I’ve talked before about how I was never much of a gamer. But every now and then there’s a game that wins me over.

Journey, developed by That Game Company, was another one of those. The first thing that caught my attention was the beauty and simplicity of the design. You start your journey in a desert, and there aren’t any instructions or quests. After exploring the area a bit you’ll see a tall mountain with a beam of light coming out of it and it becomes clear in which direction you need to go.

On your path, you encounter some flying carpets and interacting with them makes it possible to unlock new ways of moving around. As you progress in the game the scenery around you changes, but still maintains the same stunning design. It’s the kind of image you’d want to use as a background on your computer. The creators said that they got inspiration from the concept of the Japanese gardens to maintain minimalism. It says that when you can’t remove any more elements from your garden, that’s when you know your creation is complete.

More than just beautiful landscapes though, the whole playthrough has a deeper meaning. The different scenery represents different stages of life, with the first ones being about the discovery and playfulness of childhood, going through some darker periods in adolescence, to the ascension into adulthood and the descent into old age and death.

But there’s even more to the game than just the design and mechanics.

While playing it you can encounter other players in your path. This is not entirely new, but Journey does it in a unique way. The first thing is that you have no information about the other user, not even their name. The creators had to insist on keeping that feature. Initially, the game publisher – Sony – demanded that at least the name of the players be on the screen, but after some insistence from That Game Company, the developers won that battle.

The second interesting fact is that you have almost no means of communication with the user who is playing alongside you. There’s no chat or even symbols you can use. All that you can use to communicate with each other is your body movement and a little chirp that you can emit. If you think about it, it’s similar to the connection you have with a pet. Without words, any movement or interaction gains more importance.

This allows for a unique type of connection. Without details such as gender, nationality or age, people become a blank canvas, and you can connect with them on a deeper level. And unlike other games, you’re not competing against each other or even for resources. While it’s possible to finish the game on your own, having another player by your side can make things easier.

I met another player in my first playthrough – someone who was playing the game at the same time as me somewhere in the world. We would run in circles and chirp around each other to communicate. As we progressed in our journey together, if one of us was behind, the other would wait until we catch up again. If one of us was hurt by one of the scary machines, the other would rush to their aid.

It was a strange and beautiful type of bond we shared, without knowing absolutely anything about each other. In one of the creator’s words, this was one of the main goals in creating the game.

No wonder why we see some emotional reactions from first-time players on YouTube. I felt pretty similar feelings in my first play. It was a lot to digest.

I hope you try it, and who knows, maybe we’ll meet each other in the desert.