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Original Journey

Original Journey is a blast to play for hours on end. Quick paced gameplay mixed in with a great audio visual design makes for an easy time to simply keep going for just 'one more'.
Original Journey Game Cover
50%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:graphics, story
Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, replayability
71% User Score Based on 28 reviews
Critic Score 43%Based on 4 reviews

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Original Journey Game Cover

About Original Journey

Original Journey is a single player role playing shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Bonfire Entertainment and was released on August 16, 2017. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

Join the forces of the Ato as they set off on a journey across the universe to save their planet from a slow death. Find out how far one species is willing to go to save itself in this gorgeous hand drawn action adventure from Bonfire Entertainment.

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Original Journey screenshot
Original Journey screenshot
Original Journey screenshot
Original Journey screenshot
Original Journey screenshot
Original Journey screenshot
Original Journey screenshot
Original Journey screenshot
Original Journey screenshot
Original Journey screenshot
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Reviews

71%Audience ScoreBased on 28 reviews
graphics12 positive mentions
grinding5 negative mentions
  • Unique and striking hand-drawn monochrome art style with selective color accents creates a beautiful and memorable visual experience.
  • Engaging gameplay with solid twin-stick shooting mechanics, rich weapon and armor customization, and a satisfying loot and upgrade system.
  • Intriguing narrative and world-building featuring the Ato people, combining a mix of melancholy, charm, and adventure that enhances overall immersion.
  • Repetitive level design and combat encounters can result in a loss of momentum and eventual monotony during longer play sessions.
  • Control issues including janky aiming and limited shooting angles frustrate combat, sometimes making enemy encounters artificially difficult.
  • Several persistent bugs, including game-breaking progression blockers and unfixable achievement glitches, diminish the gameplay experience.

  • graphics

    29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    41% positive mentions, 49% neutral mentions, 10% negative mentions

    The game’s graphics are widely praised for their unique hand-drawn, monochrome pencil-sketch art style with selective color accents, creating a visually striking and emotionally evocative atmosphere. This distinct aesthetic offers a fresh, storybook-like charm that stands out among indie titles, though some players note that the dense visuals can occasionally cause combat confusion. Overall, the graphics are considered a major highlight, showcasing impressive creativity and artistic ambition.

    • “Utilizing a hand-drawn black and white art style with occasional, deliberate splashes of color—green for allies, red for enemies—the game achieves a striking, almost pencil-sketch aesthetic that is both beautiful and unique.”
    • “The intense amount of work and creativity that went into designing this game is on full display, from the intricate layout of the Ato’s home base to the exquisite hand-drawn pencil graphics.”
    • “Graphically, it's beautiful, a muted color palette allows the player to focus more on the striking hand-drawn artwork and less on flashy graphic effects.”
    • “Unfortunately, the same artistic commitment that makes the game beautiful also introduces some functional challenges: during combat-heavy moments, the dense monochrome visuals can make it difficult to distinguish enemies and projectiles, creating moments of visual confusion.”
    • “I bought this for the neat looking graphics, and because it was on sale.. wasn't worth it.”
    • “And the graphics really aren't that good.”

  • story

    27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    26% positive mentions, 63% neutral mentions, 11% negative mentions

    The story of the game is praised for its rich premise and memorable characters, offering a compelling backdrop of the ato people's survival mission on a mysterious, hostile planet with a distinctive art style that enhances the atmosphere. However, the narrative is relatively short, sometimes feels more like a setting than a driving force, and suffers from a significant endgame bug that affects player agency. Overall, while the storytelling is earnest and engaging early on, it has pacing and length limitations, but remains a highlight when paired with the game's visual and gameplay elements.

    • “Beyond the action, the game delivers a rich story about the Ato people's struggle for survival and their dangerous mission to find the "Origin Stone."”
    • “The narrative is more involved than in many games of this genre, featuring memorable characters to interact with and a plot with unexpected twists.”
    • “There’s a subtle sadness in exploring a dying world filled with both wonder and hostility, and the contrast between the cute, plantlike protagonists and their grim mission gives the game an emotional texture that lingers.”
    • “The story, though built upon a creative premise, serves more as a backdrop than a driving force.”
    • “The story was pretty average all the way through until the end where there is just no agency.”
    • “There is a major storyline bug closer towards the end of the game that prevents you from moving forward; the only fix is to wear a specific armor and avoid using a specific weapon, based on community forum advice.”

  • gameplay

    27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    37% positive mentions, 52% neutral mentions, 11% negative mentions

    The gameplay is praised for its engaging twin-stick shooting mechanics, customization options, and satisfying upgrade systems that offer depth and player choice. While some find it simple or repetitive, many appreciate the smooth controls, enjoyable combat loop, and overall fun experience enhanced by strong visual and audio design. However, a few players note occasional frustration with certain mechanics and weapon balance.

    • “Original Journey offers solid twin-stick shooting mechanics that are easy to learn but difficult to master.”
    • “This variety in equipment and tactics provides a satisfying layer of depth, allowing players to tailor the gameplay to their preferred style.”
    • “During gameplay, we unlock a variety of weapons and suits, each unique in function and benefits, and find a variety of loot utilized for upgrades.”
    • “90% or more of the gameplay is self-explanatory, so I don't know why they have to spoon-feed it to me.”
    • “There's really only 4 different biomes that you adventure in; basic gameplay is that you have mini-encounters on consecutive arenas or floating islands or whatnot in each biome.”
    • “10 seconds of stupid-easy gameplay, load next, repeat.”

  • music

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    60% positive mentions, 20% neutral mentions, 20% negative mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for complementing the action and enhancing the atmosphere, with a blend of atmospheric and intense tracks. While the soundtrack is considered a highlight, some users note the lack of an option to mute audio as a drawback. Overall, the music effectively supports the game's mood and pacing.

    • “The soundtrack complements the action nicely, mixing atmospheric tracks with bursts of intensity during combat, further grounding the experience in its alien melancholy.”
    • “The soundtrack is another plus.”
    • “The music and sound effects are also good.”

  • grinding

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game is generally seen as tedious and slow, making achievements and endgame content feel like a chore, though some players find the grind manageable or even positive. Overall, the gameplay's grind detracts from the experience despite appealing visuals.

    • “Beyond being super good looking, the gameplay is tedious and un-fun.”
    • “Finishing up any achievements afterward feels like a tedious grind and not worth the effort.”
    • “The game has a little grindy feel with a somewhat slow pace.”

  • emotional

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game evokes a subtle sadness through its portrayal of a dying world, blending cute protagonists with a grim mission to create a lingering emotional impact. Its unique art style and moody atmosphere offer a heartfelt, imaginative experience that resonates especially with fans of experimental indie games. While not focused on tight combat or pacing, its emotional depth and distinct tone make it memorable.

    • “There’s a subtle sadness in exploring a dying world filled with both wonder and hostility, and the contrast between the cute, plantlike protagonists and their grim mission gives the game an emotional texture that lingers.”
    • “Its distinct art style, moody atmosphere, and blend of genres make it stand out, and for players who appreciate experimental indie titles with emotional undercurrents, it’s an experience worth exploring.”
    • “While it may not satisfy those craving tight combat or flawless pacing, it offers a glimpse into a world that feels both imaginative and heartfelt.”

  • atmosphere

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game's atmosphere is defined by a distinct, moody art style that creates a sense of a living yet decaying alien world, enhanced by a soundtrack that balances atmospheric tones with intense combat music. This blend of styles and emotional depth offers a unique, immersive experience, particularly appealing to fans of experimental indie games.

    • “The style contributes to the story’s atmosphere—a planet that feels both alive and decaying, mysterious yet hostile.”
    • “The soundtrack complements the action nicely, mixing atmospheric tracks with bursts of intensity during combat, further grounding the experience in its alien melancholy.”
    • “Its distinct art style, moody atmosphere, and blend of genres make it stand out, and for players who appreciate experimental indie titles with emotional undercurrents, it’s an experience worth exploring.”

  • replayability

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    33% positive mentions, 34% neutral mentions, 33% negative mentions

    The game offers strong replayability during the initial story and upgrade phases, providing many hours of enjoyment, though this diminishes after completing the main content. Overall, the original journey retains definite replay value.

    • “Original journey also has definite replayability.”
    • “And while the replayability diminished once the story was done and all the upgrades were acquired, there was still a great many hours of enjoyment to be had before it got to this point.”

  • humor

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The humor is characterized as quirky and funny, adding a unique and enjoyable charm to the experience.

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Critic Reviews

43%Critics’ scoreBased on 4 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Original Journey is a role playing shooter game with science fiction theme. Common tags for Original Journey include indie, linear, aliens, action roguelike, difficult and others.

Original Journey is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac OS, PlayStation 4 and others.

Original Journey was released on August 16, 2017.

Original Journey was developed by Bonfire Entertainment.

Original Journey has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked Original Journey for its graphics but disliked it for its grinding.

Original Journey is a single player game.

Similar games include Shattered Planet, CRYPTARK, Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival, Razenroth, Astro Looter and others.