After the critically acclaimed Journey left us spell-bound many years ago, Thatgamecompany has finally begun to tease its next game.

Not much is known other than a few tweets with images that hint at…something. The only real clue the Flower and Flow developer offered was that it would be a game “about giving”. It’s currently being referred to as “thatnextgame”.

The image above actually intrigues us quite a bit and it wouldn’t be too odd if Thatgamecompany creates another adventure game like Journey. Maybe more information will be revealed at Sony’s PlayStation Experience event scheduled for December? Could it arrive on the PS4 Pro and possibly support 4K?

The possibilities are interesting but either way, we’re going to be waiting patiently for more information on this one. What do you think Thatgamecompany’s next project could be about? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for further updates.

thatgamecompany’s hit PlayStation 3 exclusive indie game, Journey, will be coming to PlayStation 4 this summer, when it will be released as part of a retail compilation package. The compilation package will include Journey, in addition to also having flOw and flower. The games will all run at 60 FPS, and in 1080p, but are otherwise unchanged and untouched.

However, if you don’t want to buy the disc, or if you already own flOw and flower, then rest assured, Journey will also be available to buy individually through the PSN Store digitally; although it has not yet been confirmed if it will be Cross Buy like flOw and flower were, it is safe to assume that it almost certainly will be.

Journey was originally released for the PS3 in 2012; it was an instant hit, because of its engaging, minimalistic gameplay and narrative, and its unique approach to player engagement. The PS4 version should allow many who missed out on this unique game the first time around to be able to check it out now.

thatgamecompany, the developers who brought us Flow, Flower, and their breakout hit Journey, all exclusively on the PlayStation 3, have been working on a new game project for quite a while now (and apparently, their next game project is not necessarily exclusive to PlayStation); today, they announced that they have raised $7 million for this new game, the funding coming from venture capital firm Capital Today and a team of other investors.

“We are happy to partner with Capital Today and a team of other investors who share our vision in making meaningful interactive experiences that inspire, connect, and emotionally touch the hearts of players around the world,” they said.

“With this new investment, our studio is able to scale up development efforts to focus on making the best game possible in the same spirit as flOw, Flower, and Journey. We’ll also begin laying the infrastructure to self-publish, market, and distribute on our own terms for this next project and beyond.”

Considering the meteoric upward trajectory this company has seen, seeing what they do next will certainly be extremely interesting.

Luckily, the delay isn’t a heavy one. “Both flOw and Blacklight have been subject to brief delays. They should be with you next week, but I will 100% confirm the date as soon as possible.”

Blacklight: Retribution is already available on PC, while flOw can be picked up both the PC and PS3. At this stage, slight delays usually occur due to certification issues, but it appears to be more of a last-minute resolution than anything else. The PlayStation 4 will be launching tomorrow in Europe with launch titles Knack, Killzone: Shadow Fall and Resogun among other games. Stay tuned for more details.

So much so, that he’s actually become quite distrustful of journalists.

In response to a tweet regarding the nature of “frankenquotes”, Chen responded:

Totally feel you. My attitude towards journalist (sic) has shifted from friendly to suspicious.

How, why, who, what, where, when and how? Well, it’s not the first time any one’s been misquoted and it most certainly won’t be the last. But what happened to Chen that’s made him suspicious of journalists is hereto unknown.

Maybe general paranoia? Regardless, Journey is still tons of fun. The more attention paid to Chen and his company’s winning efforts, the better and more power to them. But that’s the price of fame.

Source: FMV Magazine

Flower’s beginning is a simple one – a single flower petal is released by a flower and caught up by the wind.  The player is given control of both the petal’s direction and the wind’s strength.  The wonderful part about this is that there is no tutuorial and no user interface.  By simply moving the Sixaxis controller, the petal follows your command.  In no other title has Sixaxis control been this intuitive and easy to grasp.  It simply makes sense.  As you control the petal, you encounter other flowers that release petals as well.  These petals follow your original petal and begin to accumulate into a stream of windblown color.

As you traverse the initially drab and dismal terrain, things begin to change.  The flowers you find and bloom bring life to their surroundings.  Gray and dying fields are filled with the vibrant colors of grass and flowers.  The player is never given an objective or a mission, but it soon becomes apparent what the challenge is – bring life to a dark and dying world.

The game has an obvious story that requires no words or speaking to narrate.  The contrast between life and death and between light and dark are the only voices necessary to tell this tale.  The story consists of six levels or areas that are progressively larger and more complicated.  Each level reaches a climax where the culmination of your efforts results in various flourishes of color and life corresponding to the terrain of the area.  When the end of each of these levels is reached, you are rewarded not only visually but emotionally as well.

The emotional impact this game makes is due in large part to the beautiful visuals throughout the player’s journey, but that’s not the only contributing factor.  The music in the game is perfectly matched for the experience.  The visuals and corresponding emotions are matched moment by moment with the soft undercurrent of the musical score.  As if that wasn’t enough, when flowers are touched by your stream of petals, musical notes are played that seamlessly fit into the soundtrack.  It’s as though the music is being composed and performed simultaneously with the onscreen action.  The combination of visuals, control, and sound is really something to behold.

Aside from all this praise, there are two things that should be mentioned.  First, you are swept up in this great experience, but then it ends.  It leaves you wanting more.  This game really is awesome, but it will leave you wishing there were twice as many levels.  Second, as much value and enjoyment as I found in this game, it still isn’t for everyone.  Many gamers will be too inclined to blow things up that they won’t appreciate anything that has to do with flower petals.  These are the same people who would rather see a firecracker explode than see the Mona Lisa.  To each his own.

In summary, there really isn’t anything else like Flower out there today and certainly not on the Playstation Store.  As much as I doubted the game before playing it, I can not justifiably finish this review without saying Flower is a must buy for any PS3 owner.  The experience is simply too rich to miss.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 3.