A robed figure walks toward the glowing mountain, and the desert sings beneath its steps.

A surprise from the start: when you choose on instinct, Journey lands ahead of only a third of games, on few votes but that is low for such a cult title. And yet, look at the detail. The art style peaks, ahead of 99% of all others, and the urge to rediscover it brushes the top, ahead of 96%. Attachment runs high too, ahead of 87% of games. There lies the real tension: a game that dazzles criterion by criterion, but that immediate buy-in shrugs at. The flip side reads elsewhere. Desert island drops to the bottom, ahead of 6% of titles, and fun stays low. Controller feel, meanwhile, holds in the middle.

Against purely contemplative adventures, Journey is a summit of emotion and beauty, not a game you relaunch to blow off steam.

So who is it for? For you if you love a short, shattering experience, an aesthetic interlude you never forget. Much less if you want a game that holds you for hours, controller in hand, night after night.