Journal
- February 17, 2014
- Locked Door Puzzle
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Journal" is a single-player adventure game with an intriguing story of a young girl's journey facing the responsibilities of childhood. The game features hand-painted splendid graphics, an awesome soundtrack, and tackles the theme of memory reliability. Developed by Richard Perrin, with art and writing by Melissa Royall, it promises a highly emotional and thought-provoking experience.
Mac OS
PC
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Reviews
- The game features a beautifully hand-drawn art style that enhances the storytelling experience.
- The narrative is emotionally engaging, exploring themes of loss, regret, and the complexities of growing up.
- The soundtrack is well-composed, effectively setting the mood and complementing the game's atmosphere.
- The gameplay is simplistic, with minimal interactivity and choices that often feel inconsequential to the overall outcome.
- The story can be confusing and disjointed, with important plot points revealed too late to impact player decisions meaningfully.
- The game lacks replay value, as the experience does not change significantly with different choices.
- story304 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story of the game is a poignant exploration of adolescence, loss, and personal growth, told through the eyes of a young girl navigating complex emotions and experiences. While the narrative is rich and relatable, some players found it confusing and lacking coherence, particularly in how choices impact the story. Overall, the game is praised for its emotional depth and artistic presentation, making it a compelling, albeit imperfect, interactive storytelling experience.
“The basis for its drama may be as old as time, but the story manages to freshen it up by focusing on a different kind of consequences, as well as by refusing to add any sort of superficial silver lining to them.”
“The two hours spent with these characters touched me deeply, and their story is lingering on nicely, in a bittersweet way.”
“It's telling a story, a very complex one, using both stunning visuals, beautiful music, and powerful written word.”
“Unfortunately, the storytelling is confusing and leads to frustrating situations where the choices given lose their significance, for example when the player has to make decisions before they have the information to make them.”
“The muddled plot leads to a story that doesn't really go anywhere as they leave out details for pretty much everything, such as her parent's divorce, her grandmother's sudden change of behavior, and the package you have to pick up from the post office.”
“The game pretends you're following this girl and sharing a story with her but you keep getting the information afterwards... for example something happens, okay... someone says 'do you know who did it?', you answer that you don't know and then the main character says... 'actually, it was me!' wait what?”
- graphics68 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique hand-drawn art style, which effectively sets an atmospheric tone that complements the narrative. Many players found the visuals to be both beautiful and haunting, enhancing the overall experience, although some noted technical issues like lag during transitions. Overall, the art direction is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's charm and storytelling.
“The artwork is perfect for setting the atmosphere of the game, and toes the line between beautiful and brilliantly unsettling.”
“The graphics and voice acting are good, but it's the story that makes this game shine.”
“The unusual premise and the beautiful hand-drawn children’s storybook graphics are worth the price of admission alone.”
“A failure to emphasize is written all over the artwork.”
“Also, for a game not very graphically intense, the lag that happens when you change location is quite a surprise.”
“The art style convinced me to buy this, but it didn't look that good during the actual game.”
- gameplay47 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily focused on walking around and engaging in dialogue, with minimal interactive elements or puzzles, making it more of a narrative experience than a traditional game. While some players appreciate the storytelling and emotional depth, many criticize the repetitive mechanics and lack of variety, leading to a mixed reception regarding its overall value. Overall, it appeals to those who prioritize narrative over gameplay, but may disappoint players seeking a more dynamic gaming experience.
“For a story told using paper cutouts, the beguilingly simple distraction-less game mechanic elevates the art of storytelling.”
“Cute artwork, great voice acting, and good choice-based gameplay.”
“The gameplay itself is fairly smooth and reliable, and area transitions occur quickly without any long delays or interruptions allowing the story to continue at a fairly rapid pace.”
“Bad art, bad gameplay, bad cutscenes, poorly written... I'm quite used to bad walking simulators, but this one is like an emo fanfic.”
“There's not much to the actual gameplay other than talking to people and making choices that won't affect the ending.”
“I want to recommend this game, I really do, but the gameplay detracts from the story too much to actually make me want to tell someone to sit down and play it through.”
- music45 mentions
- 51 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the emotional atmosphere and complement the storytelling, with many reviewers noting its beautiful composition and effective mood-setting qualities. While some found the soundtrack to be merely good or fitting, others highlighted it as a standout feature that elevates the overall experience. Overall, the combination of soothing melodies and engaging voice acting contributes significantly to the game's charm, despite some critiques regarding the game's brevity and narrative clarity.
“The soundtrack is just so well mixed to drive the mood exactly where it needs to go; every day has its own sound that builds to an epic crescendo as the week progresses.”
“The music in this game (and the finale, in particular), is truly great at setting the tone.”
“The art is beautiful, the music is soothing, and the story is great.”
“Even the big, momentous reveal feels mundane and ordinary because of the music.”
“Along with that, the music was just... okay.”
“I have played much better adventure games, with better stories, gameplay, soundtrack, etc., and for less money.”
- emotional32 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is widely praised for its deeply emotional narrative and well-crafted storytelling, often evoking strong feelings and personal reflections from players. Many reviewers highlight its ability to tackle complex human experiences, such as loss and emotional distress, resulting in a touching and sometimes heartbreaking experience. While some noted minor shortcomings in gameplay, the overall consensus is that the emotional depth and connection to the characters make it a worthwhile and impactful journey.
“Like To The Moon, it is story-rich, tackles an emotional human subject in a moving way, with a wonderful use of symbolism, and has a beautiful soundtrack.”
“I can definitely say that the game struck me on an emotional level; it pretty much nailed how much it sucks to be in middle school, having friendships go down in flames, a parent abruptly bringing someone new into the picture, and trying to handle the loss of a loved one.”
“Journal explores emotions and situations which many people find hard to cope with, and takes you on a very emotional journey.”
- replayability9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is considered limited, with many players noting that once the story is completed, there is little incentive to replay due to minimal impact from player choices. Some achievements and trading cards offer slight motivation for a second playthrough, but the consensus is that the game lacks significant replay value, making it more suitable for a sale purchase rather than full price.
“There's definitely a bit of replayability in this game too.”
“This gives the game some replayability.”
“Not much replay value but I would share it with friends.”
“No replay value.”
“Grab it when it's on sale, because the price is pretty high for the very short 2-hour length and zero replayability.”
“The only issue is that once the story is completed, there isn't much replay value, as interactions don't seem to affect the outcome at all. In fact, the only reason to replay would be to try to achieve a 100% completion of achievements.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is masterfully crafted, blending beautiful yet unsettling artwork with a poignant soundtrack that enhances the storytelling. Players experience a gradual shift in mood, creating a sense of doom and unease that effectively conveys the game's themes of real-life issues. Overall, the immersive presentation, including clever characterisation and dialogue, contributes to a deeply emotional and atmospheric experience.
“The artwork is perfect for setting the atmosphere of the game, and toes the line between beautiful and brilliantly unsettling.”
“The atmosphere is perfectly crafted to this end, and the ending brought tears to my eyes.”
“There is a sense of doom lingering throughout the game that hints toward something tragic, which is also expressed via a gradual shift and general sense of unease in the atmosphere and setting of the game.”
“Change of atmosphere will tell you that something is not right; your mum will send you to a special place, and you will uncover the truth.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game incorporates humor effectively, featuring self-deprecating elements that elevate its narrative, particularly in a hidden ending that resonates with fans of the Portal series. While the visuals and voice acting are praised, some players feel the voice work could have been utilized more throughout the story. Overall, the humor adds a delightful layer to the game's short narrative.
“The game also features a second, hidden ending which turns self-deprecating humor into an art form.”
“Interesting concept, nice visuals, good voice acting that was not used enough (only important parts, which are written in the journal, are spoken by one actress), short story with a very funny alternate ending (that reminded me of Portal 1 and 2's ending songs).”
- character development3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is uneven; while the protagonist and a few others receive meaningful growth in the latter part of the story, the initial character designs and narrative connections feel superficial and stereotypical, detracting from the overall impact.
“With that being said, the remaining 20% of the game brings much needed character development to the protagonist as well as some of the other characters.”
“While the world and the character designs follow the mentality of the girl after this big moment in her life, it doesn't feel like the story relates to it in any way.”
“It is also not helped by the stereotypical character designs employed to illustrate these other people, faceless or not.”
“With that being said, the remaining 20% of the game brings much-needed character development to the protagonist as well as some of the other characters.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent glitches such as interrupted conversations, misleading interaction prompts, and unclear text. Additionally, players report awkward and buggy controls that detract from the overall experience.
“There were a host of glitches in the game, from conversations cutting off randomly to the interact button appearing over things I couldn't interact with, to certain text just being a ton of random letters. Although I think that was intentional, it was never explained in the story.”
“The controls are awkward and buggy for such a straightforward game!”
