Journey: The Heart of Gaia Review

In Journey: The Heart of Gaia, a puzzle adventure game, you play a a woman named Liz who was kidnapped from her museum by a hunter and brought to a world deep within the center of the Earth. There you'll soon find out that a tyrant named Scartaris Umbra is threatening the balance of the land, and the whole of Underworld is dying as a result. Journey through the land with your quirky little companions as you search for the Heart of Gaia in hopes of overthrowing Scartaris and saving Underworld. The game was developed by Water Lily Games.


There are actually no hidden object scenes in the game. You aren't given a list of random objects to find but instead you will need to look for items in the various locations. You'll need to use your magnifying glass to zoom into scenes and locate parts of items to complete your journey. For example, you might be asked to find six logs for the campfire. The items are usually not difficult to find although there are a few that are better camouflaged within the surroundings. Most of the items you find are part of a set. Your inventory will tell you how many remaining parts you still need to find. You don't need to complete a set first before you can apply your items to the appropriate locations, which is something that is usually not available in most hidden object games now. I really appreciate this because I like to be able to use my items, even if I have only found one wheel out of two, to various scenes as soon as I get them. This helps in reducing inventory clutter too.

While there are no HOS, there are plenty of puzzles scattered around in the game. Most of the puzzles are really short and quick to complete. The solutions are often rather intuitive, which can be good for a casual puzzle game lover. But if you ever do get stumped on a puzzle there's always the Skip button, which loads fairly quickly. With all these puzzles and no HOS around it makes me wonder why the game was categorized as a HO game on many websites rather than as a puzzle/adventure game.

In this puzzle you'll have to paint the various shapes different colors so that no two colors directly touch one another.

In terms of graphics, everything is animated. The world of Underworld is a very cheery and bright place, despite the foreboding name. Overall, the design is simple and reminiscent of a kid's cartoon show. While the graphics might not be as exquisite as those in games produced by Blue Team Games (Macabre Mysteries, Dark Parables), they are still very nice and a refreshing take from all those realistic-looking hidden object games. The game is certainly very pretty.

The campsite

The map is interactive so you'll be able to quickly move from one location to another without needing to move through all those intermediary locations. It will also tell you which scenes still require tasks to complete.  When you first open the map it is covered in a thick layer of clouds, blocking your view from all the other locations you haven't visited yet. At first it even covers all those you've visited before it slowly parts. This can be somewhat annoying when you just want to go in to the map, click on the location that has a green exclamation point over it, and be done. This is definitely not a game-breaker though it can be slightly annoying at times.

Hints: The hint system can be sometimes "inaccurate" and "repetitive". I mean this in the sense that the hint will often times just point you in a general area but not tell you specifically where the part you're looking for is. As a result I often end up wasting time trying to rely on the hint system in trying to figure out what I need to do next. You're better off just using the map to figure out which locations are still incomplete (Note that when you have done everything needed in a scene for good, the location will then be marked as "Completed"). Unfortunately, because the game has limited instructions, hints are almost necessary. Often times I am stuck in a scene unsure of what needs to be done next only for the hint system to almost botch it for me.

Companions: Along the way you'll be meeting the various inhabitants of the Underworld, who have all been imprisoned by Scartaris. It is your job to find the necessary items to free them. Once freed these adorable creatures will accompany you on your journey and lend you their power. For example, you will be able to use the giant's strength to move heavy objects or to smash open things. These creatures won't always help you though as they think it is better that you find some other object to help you instead.

Dialogue: Most of the interactions that you'll have have voice-overs. The voice-acting is actually pretty well done. The dialogue can be very engaging too. The characters often one another, giving you a few laughs here and there. You won't be at all put off by the dialogue as it's not overly done at all.

Conclusion: Journey: The Heart of Gaia is a very fun, entertaining, and cute game. Although advertised as a HO game, it would be more suited as a pure puzzle and adventure game. With relatively easy puzzles, this game can be great for a casual puzzle lover to spend his or her afternoon. The graphics are very pretty and the creatures of Underworld are adorable. The storyline itself is also pretty interesting. My main complaint though would be that it's not always evident what you should do next, so you end up being forced to rely on hints. Problem is, the hint system isn't really that great. Other than that, Journey is a great game and it's very unlikely that you'll end up regretting your purchase (There's always a one hour free trial on Big Fish Games just to be safe). I rate this game 4 out of 5 stars.