Credits

''NOTE: this is a work-in-progress version of the article covering Journey in-game credits. It was created to capture interesting things in Credits that don't fit elsewhere.''

Overview
The end game credits in Journey show a Shooting Star travelling from the mountaintop all the way back to where the journey began. Scenes from all levels are shown in reverse order (Snow, Tower, Underground, Sunken City, Pink Desert, Broken Bridge, Chapter Select), accompanied by the last song in the OST, I Was Born For This.

The entire credits sequence is actually built as complete "levels", with terrain, geometry, scripts, cameras etc., combining mini-versions of all levels on three separate maps. Some areas have distinctly different lighting compared to game levels, for example the "mini Sunset Gallery" is brightly lit, as are parts of the "mini Underground" section.

After the credits, a special screen is shown listing symbols and names of the Wayfarers you were connected to during the journey (Companions Met Along the Way).

The screen then gradually transitions to the New Journey screen.

Sections
The ending sequence takes place on three maps that combine elements from different levels and have special areas with triggers changing the light parameters. The reason for such division is most likely due to level map size and environment/lighting mechanics (each "mini-map" uses a quarter of level terrain, either "north-west" or "south-east", the other two quadrants remain unused because they'd have the same sky and fog colors as the adjacent mini-levels).

It was previously suggested that the sequence was split into three levels due to memory constraints; whilst this could be a contributing factor, the main reason appears to be that game engine restrictions wouldn't allow two differently lit sections side-by-side thus limiting each "level" to two usable quarters as described above.


 * The first of the three credits maps (named Level_Credits in the files) starts from the Snow area, transitions to Tower and ends in the Underground. It is the longest section of the credits sequence, that lasts about 140 seconds. During the transition to the second part, the game makes a save file that confirms its completion.
 * The second section (named Level_Matt in the files) combines Sunken City at midday and Pink Desert at dusk.
 * The last section (named Level_Chris in the files) comprises of night versions of Broken Bridge and Chapter Select. With the end of the song I Was Born For This, the game loads Chapter Select map (Level_Graveyard) and shows the CMATW screen.

Main song ("I was born for this")
Composed by Austin Wintory.

Walking in the credits (modding/hacking)
This is possible with modding/hacking the game. It is shared here, for all the people who dream about walking in the Credits.

Thank you rebi for sharing the video (judging by date it probably is was made on the PC version)! See also video description.

Trivia

 * Distant shooting stars can be seen in the night sky (those are just brief lines unlike the magical Shooting Stars which are made of symbols).
 * If you wait until the very end, the sun will rise and the scene will turn into the "Start Journey" screen thus completing the circle. However, in this version of the screen the mountain is now visible (when you start the first journey, there is no mountain and it's only revealed once you trigger the title card).
 * The credits sequence correlates with "the return" part of the Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth model (see notes below).
 * Every credits level has a wayfarer placed on the map as a “decoration”.
 * A Wayfarer can be seen standing on the left side of the bridge in the Snow level, watching the star flying by. This is in fact the player’s wayfarer instance, but the player no longer has control.
 * Two wayfarers, are seen jumping into the rest area in the Sunken City section. The first one is non-controllable player’s wayfarer that the game sets as 4th tier red robe.
 * The wayfarer meditating in the night section of Broken Bridge is another instance of using player’s wayfarer as a "decoration". This one too appears as 4th tier red robe.
 * Although the player's wayfarer instance is used by the game on these levels, it's merely a decoration (story-wise, the wayfarer that has just completed the journey has become a shooting star).
 * New kelp can be seen growing from the broken pipe as the star flies through the Kelp Room in Underground section.
 * There is a typo in PS4 credits ("Director, International Development & Locaisation Services", watch closely the Pink Desert / WM factory section).
 * Although the ending is deliberately ambiguous, the Credits sequence starts where the Snow level ended, with a new tombstone in the middle being the only one glowing (albeit briefly), which suggests rather strongly that the Wayfarer is, in fact, dead.

Notes on the Monomyth:
 * A monomyth describes a common story or pattern observed in otherwise unconnected mythologies, originally in the context of ancient myths of various tribes or cultures where geographical and/or temporal constraints rule out the possibility of either myth being derived from or influenced by another despite strong similarities in their narratives.
 * The "Hero's Journey" monomyth was popularised by Joseph Campbell's work in 1950 and subsequent research; Campbell identified 17 stages of the journey, which are often organised in three acts: Departure, Initiation and Return.
 * a simplified version of the journey (a "nobody" leaves the comfort of the "known" to answer the call of "unknown" and returns transformed into a hero) is now broadly recognised as a narrative tool and is used in contexts ranging from art to business presentations. Luke Skywalker's story in the original Star Wars movie is often cited as an example of the Hero's Journey.
 * The flight of the shooting star in the credits especially resembles "the magic flight" stage that Campbell describes as such:

Quotes
"In the end of the hero’s journey the hero always returns to its origin. So this is also part of the reason why the credits for Journey are actually slightly different from Flower and Flow."

- Jenova Chen, Journey developers commentary. "I am really glad this came together, because it really ends the journey well. It ties it all together. (…) Now when you see that opening sequence, you will know what the shooting star is."

- Matt Nava, Journey developers commentary.