Original Journey

About

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

In Original Journey, you play as a rookie soldier tasked with finding the Origin Stone on the hostile Planet Shadow to save your homeworld. Battle monstrous enemies using a variety of sci-fi weapons, mech armor, and strategically placed turrets across hundreds of procedurally generated levels. Uncover hidden secrets and experience the Ato people's harrowing struggle for survival.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

69%

Audience ScoreBased on 26 reviews

story5 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game features beautiful hand-drawn graphics and a unique art style that enhances the overall experience.
The gameplay is engaging with a good mix of combat, exploration, and a variety of weapons and upgrades to unlock.
The story and lore are rich and immersive, keeping players invested in the game world and its quirky characters.

The game suffers from several bugs and glitches, including game-breaking issues that can hinder progress.
The pacing is slow, especially in the beginning, with tedious tutorials and excessive dialogue that can frustrate players.
Some players find the gameplay repetitive and lacking in challenge, leading to a feeling of grindiness as the game progresses.

story
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
55%
17%
The game's story is described as average, with a quirky narrative that becomes more engaging as players progress, despite a significant plot bug that hampers the experience. While the storyline is relatively short and lacks depth, it features an interesting premise involving a rookie soldier from the ato alien race on a mission to save their home world. Overall, the game offers enjoyable gameplay and beautiful graphics, but the story's execution and pacing leave room for improvement.
- “Good story and gameplay.”
- “In this space adventure, you play a rookie soldier of the Ato alien race, which has just landed on the monster-ridden planet Shadow on a desperate mission to save its home world.”
- “In conclusion, Original Journey is stellar in its story concept, game design, and artistic composition.”
- “The story was pretty average all the way through until the end where there's just no agency.”
- “There's a major storyline bug closer towards the end of the game that prevents you from moving forward, and the only way to fix that is to literally wear a specific armor (a little bit of help from old community forum threads got me on the right track, but I had to modify it by not using a specific weapon as well).”
- “Story is threaded back and forth between these four biomes, but is relatively short; I was able to wrap the whole thing up in maybe four hours.”
gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
41%
18%
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of engaging combat mechanics and a visually appealing design, appealing to both casual and hardcore gamers. While some players find the gameplay loop repetitive and overly simplistic, others appreciate the variety of weapons, upgrades, and the empowering decision-making it offers. Overall, the game provides a decent amount of content, though opinions vary on its challenge and enjoyment level.
- “From the gameplay to the lore, this game is for casual and hardcore gamers alike.”
- “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.”
- “There is much to appreciate and enjoy aesthetically, but that aside, the gameplay is truly enjoyable.”
- “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 in each biome.”
- “10 seconds of stupid-easy gameplay, load next, repeat.”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
27%
20%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and beautiful hand-drawn art style, featuring a muted color palette that enhances the overall aesthetic. Many reviewers appreciate the intricate designs and the refreshing departure from flashy effects, highlighting the game's oriental vibes and creative ambition. However, a few users express disappointment, suggesting that the graphics may not meet their expectations despite the artistic effort.
- “The world, through both the visuals and writing, is really well realized.”
- “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.”
- “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.”
- “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.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that while the game features stunning graphics and an engaging story, the grinding aspect is often viewed as tedious and unfun, particularly during the endgame where achievements feel like a chore. Some players appreciate the grind as a positive element, but many find the overall pacing slow and the end boss disappointingly easy.
- “Super good looking but beyond tedious and un-fun gameplay.”
- “Finishing up any achievements afterward just feels very much like a tedious grind and not worth the effort.”
- “Gorgeous graphics; okay story, but too short; serviceable music; tedious endgame (end boss was absurdly easy).”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising the soundtrack and sound effects as enjoyable additions. However, some players noted the absence of an option to mute the music or audio, which they found to be a drawback. Overall, while the music is considered serviceable and a positive aspect, it could benefit from more customization options.
- “The soundtrack is another plus.”
- “Nice music.”
- “The music and sound effects are also good.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
Overall, the game's replayability is noted to diminish after completing the story and acquiring all upgrades, yet players still find significant enjoyment during the initial playthrough. Additionally, the original journey offers a level of replayability that keeps players engaged.
- “And while the replayability diminished once the story was done and all the upgrades were acquired, there were still many hours of enjoyment to be had before it got to this point.”
- “The original journey also has definite replayability.”
- “And while the replayability diminished once the story was done and all the upgrades were acquired, there were still a great many hours of enjoyment to be had before it got to this point.”
- “Original journey also has definite replayability.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized as quirky and funny, providing a lighthearted and entertaining experience that resonates well with players.
- “The humor in this game is quirky and funny, making every moment enjoyable.”
- “I love how the game incorporates clever jokes and puns that keep me laughing.”
- “The witty dialogue and absurd situations had me in stitches throughout my playthrough.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is not directly addressed in the provided text, which focuses more on gameplay mechanics and level design. Therefore, it lacks insights into the emotional impact or narrative elements that might resonate with players.