Journey Notes

A white screen fades into a view of sand in close up. A raging sun and a blasted desolate landscape. Stone markers are sticking up out of the ground like gravestones.
The view shifts and speeds over the desert, a white scintillating trail can be seen flying low over the sands. The view shifts and we can see our red robed character sitting on the sand. White glowing eyes, a red headdress and red robes show little of the creatures physical form.
We are told by an icon to shake the controller from side to side. This makes out character stand up. The usual analogue stick controls move her and control the camera.
There seems to be little to do, the only other controls are circle, which makes the character emanate a blast of light and sound, which shakes the sands around us, it appears to do little else at the moment.
There are some of the grave markers on top of a nearby dune, I go up to them. As we reach the top and look over the crest we see a huge mountain in the distance and the words  journey appear superimposed, looks like we have just begun our journey.

There are more of the grave markers at the foot of the dune, and what looks like a stone ruin. I approach the ruin, there are rectangles of cloth similar to our robe fluttering around like birds around a statue on top of the ruin. When I get near white power beams stream from them to me, this turns the tail of our robe white and allows us to jump into the air using x. The jump uses up the white power and we have to gain it again by going back towards the flocks of red rectangles. I come to a more complex large ruin. There is an area with a white light flowing up into the sky which is quite high up.
I have to use my own jump to get up onto a middle area. Here pressing circle makes the rectangles move out of where they are hidden and flock around you in a large mass. This give you the power to jump very high, and can get you across to the white light.

At the white light we move past some grave markers and they illuminate, once all are lit the statue, which may be a crude representation of the main character lights up and we get a vision from it. It shows a large creature of the same design and then a mural showing the mountain giving out the power which makes the birds sing and the plants grow. There are many of these statues it seems and they appear to be leading towards some kind of tree which grows and seems to be the goal. A large gate behind the statue opens and we can progress to the next area.

Mission 2
we come out of the tunnel into a new area, more sand, though this time much more complex ruins. There are many areas with floating red rectangles flapping around and the goal seems again to be to reach the statue. There seems to be a huge bridge here, though it is long into ruin and there are huge gaps.
There are large tattered clothes scattered around, if we sing at them they move and make the gaps in the bridge crossable.
Another red robed character just like mine appears and begins signing at me. It appears to be another player. They vanish just as quickly as they came.
I move to the large cloths and filling them with white energy frees them and they move to the bridge. Once four are done the bridge is now passable. There are white spheres of energy which seem to be collectibles. Some are hard to get at.
They make our scarf longer which means we can absorb more energy, and thus jump higher.
I cross the bridge and move to the statue again. I find the other player there waiting for me. It seems they have already activated the thing. I am not sure I like someone else completing my puzzles for me in my game!
The vision this time shows that the larger creature is white robes, it comes closer and looks at us. The mural moves on and shows us passing past the bridges and into the next area where it seems we will have to make energy flow along a conduit into buildings.
A wall of sand fall moves aside and we enter the next area.

Mission 3
We see the mountain again in the distance, still many, many miles away.
I have no option but to move onwards through the featureless dunes towards the mountain. A strip of cloth liberated turns into a smaller flying carpet type creature, it seems to be acting like a dog, wanting us to follow it.
It guides us to another ruin and we set free another one, we then follow both to a large tower, which I scale and find another collectible.
There seems to be nothing else to do here, I go back and follow the three flying carpets to another ruins. Here there is an empty picture mural frame. passing by the grave markers here makes a mural appear on the blank space. It shows the statues and trees.
Another ruin and another collectible.
We now come to the main event of this mission a large pair of towers, which it seems we will need to climb to the top of. The magic carpets help us on the way, and we free another stuck in a window halfway up. At the top of the second tower there is machinery inside which seems to be rumbling along on a purpose unknown, there seems to be quite a few magic carpets stuck inside the top of the tower. Is this a prison, do I have to free them.
I find the top of the tower and another statue, we receive a vision, showing the way forward again.
The carpets are freed and we are sang to by one of them until I sing back to it, it then picks us up and we go on a ride with the carpets through a narrow area at breakneck speed.

Mission 4
we now arrive in an area with four streamers of carpet to free. we now have to jump to a high ledge using the red square cloud here.
Another long ride through the sands, it feels like a snowboarding game for a bit, slaloming around the place, though it is the most surreal and beautiful snowboarding game ever. We  see the mountain again in the distance, and land in a darkened pit, a statue can be seen in the distance.
The vision this time shows the white creature looking sad. It appears that the red is being broken up and eaten away by the white creatures

Mission 5
We are now moving through a dark tunnel, I come to an area with large carpet streamers which all seems to be pointing upwards, with the darkness and bluish light it looks like an undersea scene. We can rise up these seemingly floating carpets and get to the next area.
More of the unknown machines can be seen and noise can be heard. Suddenly there are flying stone snake like creatures fluttering around. They grab us and pull bits off our scarf. I try and avoid them, though I am left with very little scarf. I come to a sliding area and the two snakes are now chasing me, we come to a glowing area with a statue and a barrier forces the snakes away. We are left inside a force field of symbols beside the statue.
The vision shows the statues toppled, the cities turned to desert and the creation of our character.

Mission 6
we now come to a large cylindrical area with a tower in the middle, we have to reveal murals which fills the lower area with light that makes us float. We can now reach some jump platforms which circle us up to another mural. This releases some magic carpets and jellyfish floating carpets and makes the gas level rise higher.
Again we follow the jellyfish to reach another mural and raise the level higher.
Now we can ride a bunch of the carpets that have joined together to make a huge fish like creature and reach the next mural. We now have to make carpet bridges and eventually reach the top of the tower. A statue and a vision shows two red creatures like us climbing on up the mountain.

Mission 7
We come out into a snowy area on the side of the mountain.
There are frozen pieces of carpet we can thaw out. The snakes are back and they are picking off bits of red carpet when they find them.
A wind blows down the valley intermittently we have to hide behind larger grave markers to keep from being blown back.
More small grave markers in the next area, then a bridge with a frozen carpet bridging a gap. We are attacked by the snake again, though only once.
We have to ascend some frozen carpets, thawing them with our song as we go.
We come out onto a straight run up the mountain, it is still an awful long way. I keep going, and eventually our frozen body can go on no longer, it collapses into the snow.
The white creatures find us and lift us high into the air, we appear on the mountain tops, with our scarf restored to full length.
There is a fast paced run through the mountain tops using the jellyfish, climber carpets and rides on the fish carpets until we reach the top. We keep on walking into oblivion vanish into whiteness.

The credits roll, we see our character turn into a light and come back all the way through the game then be reborn at the start just the same as before.

I get the metaphor, life is a journey, without point or purpose, it's just a beautiful ride.

It took around 2 hours forty minutes to complete the game and I received 14% of the trophies on the first play-through.