Journey is a wordless story told through gameplay and visual-only cutscenes. The player's character begins near a small sand dune in a vast desert. 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. As the character approaches the mountain, they find the remnants of a once-thriving civilization, eroded by sand over time. 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.
The path towards this mountain, the ultimate destination of the game, is subdivided into several sections traveled through linearly. The player can walk in the levels, as well as control the camera, which typically follows behind the figure, either with the analog stick or by tilting the motion-sensitive controller. The player can jump with one button, or emit a wordless shout or musical note with another; the length and volume of the shout depends on how the button is pressed, and the note stays in tune with the background music. 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.
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