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Old Man's Journey

A short but bittersweet journey left open for some soul searching.
Old Man's Journey Game Cover
78%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
replayability, grinding
86% User Score Based on 1,788 reviews
Critic Score 69%Based on 9 reviews

Platforms

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Old Man's Journey Game Cover

About

Old Man's Journey is a single player and multiplayer casual action adventure game with drama, mystery, kids and violence themes. It was developed by Broken Rules and was released on May 17, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Old Man’s Journey, a soul-searching puzzle adventure, tells a story of life, loss, reconciliation, and hope. Entrenched in a beautifully sunkissed and handcrafted world, embark on a heartfelt journey interwoven with lighthearted and pressure-free puzzle solving. During this compact gameplay experience, you’ll be transported to a vibrant and wishful world, exploring life’s complexities through the…

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Old Man's Journey screenshot
Old Man's Journey screenshot
Old Man's Journey screenshot
Old Man's Journey screenshot
Old Man's Journey screenshot
Old Man's Journey screenshot
Old Man's Journey screenshot
Old Man's Journey screenshot
Old Man's Journey screenshot
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86%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,788 reviews
story526 positive mentions
replayability12 negative mentions
  • Beautiful and unique hand-drawn art style with detailed environments and charming animations.
  • Emotionally touching and melancholy story told without words through evocative imagery and music.
  • Simple and intuitive puzzle mechanics involving moving terrain to create paths that complement the narrative and atmosphere.
  • Very short experience, generally 1 to 2 hours, offering limited replayability and shallow story depth.
  • Gameplay becomes repetitive quickly with minimal puzzle variety, some puzzles being trivial or occasionally frustrating due to controls.
  • Main character’s story perceived as unsympathetic by some players; the narrative leaves unresolved or unsatisfying aspects regarding family abandonment and reconciliation.
  • story
    1,424 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of Old Man’s Journey is a simple, wordless, and emotional narrative about an elderly man reflecting on his life, love, regrets, and choices through pictorial flashbacks. While it is praised for its beautiful art, touching themes, and heartfelt delivery, many find the plot predictable, somewhat cliché, and too minimalistic, with limited player involvement in storytelling. Overall, the game offers a gentle, bittersweet tale that resonates with players seeking a relaxing, visually rich experience, though it may feel shallow or underdeveloped to those expecting deeper narrative complexity.

    • “Old man's journey is a beautifully told story about life, joy, struggles and death, conveyed entirely without words through stunning visuals and a touching soundtrack.”
    • “The game tells a heartfelt and moving story of an old man's journey through life, loss, and hope, using beautiful art and non-verbal storytelling that creates a lasting emotional impact.”
    • “An incredible game that tells an absolutely beautiful story that is so emotional it can draw tears to your eyes without uttering a single word the entire time.”
    • “The story is told only through visuals with no dialogue, which I don't really like, but anyway, the visuals are fantastic and tell the story well.”
    • “The story was generic and the puzzles got boring really quick.”
    • “The failure of the plot to even remotely engage is not at all compensated by the extremely simple gameplay.”
  • gameplay
    656 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay centers on a unique but simple mechanic of manipulating the landscape to create paths for the old man’s journey, offering a calm, relaxing puzzle experience. While initially engaging and innovative, many find the gameplay repetitive, minimalistic, and lacking depth or challenge, which may result in boredom over its short 1–2 hour duration. Overall, it's better appreciated as an interactive art piece with beautiful visuals and music, rather than for its gameplay complexity or variety.

    • “I went into it not knowing anything really about it but the mechanics were easy to pick up and I've never seen this idea done before.”
    • “The gameplay, while simple, really ties this pretty little puzzle-story game together.”
    • “Gameplay is built around a unique terrain-manipulation mechanic that blends seamlessly with the story’s themes.”
    • “The gameplay consists mainly of moving lines up and down repeatedly, resulting in a boring and repetitive experience.”
    • “The gameplay gets tedious quickly, with the same simple puzzle mechanic repeated for 1.5 to 2 hours, making it feel like a chore rather than fun.”
    • “Gameplay is minimal and shallow, lacking diversity and challenge, leaving players seeking deeper mechanics or replayability disappointed.”
  • graphics
    598 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely praised for its stunning hand-painted, storybook-like art style, featuring beautiful, colorful, and detailed visuals that evoke nostalgia and complement the emotional narrative. The graphics effectively convey mood and story without words, creating an immersive and calming atmosphere enhanced by fitting animations. While some minor graphical glitches were noted, the overall consensus is that the artwork is the game's standout feature, delivering a peaceful, aesthetically pleasing experience.

    • “The hand-painted art style is absolutely stunning, and the atmosphere is so peaceful yet emotional—it draws you in completely.”
    • “One of the most defining aspects of this title is the art design and implementation, using an aesthetic that is reminiscent of a number of styles with hints of the washed pastel colouring and shading, a brushed art style that has the finish of oil painting whilst combining elements of block painting, a nuanced detailed finish and hints towards cubism with the angular and defined style.”
    • “The art style does more than please the eye; it supports the narrative by evoking nostalgia and impermanence, mirroring the way memories fade and blur over time.”
    • “Plenty of graphical glitches, even more at the edges of a 21:9 screen... two of the three menu buttons even move when you want to click on them!”
    • “With such clearly buggy code and graphics, I was honestly surprised that they had two programmers and 54 testers!”
    • “Frequent graphical glitches, a lack of puzzle variety or challenge and a lame tearjerker ending turn this from a weak recommendation into a begrudging no.”
  • music
    535 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in "Old Man's Journey" is widely praised for its beautiful, soothing, and emotive qualities, perfectly complementing the game's hand-drawn art and narrative. Composed by scntfc, the soundtrack is melodic and understated, enhancing the emotional impact without overpowering the experience, though some players found it repetitive or occasionally distracting. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature that deeply enriches the game's reflective and relaxing atmosphere.

    • “The game is truly carried by its soundtrack and its visual style, both of which are gorgeous.”
    • “The music fits the settings so incredibly well and we get our fair share of chirpy upbeat music and sad, sorrowful music as the story progresses.”
    • “The soundtrack is understated and melodic, gently guiding the player’s feelings without dictating them.”
    • “The music in this game was almost there, but missed the mark and eventually became grating due to the instrumentation and frequently staccato notation if I stayed in an area too long.”
    • “The music was jumpy and agitating (also not relaxing).”
    • “The music is not very good and a bit annoying at times, but you can turn it off.”
  • emotional
    398 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game delivers a simple, heartfelt, and deeply emotional story about an old man's reflective journey through life, conveyed beautifully through hand-painted visuals and evocative music without any dialogue. While many found the narrative touching and moving—often eliciting tears—the emotional impact can feel predictable or somewhat shallow to some players, especially as the puzzle gameplay sometimes distracts from the story. Overall, it's praised as a short, visually stunning, and emotionally resonant experience that offers quiet contemplation and warmth.

    • “An incredible game that tells an absolutely beautiful story that is so emotional it can draw tears to your eyes without uttering a single word the entire time.”
    • “The narrative unfolds without explanation or instruction, trusting the player to interpret the meaning of these moments and connect with them emotionally rather than intellectually.”
    • “Old man's journey offers a simple yet heart touching narrative told through a gorgeous, hand-painted art style.”
  • atmosphere
    85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its peaceful, emotional, and captivating qualities, enhanced by stunning hand-painted visuals, subtle animations, and a well-fitting, soothing soundtrack. It creates a heartfelt, nostalgic, and immersive experience that elevates the simple puzzle gameplay and story, making it a rewarding choice for players seeking a relaxing, atmospheric journey. Some critiques note that while the atmosphere excels, the gameplay and story may feel light or detached in comparison.

    • “The hand-painted art style is absolutely stunning, and the atmosphere is so peaceful yet emotional—it draws you in completely.”
    • “Subtle animations—swaying grass, drifting clouds, distant wildlife—add life without breaking the calm atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere created by the music, colors, animation and mechanics leads to powerful depth, revisiting the everlasting motif of "the journey".”
    • “The worst thing that I criticize is that the music is not relevant to the atmosphere.”
    • “However, the puzzle mechanics don't go well with the atmosphere and it feels like a separate game.”
    • “I wish this game's visuals, music, and atmosphere had been paired with a different story.”
  • replayability
    34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers a short, linear experience with minimal to no replayability, making it best suited for a single playthrough or as a low-cost, casual experience. Replay value is limited by unchanging puzzles and narrative, so it's generally recommended only at a discounted price or for those appreciating its artistic elements. Players seeking depth, challenge, or extended gameplay should look elsewhere.

    • “It has replay value in the sense that it's like a sweet film you'll put on again, some quiet afternoon or evening months or years later, when the right mood strikes.”
    • “You'll get 2 hours of gameplay for your first playthrough with similar replayability akin to a game like Limbo.”
    • “Super short with minimal replayability; however, the artwork is unbelievably stunning and emotional.”
    • “Before buying, please note that the game is very short and has absolutely no replayability value.”
    • “Unfortunately, the game is over very quickly, can be completed in one sitting, and with little to no replayability, you may end up regretting your choice.”
    • “Not a ton of replayability; once you know how to solve the puzzles, you can speed through them.”
  • grinding
    28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in this game is widely described as tedious, repetitive, and slow, with puzzle mechanics that start novel but quickly become monotonous and lack variety. While some appreciate the art style and story enough to overlook the grind, many find the gameplay boring and overly drawn out, detracting from the overall experience.

    • “The game is tediously slow, repeating the same puzzles over and over with little variety beyond a slightly different background.”
    • “This was, to be honest, the most tedious, redundant, and annoying game I've played in a long time.”
    • “After grinding non-stop for 2 days in fast-paced psychedelic roguelike FPS for elusive 1% achievements.”
  • stability
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is inconsistent, with reports ranging from completely bug-free and smooth performance to frequent graphical glitches, buggy puzzles, and frustrating gameplay issues. While some transitions and mechanics show minor bugs, others experience stuttering, button malfunctions, and visual problems, leading to a mixed overall impression.

    • “100% bug-free product”
    • “Consistently smooth and bug-free gameplay”
    • “Plenty of graphical glitches, even more at the edges of a 21:9 screen... two of the three menu buttons even move when you want to click on them!”
    • “Although graphics are superb and the idea was supposed to be relaxing and story-driven, the gameplay is extremely frustrating and buggy, spoiling everything.”
    • “I am not a fan because the PC build is lacking the most basic functionality, and the available gameplay is buggy and badly paced.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is generally solid, with good overall performance and no major bugs, though occasional stuttering during train segments and texture glitches underwater suggest there is room for improvement.

    • “I didn't find any bugs during my time spent in game and performance was good.”
    • “Some stuttering during the train segment and texture glitches in the underwater scene leave room for improvement.”
  • humor
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is light and enjoyable, adding to the overall fun, though the comedic elements and mechanics may wear thin quickly due to the game's short length.

    • “It was a short game but it was funny and easy to play!”
    • “Soundtrack and graphics are really great and the gameplay is kinda funny in a way.”
    • “The mechanics are innovative and funny, but get old rather fast.”
  • character development
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development is praised for its creative and beautiful designs that enhance storytelling, complemented by relaxing and impressive music that enriches the overall experience.

    • “Great character design and relaxing music.”
    • “Makes up for it with beautiful and creative landscape and character designs, provoking storytelling, and great music.”
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69%Critics’ scoreBased on 9 critic reviews
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2h Median play time
3h Average play time
2h Main story
2h Completionist
2-5h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 13 analyzed playthroughs
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Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Old Man's Journey is a casual action adventure game with drama, mystery, kids and violence themes.

Old Man's Journey is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam Deck, iPhone and others.

The main story can be completed in around 2 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 2 hours to finish. On average players spend around 3 hours playing Old Man's Journey.

Old Man's Journey was released on May 17, 2017.

Old Man's Journey was developed by Broken Rules.

Old Man's Journey has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked Old Man's Journey for its story but disliked it for its replayability.

Old Man's Journey is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery, The First Tree, When The Past Was Around, GRIS, The Gardens Between and others.