Original Journey

Standard Roguelike Fare. Fun, but doesn't add anything.

Original Journey is a game that is perfect to pick up and play for small bits at a time even with the shortcomings it has.

Original Journey is an interesting beast that doesn’t show it claws until you are several hours in and then realize: it’s been several hours. Taking the best parts of a side scrolling shooter and a Roguelike, welcome to the end of an alien race’s time as they perform their last ditch effort in order to not perish and become another of the galaxy’s footnotes.

Original Journey is, even with flaws, an enjoyable game. Its connection between a deep history and an amusing gameplay creates a satisfying experience that, with great aesthetics and good music, arises as an unexpected and positive surprise.

Contrary to its name, Original Journey is far from an original adventure, offering little to motivate players to see its campaign through.

With its surreal visuals and quirky character design, Original Journey has little trouble drawing attention. Determining whether or not it can retain that attention will depend entirely on the player. On its own, the platforming and shooting aren't all that tightly designed. Relying on level-ups and gear to maintain interest only goes so far. Given a long enough period of time, most gamers will feel like they're just going through the motions.

At the end of the day, Original Journey takes a solid concept of a shooter with a unique art style that sends you through progressively harder gauntlets with the gamble to proceed or head back to the start and bank your earnings, and mars it with a number of poor design decisions.