Voyage Review - A Cinematic Adventure to Uncover the Past

Written by Brandon Hofer on August 21, 2022

Reviews: Explore a strange new world with your friend as you try to figure out what has happened.

Voyage is a minimalistic game. There isn’t much of a tutorial and chances are you will be running around wondering what you are supposed to do in the beginning. I can see some people getting quickly frustrated and giving up. If you hang around though and learn the mechanics of the game, you’ll experience a beautiful adventure where you and your friend search for answers to a long-forgotten past.

The narrative of Voyage is told through puzzles and the environment. There aren’t any words or really any voice acting. You will watch the environment come alive as you make your way through the different chapters and solve a variety of puzzles The puzzles can range from something as simple as pushing a button to activate an action, pushing some items together to transport somewhere, helping your friend get to the next level above you, and more. Some of the puzzles can be a bit obtuse but it was pretty cool to watch the environment come alive when you come across the solution.

Voyage features a number of different environments. There are caves, a desert, a forest, some type of underground bunker, and more. Voyage is a fairly short game but I appreciated the variety of environments so that I didn’t get bored throughout the adventure. This is also a really great family-friendly game. Voyage is a game that emphasizes exploration over combat so you won’t really see any violence in the game.

The story begins with you standing in a really dark area surrounded by some rock formations. Once you figure out what to do with them you’ll be transported to the next area and your journey will begin. When you get to towards the end of a chapter you will know by seeing a small ball of white sparkles. When you see that be sure to walk into it and you will be transported to a dark area similar to the one at the beginning of the game. Once you solve the puzzle in that area you will be transported to the next chapter so that you can continue your journey. Voyage is a straightforward game in that regard where once you figure out the gameplay loop, it is pretty easy to guess what is coming in the future.

Voyage is a really short game as well. Your first time going through it you can probably beat it in a couple of hours. If you already know everything about the game though you can probably go through it in approximately one hour. With that said there isn’t a whole lot else I can say about it. It is a fun adventure that takes you through some beautiful hand-painted worlds.

While I had fun during my time with Voyage, I can absolutely see how it isn’t for everyone. The game can be very obtuse and if you don’t have a lot of patience, I can see you getting frustrated or bored very quickly. If you like a bit of a challenge though and the fact that the game doesn’t hold your hand at all, be sure to give this game a try. You can easily get through it in an afternoon and if you are someone who likes achievements, it is really easy to get all of the 1,000 gamerscore points. If you are a fan of quirky games made by independent studios, be sure to check this one out.