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The Big Journey

The Big Journey’s relaxed and charming atmosphere will appeal to a wide variety of gamers. There might not be a ton of variety between stages, but this is one chill title that will make players feel good.
The Big Journey Game Cover
81%Game Brain Score
music, gameplay
story, stability
83% User Score Based on 124 reviews
Critic Score 70%Based on 1 reviews

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The Big Journey Game Cover

About

The Big Journey is a single player casual platformer game with a kids theme. It was developed by Catfishbox and was released on April 20, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

"The Big Journey" is a delightful physics-based game featuring Mr. Whiskers, a rotund cat who rolls and rolls to uncover the mysteries of his missing beloved dumpling chef. Navigate through a series of whimsical levels with tactile, engaging gameplay, dodging obstacles, and meeting charming characters along the way. With its charming visuals, catchy music, and simple yet challenging gameplay, "The Big Journey" is a delightful adventure for all ages.

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The Big Journey screenshot
The Big Journey screenshot
The Big Journey screenshot
The Big Journey screenshot
The Big Journey screenshot
The Big Journey screenshot
The Big Journey screenshot
The Big Journey screenshot
The Big Journey screenshot
The Big Journey screenshot
The Big Journey screenshot
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83%
Audience ScoreBased on 124 reviews
music19 positive mentions
story3 negative mentions
  • The game features a charming and colorful art style that is visually appealing and cute.
  • Gameplay is simple and fun, making it accessible for players of all ages, especially children.
  • The soundtrack is enjoyable and adds to the relaxing atmosphere of the game.
  • Controls can be unresponsive and frustrating, leading to issues with gameplay and level progression.
  • Level design becomes repetitive, with many levels feeling similar and lacking variety.
  • Some achievements are bugged or require excessive grinding, detracting from the overall experience.
  • music
    40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally described as cute, pleasant, and fitting well with the overall atmosphere, enhancing the experience for players of all ages. However, many reviewers noted that the soundtrack can become repetitive after a short period, which detracts from the enjoyment. Overall, while the music is appreciated for its charm and relaxation, it lacks the inventiveness found in other titles like Locoroco.

    • “The soundtrack is fun although it can get a bit repetitive at times, especially when playing a world and hearing that song five times in a row.”
    • “A bright and summery indie pop-rock soundtrack from artist Choconuts drives the playful and bright action of the Big Journey.”
    • “Together with the graphics and ease of gameplay, the soundtrack helps make The Big Journey one of the most accessible games on Steam, something that can be enjoyed by players of all ages.”
    • “Some of the level designs are frustrating, the music is repetitive and a couple of achievements are straight up broken.”
    • “And it definitely doesn't help that the game's soundtrack sounds almost entirely the same throughout, and the same tracks will repeat over and over, slowly getting on your nerves.”
    • “The music is okay but it could have been better.”
  • gameplay
    29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is a simple and enjoyable platformer that utilizes a unique screen-tilting mechanic to navigate levels while collecting items. While the charming visuals and straightforward controls appeal to many players, some have noted issues with floaty controls and repetitive level design, leading to a lack of challenge in later stages. Overall, it offers a relaxing experience, though it may not provide deep gameplay complexity.

    • “It's a relatively enjoyable platformer/puzzle platformer where you use the arrow keys to tilt the screen and the space bar to jump your roly-poly cat in a quest for dumplings and fireflies.”
    • “The tilting mechanic to move around is refreshing and also implemented in a good way; you have to play the game for a while to get a feel for it.”
    • “Together with the graphics and ease of gameplay, the soundtrack helps make the big journey one of the most accessible games on Steam, something that can be enjoyed by players of all ages.”
    • “In text, the gameplay doesn’t sound so bad, but here comes the biggest problem of the game – the floaty controls that scream for a controller but cannot be played this way because there is some glitch that forgets you are holding the analog stick every three seconds.”
    • “The gameplay is just rotating the screen back and forth and jumping, and it kinda gives me motion sickness honestly.”
    • “To be honest, I like the game, it's cute, fun, and I enjoyed playing it, but it was starting to get a bit boring throughout the final levels because I didn't feel the difficulty in the final chapters, just like the bonus chapter where it made you go back and forth to progress and complete it in time. I get that is a common problem games have, which is pretty much shoving the player everything right at the start and getting repetitive on the rest of the gameplay; in this one, it's different obstacles but the same difficulty.”
  • graphics
    27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their cute, colorful, and whimsical design, appealing to both children and adults. The simplistic 2D visuals and charming art style create an enjoyable atmosphere, although some players note that the level design can become repetitive. Overall, the aesthetic is considered a strong point, enhancing the game's accessibility and appeal.

    • “The art style is beautiful and gives it its own identity.”
    • “You can't deny this game is super cute, with bright colored graphics and a cheery soundtrack.”
    • “The artwork is just adorable, simplistic 2D graphics that depict this fun-filled world.”
    • “Overall, the graphics are cute and the game is quite decent for children, but the controls are horrible and the camera movement gives me nausea.”
    • “It's storybook-like visuals hardly make up for how flat the level design and gameplay is.”
    • “You can play this on a potato, and it generally is quite pleasingly cute/colourful and fanciful in its level design, albeit eventually repetitive.”
  • story
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is described as cute and kid-friendly, featuring a whimsical quest involving a roly-poly cat seeking dumplings and fireflies across five chapters. However, it is criticized for being nonsensical, lacking emotional depth, and offering a disappointing ending, with gameplay focused more on collection than narrative progression. While the visuals are charming, the overall story experience is considered flat and underwhelming.

    • “The graphics are nice, the cat is super squishy, and the story is definitely kid-friendly.”
    • “I've only played 0.2 hours so far but fell in love with the style and the story immediately.”
    • “- very nonsensical story with only a single disappointing, irritating ending, severely lacking in emotional catharsis.”
    • “It's storybook-like visuals hardly make up for how flat the level design and gameplay is.”
    • “Since the story chapters make up the main content of the game, it's still ok.”
  • humor
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by its lighthearted and whimsical elements, featuring cute visuals and amusing dialogue, particularly with animal characters. Players appreciate the funny hashtags that accompany screenshots and the overall vibrant, colorful atmosphere that enhances the comedic experience. While the humor is enjoyable, some reviewers note that the game lacks depth, suggesting it may be best purchased on sale.

    • “If you trigger the screenshot at an interesting point (e.g., near a character), there's a polaroid of the picture and a few funny/cute hashtags popping up.”
    • “It's very nice on the eyes, very cute, and has funny writing, but it's not a very deep game. I would recommend getting it on sale if possible.”
    • “You can also find friends (other animals) with some pretty funny dialogue, and you are rated on each run (time, bugs, and dumplings collected).”
  • stability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players report a stable experience with minimal bugs and glitches, though some have noted issues such as getting stuck under bouncy platforms and visibility problems caused by flying enemies. Additionally, navigating menus with a controller can be somewhat buggy.

    • “In my gameplay, I did not find that many bugs and/or glitches the community found, except you can get stuck under the bouncy platforms. In some levels, where bats and birds fly away, they stop in mid-air and block some portion of the visibility in the level.”
    • “You can play with a controller as well, but the menus seem a bit buggy to navigate with analog sticks.”
    • “Menus can be buggy sometimes when using a controller.”
  • emotional
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is polarizing; while some players find it heartwarming and wholesome, providing a relaxing experience, others criticize its nonsensical story and lack of emotional depth, leading to disappointment in the overall emotional impact.

    • “Heartwarming, people need this.”
    • “This game could be really wholesome and relaxing.”
    • “Wholesome, cute, and relaxing.”
  • atmosphere
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its vibrant colors and soothing soundtrack, which together create a charming and family-friendly environment. Reviewers highlight the effective use of music and audio that enhances the overall experience, making it appealing to a diverse audience.

    • “My daughter loves it; wonderful colors, nice mechanics, and a brilliant atmosphere.”
    • “Music and audio samples selected for the game fit it very well and create a great atmosphere.”
    • “The colors are incredibly pleasing, working in tandem with the soothing soundtrack to create a refreshing and family-friendly cartoon atmosphere.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some users noting that the controls can be frustrating and not well-suited for PC, while others have experienced performance issues at times.

    • “Performance can be a real issue sometimes.”
    • “The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, especially in crowded areas.”
    • “Loading times are excessively long, which disrupts the overall experience.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players note that the game offers decent replayability, particularly through the challenge of achieving 3-star ratings on levels and completing Steam achievements.

    • “The game offers great replay value with its Steam achievements.”
    • “Replayability is a key feature that keeps the game engaging.”
    • “The levels provide some replayability if you're trying to achieve 3 stars.”
    • “Replayability is limited.”
  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express frustration with the grinding required for achievements, particularly noting that tasks like defeating 1,000 monsters feel excessive. Additionally, some rare achievements demand significant grinding or are plagued by bugs, leading to further dissatisfaction among completionists.

    • “And the monster-killing achievement requires some serious grinding to finally pop (1000 monsters, really?!?!?!).”
    • “Lastly, for completionism purposes, the 'rarest' achievements either require extreme grinding or are bugged and might not unlock (many of them don't for me).”
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70%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

The Big Journey is a casual platformer game with kids theme.

The Big Journey is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac OS, Phone and others.

The Big Journey was released on April 20, 2018.

The Big Journey was developed by Catfishbox.

The Big Journey has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its music but disliked it for its story.

The Big Journey is a single player game.

Similar games include Oozi: Earth Adventure, Omno, The Purring Quest, Yoku's Island Express, Under Leaves and others.