Voyage review - Survive this alien planet and make it home.

When you think of a voyage, do you think of excitement, adventure and the unknown? Well, 2 out of 3 isn’t so bad. In Voyage, play as two survivors of a terrible shipwreck lost on an alien planet and trying to work out how to get home. Help them find their way as you trek through this beautiful, unknown planet where, fortunately, nothing wants to harm them.

With no dialogue (even in menus), Voyage relies on character gestures and the environment to tell the story. This is mostly done well, though I was confused on some occasions, and the story does leave some interpretation up to the player. It’s always great to see more games telling their story without dialogue or combat, though.

Gameplay

Voyage can be played solo or co-op, though two-person puzzles are pretty rare, so it would mostly be for the shared experience. I played solo, and the game does this very well. You would barely know that it is designed to be played co-op, as interactions between both characters are fairly seamless when playing solo.

One survivor pulling the other onto a ledge.

Voyage is a difficult game to define. Initially, I would say it was a 2D platformer, except there isn’t even a jump button. The characters boost each other for high platforms, which is done with an adorable animation! Part walking sim, part platformer, part puzzle game, Voyage has enough little things to keep you entertained.

As mentioned above, Voyage has no dialogue and only has four buttons: swap characters, tell the other character to stop/go, interact with items and hint. The hint feature is quite nice. When pressed, a spark lights up above items you can interact with. It’s good to see a hint system so accessible and acceptable in a game, as many make you feel guilty for using them.

Art and sound design

The art in Voyage is gorgeous! As Voyage doesn’t have any dialogue, we rely on the characters and backgrounds to tell the story. It’s lucky for us that they do so beautifully. A beautiful manual for the game is available, but it also has no words, and while it is lovely, it didn’t help me understand the controls.

Checking out the sunset (?) on the alien planet

The sound design and soundtrack in Voyage are both lovely. Little sounds the characters make when running and jumping, combined with beautiful ambient sounds like howling wind or running water make for a lovely, immersive experience.

Final thoughts

Voyage is a beautiful experience that can be enjoyed by many people. It isn’t a difficult or challenging game but it is a lovely way to spend a cozy afternoon. While it was fun to experience all the new environments, it would have been nice if the story was a little more obvious. It’s definitely something that is up to player interpretation and people will understand it differently. I would definitely recommend this for a sweet and short experience.