped swan through a strange magical world. Available as a PlayStation exclusive title (PS3, PS4 and PS Vita) originally (later releases on Windows and iOS) The Unfinished Swan takes place in a colourless game world with a focus on completing puzzles to progress by introducing colour into the game world. Your protagonist in this unique swan based adventure is 10 year old Monroe, an orphan who was allowed to o... [Read Review]

Lifeless Planet

Lifeless Planet involves the exploration of rocky planet with a few basic platform and puzzle features thrown in as you endeavour to find out more about your surroundings and survive. Originally available for Windows Lifeless Planet is now available on a range of console platforms allowing all gamers to explore the lifeless surroundings as you unlock the surprisingly hidden secret of this planet. Set on a distant planet that feels like it was inspired by Mars and Mars-like fiction Lifeless Plane... [Read Review]

To the Moon

To the Moon is an adventure game released in 2011 by Freebird Games and explores the story of two doctors on a mission to fulfil a dying man’s last wish. Having released several other games in this story driven RPG Maker niche players can expect to find a refined story telling process with To the Moon being one of the most well received of Freebird Game releases and containing dozens of hours of content. To the Moon uses a unique story premise that revolves around a technology that can cre... [Read Review]

Grow Home is an adventure where you’ll literally have to grow your own Star Plant to be able to return home one vine-like branch at a time. Selling itself as more of an adventure than a platform title (despite the heights that Grow Home throws at you) this short robotic adventure is focused on the exploration based journey than the sense of challenge. Set in a colourful game world of unique style players control B.U.D. (Botanical Utility Droid) a robotic life form in charge of growing a pl... [Read Review]

Eufloria offers strategy gameplay in an artistic wrapping with the result being a fantastic relaxing game that offers just the right balance of difficulty and presentation. Available on a range of platforms (starting on Windows) the game is uniquely satisfying, relaxing and challenging with the success leading to other platform releases and eventually the HD release. Set in a space like environment your objective in Eufloria is to overtake the universe with your seedlings which grow from the tre... [Read Review]

Moon Hunters

Live out the legends of the stars in Moon Hunters a game that lets you explore a mythical world of mystery with between 1 and 4 players. While a single game of Moon Hunters will take only a few hours it’s the legacy that you create in each adventure and the hidden secrets that encourage you to start a new journey again and again. It’s a game full of so many mysteries that aren’t apparent at first glance and will require many hero adventures to fully appreciate the gravity of th... [Read Review]

Osmos is a relaxing puzzle game available across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android devices released in 2009 that explores a simple premise although layers it with an increasing sense of difficulty. Using simple mechanics and great core game design Osmos has captured plenty of praise for its enjoyable, atmospheric and in time challenging gameplay loop for computer and mobile players. The premise of Osmos is simple with players advancing through each of the game levels on offer by increasing th... [Read Review]

Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus is an action adventure of grand scale that was first launched in 2005 on the PlayStation 2. In time the game was remastered for PlayStation 3 (2011) and PlayStation 4 (2018) that both offered an almost identical experience to the original albeit with higher quality graphic assets. Regardless of your choice of release/platform players will find themselves in a unique fantasy setting that is centred around the adventure to defeat a number of large scale colossi that each pre... [Read Review]

Nihilumbra blends puzzles and platforming gameplay together in order to deliver an interesting and dark adventure game originally for iOS and now available on a range of platforms. Entering the game world as Born, a creature that comes from the nothingness that is the Void you’ll adventure out into the foreign land and advance through the story to understand yourself. The Void wants you back though and chases you relentlessly around the world, refusing to stop until you rejoin the nothingn... [Read Review]

Proteus joins the ranks of other video games that aim to offer an artistic exploration experience rather than traditional gaming. Like others in this gaming niche though it still manages to offer an impressive, immersive and engaging adventure as you explore a randomly generated game world. With no other objective other than to take the time to enjoy your surroundings players can create their own stories from adventuring over hills or finding new unique biomes. If you enjoy going on exploration ... [Read Review]

Limbo is a 2D puzzle platform title that takes the genre into a darker setting than usual. Leveraging this dark setting to create an emotional tale of a young boy while also adding challenge and puzzle like elements to the otherwise basic platforming Limbo features fantastic and unique game design that you won’t soon forget. Creating this atmosphere primarily through visual presentation Limbo takes place entirely in a black and white game world. It’s similar to film noir style with the way... [Read Review]

From the same studio that brought you Machinarium comes Botanicula, a similar point-and-click game that boasts intricate and captivating graphics along with a calming background soundtrack. Originally a computer based adventure Botanicula was paired with an iOS and Android release a few years after its original development. The story of Botanicula is centred on five adorable “tree creatures” that resemble a big walnut, an onion, a lanky mushroom, a twig and a hovering feather who are... [Read Review]

Shelter is a survival based game where players control a mother badger who attempts to protect her cubs through a journey of migration from one home to another. While the game is a simple experience for Windows and Mac it’s also a unique journey of survival and connection with nature. Shelter is set in a wilderness setting with a number of biomes with players assuming direct control over the mother badger who is accompanied by her 5 badger cubs. The journey of Shelter takes players from th... [Read Review]

Papo & Yo

Papo & Yo is an interesting fantasy adventure originally released on PlayStation 3 and later brought across to Windows, Mac and Linux a year after release. Papo & Yo blends the core adventure with a range of puzzles as you follow a young Brazilian boy in a dream like world of mystery and strange settings. While these puzzles litter the dream like world the majority use fairly simple mechanics with the emphasis more on the adventure rather than puzzle challenge. The game centres around Qu... [Read Review]

Exploring a unique story of a fish and a bird that are in love Entwined joins the growing list of video game titles that combine art and gaming through simplistic but powerful game design to create an experience more about the adventure and superb presentation than actual gameplay. Supported by fantastic visual style and vibrant soundtrack pieces Entwined is a relaxing game designed for players to sit back and absorb the experience in a Zen like state. Following the souls of said fish and bird t... [Read Review]

LEGO® Builder's Journey

This item will be sent to your system automatically after purchase.

LEGO Builder’s Journey is an atmospheric, geometric puzzle game that asks us to sometimes follow the instructions… and sometimes to break the rules.

“LEGO Builder's Journey is perhaps the most authentic, earnest Lego game there's ever been, capturing every joyful aspect of its source material.” PC Gamer “It's pretty much the perfect LEGO video game” Kotaku “The bricks here look better than in the real-world” Rock Paper Shotgun LEGO Builder’s Journey is an atmospheric, geometric puzzle game that asks us to sometimes follow the instructions… and sometimes to break the rules. Take your time to experiment with free-form puzzle solving while immersing yourself in a poetic world of LEGO® bricks. Throughout the narrative, there will be ups and downs, challenges, and celebrations. Figuring out who we are and what we become is the Builder’s Journey. In Creative Mode, you can build your own models. Choose a themed build plate and get creative. Build a race car, a pirate ship or perhaps a new scene from the game. Enter Photo Mode where you can adjust the camera angle, change the mood, and take a picture for you to share with friends. The breathtaking LEGO brick world is brought to life with the most accurately rendered LEGO elements yet to feature on screens.

Software description provided by the publisher.

ESRB rating

Supported play modes, product information, release date, no. of players, game file size, supported languages.

Play online, access classic NES™ and Super NES™ games, and more with a Nintendo Switch Online membership.

This game supports: Save Data Cloud

More like this

The Touryst

Donut County

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

PICROSS S GENESIS & Master System edition

Goblin Sword

The Last Campfire

Down in Bermuda

Creature in the Well

FAR: Lone Sails

WARNING: If you have epilepsy or have had seizures or other unusual reactions to flashing lights or patterns, consult a doctor before playing video games. All users should read the Health and Safety Information available in the system settings before using this software.

A Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) is required for Save Data Cloud backup.

LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and the Knob configurations are trademarks of the LEGO Group. © 2021 The LEGO Group.

GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

Nintendo Switch 2: Rumored Release Date, Rumors, Specs, & More

Nintendo is probably gearing up to announce its next console--here's what we know so far.

By Eddie Makuch on April 25, 2024 at 12:06PM PDT

After seven years on the market, 130 million systems, and more than 1 billion games sold , Nintendo is reportedly gearing up to announce its next piece of hardware. In this post, we're rounding up everything we know about the Switch 2--or whatever the next console is called--and what's been speculated about the next system from Nintendo.

It covers the system's potential form factor, the Switch 2 release date, price, launch games, backward compatibility, and more. For simplicity's sake, we'll refer to the new system as the Switch 2, although it seems likely that, based on Nintendo's history, it will have some kind of new, original name for the console.

Some are expecting Nintendo to announce and release the Switch 2 in 2024, but a more recent report suggested a 2025 release date could be in the cards. The Switch, which was released in 2017, was a very well received and commercially successful console, but fans always want something new and exciting, and Nintendo is known to deliver the goods.

In 2021, Nintendo management said the company believed the Switch was in the middle of its lifecycle . Well, it's now 2024, and it can be reasonably assumed that the Switch has matured to a later stage in its lifecycle, potentially nearing the end. There are plenty of unanswered questions remaining about the Switch 2, but for now, here's all the essential information we have.

Switch 2 Rumored Release Date

Switch 2 potential specs, switch 2 games and backward compatibility, switch 2 price, switch 2 news.

We don't know for sure. The Switch launched in March 2017 and console generations are known to be in the area of 5-10 years, but there is no guarantee that Nintendo would follow a similar playbook with its next piece of hardware. Trends are always changing due to a variety of factors.

The Wii and Wii U, for example, launched in November of 2006 and 2012, but it's anyone's guess as to the launch month for the next Nintendo console.

One theory is that Nintendo might look to release the Switch 2 in the first half of 2024 so that any potential stock shortages could be sorted out before the ever-important holiday shopping season when Nintendo wants to have ample supply in the market.

Earlier this year, a September 2024 release date for the Switch 2 emerged in an official press release from the newest interaction of GameShark. But it's probably not legitimate.

Subsequently, an analyst suggested Switch 2 will launch in 2024 and feature and an 8-inch LCD screen (potentially a step back from the smaller OLED screen featured in the most recent Switch revision).

More recently, multiple reports said Nintendo had internally delayed the launch of the Switch 2 to 2025 . Following the publication of these reports, Nintendo's stock price tanked, and industry-watchers commented on how, if true, it would paint a "fairly devastating" picture for the gaming market in general in 2024.

One of the biggest unknowns about the next piece of Nintendo hardware is what exactly it will be. Former Nintendo employees have predicted it will have a similar form factor to the Switch and that it can be used as a handheld device and also dock to your TV like the existing model does. Nintendo, for its part, has said nothing at all about what to expect from its next system, apart from how the aim is for it to "surprise and delight" fans, so we only have predictions and guesses to go on for now.

Digital Foundry reported that the Switch 2 may use Nvidia's new custom variant T239 processor. The site compiled a PC based on what it believed the Switch 2's specs could be and found that it could capably run Death Stranding at 1080p at an average of 35 fps.

Nintendo consoles are historically less powerful than the latest PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and many believe that might be the case for the next system as well. But no one knows for sure. Whether or not the Switch 2 could be a 4K-capable device or offer cutting-edge graphics and performance is unknown.

Vandal ( via VGC ) recently reported that the Switch 2 will use Joy-Con controllers once again, but this time, they will attach to the system magnetically. Whether or not the existing Joy-Cons you might own already will work on the system is unknown. The report also mentioned how the current Switch Pro controller will be compatible with the Switch 2.

It's widely expected that Nintendo will release a new Mario Kart game for its next home console–there are not many safer bets in gaming that one could make. A report said Mario Kart 9 will have some kind of "new twist," and fans are eagerly waiting to see what that might be. If a new Mario Kart game is in the works, it would seemingly make business sense for it to be a launch title for the next console. A report from 2023 said a number of developers already had the new Nintendo console at their offices and were beginning to build games for it, but none have been announced or even hinted at thus far.

A major question fans want to know is whether or not the next Nintendo console will support games from the Switch. We don't know. But Nintendo's previous statements about the Nintendo Account system carrying forward to the next system might suggest Nintendo is going to offer some level of backward compatibility. One theory floated by a former Nintendo employee is that the Switch 2 will be backward compatible with digital eShop games.

Keep checking back with GameSpot for more as we learn more about the next Nintendo console, as we'll continue to update this story as more information comes to light.

The Switch 2 has not been announced, so everything is guesswork at this stage. But one analyst recently predicted that the Switch 2 will cost $400 and that its top-tier games will sell for $70. The original Switch launched at $300, and its relatively low price point no doubt helped the system perform exceptionally well in the market. Whether or not the next Nintendo console launches with just one SKU or multiple editions, at various price points, remains to be seen.

In terms of the prediction about game costs rising to $70, that wouldn't be very surprising. After all, Nintendo already charged $70 for Tears of the Kingdom, and it was a sales juggernaut at that price point. Nintendo said that was a one-off for Switch game prices , but charging $70 for Switch 2 games would bring Nintendo in line with what companies like Microsoft and Sony, as well as a variety of third-party publishers, charge for their leading titles.

Nintendo's previous consoles had their own account systems and players had to create new accounts for subsequent hardware launches. But the new overarching Nintendo Account changes this, and this could help ease the transition to the next Nintendo console.

It "allows us to communicate with our players if and when we make a transition to a new platform, to help ease that process or transition," Nintendo's Doug Bowser said.

"Our goal is to minimize the dip you typically see in the last year of one cycle and the beginning of another," he added. "I can't speak to the possible features of a new platform, but the Nintendo Account is a strong basis for having that communication as we make the transition."

Nintendo's CEO, Shuntaro Furukawa, said in 2023 that the next Nintendo console will use the same Nintendo Account system as the Switch , so hearing Bowser suggest something similar is no big surprise.

Speaking to Bloomberg , Yijia Zhai of Macquarie Group Ltd. said the next Nintendo console is not going to be able to match the success of the Switch.

"We do not think the new console will be as successful as the Switch, and see potential profit-taking after the announcement," Zhai said, further noting that Macquarie had downgraded Nintendo's stock analysis to "neutral."

Goldman Sachs analyst Minami Munakata, meanwhile, said the next Nintendo hardware likely won't increase the total addressable market for Nintendo. However, the firm isn't married to that idea and says its forecast could change if the system "turns out to be new concept hardware rather than a successor along the same lines as the Nintendo Switch."

A console not being as successful as the last one might not tell the whole story and isn't necessarily totally bad news for Nintendo. The Switch, of course, performed exceptionally well in terms of hardware and software sales. And that success is all the more apparent following the dismal performance of the Wii U.

Nintendo has provided no indication as to when it might announce new hardware, but some have predicted an announcement could be tied to Nintendo's fiscal calendar. Nintendo's new financial year begins on April 1, so some are expecting an announcement just before then to help pump the stock price and generate momentum heading into the next quarter. Nintendo's share price recently reached a record high, and some are expecting even stronger results ahead if Nintendo does in fact announce new hardware soon.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email [email protected]

• Leave Blank

Join the conversation

Use your keyboard!

Log in to comment

Follow Polygon online:

• Follow Polygon on Facebook
• Follow Polygon on Youtube
• Follow Polygon on Instagram

Site search

• Manor Lords
• Dragon’s Dogma 2
• FF7 Rebirth
• Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• GTA 5 cheats
• PlayStation
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Magic: The Gathering
• Board Games
• All Tabletop
• All Entertainment
• What to Watch
• What to Play
• Buyer’s Guides
• Really Bad Chess
• All Puzzles

Filed under:

Tales of the Shire trailer reveals a cozy Hobbit life sim game

Break out the fuzzy slippers and the pipeweed and have a chill ol’ time

Share this story

• Share this on Facebook
• Share this on Reddit
• Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: Tales of the Shire trailer reveals a cozy Hobbit life sim game

Lord of the Rings fans won’t have to wait too long for their next journey to the Shire.

Private Division and Wētā Workshop revealed a full trailer for Tales of the Shire on Monday, showcasing new details of the “cosy Hobbit life” game. In a news release, the companies said that Tales of the Shire is expected to launch in the second half of 2024 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, according to a news release .

The trailer shows life in the Shire, full of Hobbit friends, farming, home decoration, exploration, and plenty more. It looks a lot like Animal Crossing: New Horizons or Disney Dreamlight Valley , but make it Lord of the Rings. Tales of the Shire is set in Middle-earth’s Bywater, where the end goal is to bring the community closer with the biggest, bestest Bywater Festival. With its license from Middle-earth Enterprises, Wētā Workshop Game Studio said, the developer has “the broadest creative license to interpret the underlying lore of the books” for the video game.

Here’s how the studio describes it:

Create and personalise a Hobbit with an array of customisations to experience the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved Middle-earth universe your own way. Settle in and decorate a cosy Hobbit home, choosing from an array of furniture and home décor to create your unique, humble abode. Then head outdoors to Bywater for plenty of cooking, fishing, foraging, gardening, and more relaxing activities in the Shire. Toss your lure to catch trout from the glistening waters of Bywater Pool, gather wild mushrooms, and then use the collected ingredients to bake a succulent pie to serve for luncheon. With a full belly, stroll back outside to explore the Shire and build relationships with the Bywater locals by helping them to build a garden, sharing one of the many daily Hobbit meals, and more.

Announced last fall, Tales of the Shire is a collaboration between Private Division and Wētā Workshop ’s new in-house video games division, Wētā Workshop Game Studio. It’s one of five upcoming Lord of the Rings games that Lord of the Rings rights-holder Embracer Group announced in 2023. Embracer has been hard at work downsizing and restructuring following the breakdown of a $2 billion deal , but Tales of the Shire seems to still be on track for its 2024 release.

On Monday, ahead of the leaked trailer, Embracer Group announced it was continuing its overhaul by breaking the company into three separate entities : Asmodee Group, for tabletop; Coffee Stain & Friends, for indie games; and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends, for its Lord of the Rings titles and other AAA experiences.

Update: We’ve added further information about Tales of the Shire to this story.

Next Up In Lord of the Rings

The next level of puzzles.

Take a break from your day by playing a puzzle or two! We’ve got SpellTower, Typeshift, crosswords, and more.

Sign up for the newsletter Patch Notes

A weekly roundup of the best things from Polygon

Just one more thing!

Please check your email to find a confirmation email, and follow the steps to confirm your humanity.

Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.

Loading comments...

Anyone but You on Netflix, Monkey Man, and every new movie to watch at home this weekend

Our favorite starter deck for Disney Lorcana is available for its lowest price ever

Why can’t I build a plot in Manor Lords?

How do marketplaces work in Manor Lords?

Disney Lorcana introduces the rest of Encanto’s Madrigal family

What you need to know about biomes in Pokémon Go