How to play guide for Journey

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This page will serve as a basic how to play guide for Journey. Feel free to edit this guide with any tips, tricks, and suggestions.

Basic gameplay[]

Please consider reading Basics Guides, if you are having your First Journey or just started to play the game. Those give hints and links to other helpful articles.

PC versions[]

it is recommended to start the game via the launcher (see Talk:PC Version FAQ)! For some people, it seemed they couldn't connect when not using the launcher.
Consider using a controller; if you are on keyboard or mouse, you might want to check "Controls" below or the in-game settings to see which buttons have a function.
Sand settings on low or medium look more grainy. Some people say its better than having it on high setting.
Just try out different settings (PlayStation versions did not have that option), Journey can look differently for PC players.
- Medium settings is the equivalent to PS3, High = PS4, Ultra is PC exclusive and Low corresponds to Vita according to Flower but not the case here.
- For reference: FXAA, Vsync, Cloth interpolation all enabled and MSAA 2x is the closest equivalent to PlayStation and iOS versions on PC

Common hints[]

Journey is rather self-explanatory. In the first level you cannot meet a companion, so there is time to try out the controls and chirp at flyers, those little cloth pieces that fly around certain places.

The first level ends after a vision and walking through a corridor.

The Broken Bridge (BB) level is the second tutorial-like level and the first place where it's possible to encounter a companion. The Banners and Flyers will recharge your scarf. Try different Chirps/chiming/singing at the Flyers!

Cloth[]

are like energy for you. On contact or upon approaching them, they will recharge your scarf and behave in many different ways.

The chirp[]

See: Chirp

Chirp is your friend. It is a tool used to interact with the environment and activate things in the game.

Read more about different Chirps, about the Symbol it shows and some trivia in the article above.

A very long Scarf, gained through collecting Symbols.

Your scarf[]

See article: Scarf

Your Companion's loud Chirps will also charge your Scarf, if the sound bubble hits you (applicable up to a certain distance).

Your scarf is comparable to the health or stamina bar in other games. Keep a constant eye on your and your Companion's scarf and do big chirps at your companion if you notice their scarf is emptying/empty. This is especially important when trying to fly together.

Try to keep your scarf charged via mid-flight chirps at flyers, hitting banners, etc.

Controls[]

Journey is naturally intended to be played with a controller, since it came out first on a console.

The table below shows the standard settings for each device.

PC[]

Play the PC version of Journey with:

PS4, XBOX and Logitech and third party XInput controllers
DualShock 4 natively and emulated
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard only
Mouse only

Warning: the game might crash, if the RT button is used with a xinput controller through the in-game options

Camera movements with a controller are naturally slower than turning around with the mouse. If you are having difficulties controlling your flight, you might want to try reducing your mouse sensitivity.

iOS[]

iOS touch controls are mostly self-explanatory (no dedicated sitting button)

Movement can be on left or right side, default is left
Jump, chirp and camera movement can not be pressed together and are on the side opposite to movement.
Top-left button is Menu/Pause.

Alternatively, you can connect a controller to your Apple iDevice. See: How to connect a controller to your iPhone or iPad.

The standard settings for iOS version are the same as PlayStation/PC and depend on the connected MFI controller

Default control binds of game actions
	DS3 controller on PS3	DS4 controller on PS4	PC version: PS4 controller	PC version: XBOX controller	Keyboard (PC)	Mouse (PC)
Move your Wayfarer	Left stick	Left stick	Left stick	Left stick	WASD	Disabled
Move the camera	right stick or SIXAXIS motion if stick is not used	right stick	right stick	right stick	Arrows	Enabled
Chime, Chirp	pressure sensitive circle	circle	circle	B	Space	Right click
Fly	X and L1 and R1	X and L1 and R1	X	A	Shift	Left button
Sitting, meditating	Select	Options^[1]	Share	Back	Enter	-
Screensaver, forced sitting	Start	Touchpad	Options	Start	P	-
Menu (PC only)	-	-	Share	Back	Esc	-

To invert camera and/or controls[]

PlayStation: Press Start/Touchpad, options, then press select. You have to press it several times to circle through the options (only camera inverted, only control, both).

PC version: Enter the menu -> options -> controls. There are settings for camera: OFF (standard), X, Y and X+Y (both inverted).

Options and start buttons do more than you think[]

Select/Share/Enter will make you sit down and meditate. Also used to communicate and for tricks. Since it doesn't start the screensaver, it could be considered the "faster" sitting.

Start/Touchpad/Options/P will start the screensaver, moving right (camera) stick or pressing start again will bring you back to normal view. It's also a forced sitting and used for tricks. To begin experiments with pause button, try using the screensaver-sitting in the slide level.

Remapping for PS or PC[]

You can customise your buttons with

In-game options or an external program on PC
Accessibility Settings on PlayStation 4

See Hints for the regularly travelling Wayfarer, Remapping controller.

Remapping can help to accomplish certain tricks easier (see Tips for the long-term traveler, Zen jump, Faceplant Jump (FPJ)).

Playing offline[]

PC version: Playing offline without turning all network traffic off

PlayStation: How to go offline

References[]

↑ Settings for PS4 information, with best thanks to -InF-

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