Voyage Review

Voyage, from the outside looking in would seem like just another one of those “easy achievements” games. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll be able to mop up all 13 achievements over the course of a single play-through, which will only take you an hour or two, but you’ll have an absolutely wonderful time in doing so. There is only one “out of you way” achievement to obtain here, which only consists of hugging your other player, so not a tall order, whatsoever, all the rest are obtained simply by playing.

Voyage boasts different types of environments for you to traverse through, that are all beautifully hand painted and they do an impeccable job of setting the scene within each chapter.

Gameplay

One of the great things about Voyage is that it’s very easy to just pick up and play, almost anyone can pick up and play this delightful game with ease due to a very simple control scheme that comprises of the movement joystick and the A,B,X,Y buttons. This beautiful control system really helps the flow of getting lost within the world of Voyage, as you don’t have to spend much, if any time at all learning how to play the game, you can just sit back and enjoy.

In Voyage you’ll primarily be controlling two characters on their journey to unravel a mystery and try to return home together. It’s also worth mentioning you can also journey through these beautiful landscapes in couch, or online co-op with a friend, if you so choose to. I played Voyage in single player, mostly because I didn’t realise until afterwards, that you could tackle the journey with a friend, but in Single player you get to switch between each character, using them both to help you progress. In Voyage you can choose to make your secondary character wait in an area, or just effortlessly switch between them both. Throughout your journey through the game, you’ll  mostly be using them both, to work together to climb up in areas, move obstacles and progress through blocked areas, all very simple but its absolutely wonderful to look at whilst you’re doing it.

There isn’t a lot here game-play wise, which doesn’t necessarily mean that is a bad thing, as a matter of fact I love the simplistic approach that’s required from the characters you control. It really allows the story telling and gorgeous world coupled with some very calming audio to shine through and come out on top here.

Story

If i’m being honest there isn’t much to say here without spoiling the game, but at certain points, especially in the beginning if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself travelling through this stunning world with not a clue of what is actually going on due to the games lack of dialogue but it does certainly become clearer by the time you reach the end of the game, which will only take you around 2 hours.

Voyage boasts “wordless narrative” so you wont have any little tidbits of dialogue placed here or there to try and help clue you in. It’s certainly a welcomed approach and something very different, if that’s your thing. As mentioned at the start of the review, the environments are all hand painted which makes the game an absolute beautiful piece of moving, interactive art and helps bring the world and story to life.

Verdict

Overall, the team at Venturous (@Venturousgames on twitter) have done a marvelous job creating something quite special here. You can easily complete Voyage in one sitting, as it doesn’t try to overstay its welcome, but what i can say is you’ll be taken back by the beautiful landscapes on offer here, and may want to experience it all over again. My only gripe whilst playing was with one part in particular, where you have to move an object to progress, but you move quite slowly and it feels like it goes on forever. However, i am nitpicking, Venturous have crafted a gorgeous world with an interesting approach with the narrative, no dialogue between the two characters and instead just little audio cues here and there, really add to the game, sometimes less is more. Voyage is one I can certainly recommend, especially for the achievement hunters out there, you’ll come for the achievements and you’ll leave having a game making a lasting impression on you.

Currently sitting on the Xbox Store at £11.99, it’s definitely worth a go. Voyage is also available on Steam and PlayStation for the same price and Nintendo Switch for £9.59, which is good news because I think this game is perfect for a handheld device where you can chip away one chapter at a time whilst on the bus etc.

Take yourself on a journey, play Voyage.

DISCLAIMER: Reviewer has played the game for a total of 2 hours and 30 minutes and obtained 13/13 achievements for a total Gamerscore of 1000/1000.