The solitude of the sea and being away from society might be the perfect getaway, but Journey Beyond the Edge of the World won’t be for everyone, and this isn’t a luxury yacht you’re on, and often, as we find out the hard way, we can’t always escape from ourselves.
That’s a bit too much scope for a demo that only lasts about ten minutes, plus a big ask from solo developer Markus Koepke, yet they’re on to something here, and to say that I was a bit miffed once the demo finished is an understatement. This is the epitome of serving them just enough for them to want more.
Journey Beyond the Edge of the World is a first-person narrative puzzle game where you are essentially stranded at sea in the fishing vessel, MS Constance. Without any recollection of how you got there and hints of amnesia, there’s plenty of alone time to ascertain what the hell is going on if it weren’t for a snapped mast and incoming storm.
At first impressions, the gameplay is comparable to several excellent titles such as Oxenfree for the sci-fi manipulation of radio waves, Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture for the particle distribution of ‘spirits’, and Paratopic for the excellent throwback retro visuals. Considering the space you occupy is a big tin can on an unforgiving ocean, the atmosphere is fantastic.
With a recommendation to play Journey Beyond the Edge of the World with a controller, interactions are intuitive: using the left stick to push and pull objects or rotating them to open valves. In this brief taster, sound is brought to the forefront as we hear a brief recording from the protagonist, alluding to their past. However, it’s the sounds of the surf, the creaking of the ship, and the terrifying silence of being alone in this situation that take prominence.
At this stage, speculations can be made, so there’s no accuracy in my words as I have no idea what will happen. What I will say is I find the sea terrifying for many reasons, and despite loving that alone time, having the two juxtaposed sounds like a memorable experience. In the time it’s taken you to read this, you could have downloaded the demo, so go do that now and see and hear for yourself what a fascinating title Journey Beyond the Edge of the World may be.
