The Sojourn
The Sojourn
The Sojourn, développé par Shifting Tides et édité par Iceberg Interactive, est sorti le 20 septembre 2019 sur PC, PlayStation 4 et Xbox One. Ce jeu d'aventure indépendant de réflexion, construit avec l'Unreal Engine 4, propose un conte de lumière, de ténèbres et de nature de la réalité. Le joueur naît dans une terre pure et mystérieuse guidée par la lumière, mais découvre que les ténèbres forment le fondement du monde et doivent être bannies pour révéler les obstacles et la vérité cachée. Il traverse les mondes parallèles de la lumière et de l'obscurité à la première personne pour résoudre des dizaines d'énigmes réparties en quatre chapitres aux ambiances et styles distincts, avec un temps de parcours principal d'environ sept heures et treize heures pour une complétion à 100 %.
La presse a salué l'expérience, PlayStation Universe évoquant l'un des meilleurs jeux de puzzle disponibles avec des énigmes méticuleusement conçues, tandis que Gamer.nl a apprécié une atmosphère magnifique et sereine ne prenant pas trop le joueur par la main. Certains joueurs sur Metacritic regrettent de s'être sentis bloqués rapidement, alors que d'autres jugent le jeu agréable et les mécaniques satisfaisantes, et des avis positifs sur Steam louent une ambiance calme, des musiques douces et un level design travaillé. Le titre affiche un score Metacritic de 78, un score OpenCritic de 72 et une note agrégée de 72,69, pour un prix de 24,50 euros.
Médias
Avis des critiques et joueurs
Critiques de la Presse (Metacritic)
« The Sojourn is one of the best games of the year and one of the best puzzle games available, if not the best. Every single puzzle is meticulously designed and challenges you in satisfying ways, without ever feeling impossible. Carefully crafted, beautiful levels. An uplifting, philosophical story that asks you to reflect upon your actions and the world around you. All of these ingredients create an experience like no other and a game you will be thinking about even after the credits have rolled. »
« Many puzzle games these days try to hold your hand too much, but The Sojourn certainly does not. At the same time this beautiful and serene atmosphere ensures that you don't get too frustrated. »
« The Sojourn is a peaceful yet thought-provoking puzzle game with beautiful visuals. The only bits of story are told through dioramas, so it isn't spelled out for you. With a sense of wonder and interesting puzzle mechanics, you'll have a great time seeing how clever you truly are. »
« Guarantees at least a few hours of intensive intellectual training and a substantial exam for special awareness and imagination. If you miss the likes of The Witness and The Talos Principle, definitely put it on your wishlist. [12/2019, p.52] »
« The Sojourn delivers where it counts, offering players a wide variety of puzzles that are as deep as they are engaging. It’s worth your time, even if the game’s graphics aren’t exactly state-of-the-art. »
« The Sojourn is based on an interesting concept, although the game has some narrative limitations. The puzzles are nice and pleasant to solve, but in some phases a greater level of challenge would have been better. »
« The Sojourn is a well-made, standard puzzle game that every fan of the genre should try it. »
« A few hours in, you'll likely find yourself scratching your head as seemingly impossible puzzles best you. This can naturally be frustrating, especially as you move so slowly, but you'll feel like a genius once everything clicks. Many stages have optional bonus challenges once you solve them, earning you collectable scrolls complete with philosophical mumbo-jumbo. The main story is more interesting, told wordlessly through a series of dioramas, but it's the puzzles themselves that will keep you playing. It's not exactly original, but The Sojourn is a solid puzzler with well designed levels and some nice ideas. »
Avis des Joueurs (Metacritic)
« Got stuck after 25 minutes. Not my cup of tea. If you're into puzzle games, which I'm not, you might rate it higher than I did. »
« It's a nice puzzle game, not short enough, which i good. Mechanics are also satisfying, which is also good. »
« The music is beautiful and the game really brings you into this peaceful type of sanctuary where you are slowly discovering hints about how the main story goes throughout the different levels. The puzzles are not to hard, but most of them are not so easy as well. The difficulty of this game is just perfectly set. You really feel proud of yourself when you succeed through the game. If you want to relax, work your brain and encourage an independent gaming company, this game is worth the try! »
« "Sojourn" Reviewed by Ken Lutes (PS4 version.) Developer: Shifting Tides Publisher: Iceberg Interactive Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One Hey all, it's your friendly neighborhood PS4 guy. With a tale of a journey that you have to take yourself to understand. Do you like profound philosophy? Do you like puzzles? Perhaps, you are more about the journey than the destination. Sojourn is a game unlike any other I have played before now. In fact, words, don't seem to fit what I have been experiencing well I have been playing it. I will try to illustrate what I can going forward from here. Firstly sojourn is a puzzle game that will immediately strike your eyes with it's a colorful world of stunning visuals that are nothing short of breathtaking for a non-AAA or game for that matter. It encourages exploration within the challenge and readily gives you all of the tools you need as you need them. The main mechanic and the one you are introduced to first is the dark world granting a bulk of your solving tools. There is more to it in a sense , in a way it is showing you the duality of life itself as the world and what you can do changes during use of the dark world. Thankfully even though your time is short here it is measured in steps not time itself. The puzzles involve many unique obstacles such as switching places with a statue or the world itself changing in the darkness. Though provoking idioms are given with statues in a way telling a story. this comes about as you go through your journey of puzzles. Punishment is not something that really occurs with failure at most having to start your puzzle over, remember it's about the journey " if you try to go to the moon and simply follow the stars you will lose your way" in other words be mindful of the journey itself. Sojurn is a simple beauty with a depth not easily explained, it is very much so something that needs to be experienced to believe. I often found myself not sure how I felt but realized "I need to keep going" or just autonomously moving forward fixated on the "now" the music is soft and follows the feeling of peace yet focused. The puzzles themselves progress naturally with a perfect balance of learning curve and challenge. You will find yourself compelled to move forward or to not give up on progressing, maybe it's more so questioning? Often times with the intermissions between challenges you will become more curious and provoked to ask what the deeper meaning is here. I could continue on and try to describe this more however, this is an experience simply to rare for words. One I shall not drown in a quagmire of a rant but allow you to go forth on your own journey. Pros: Delightful to the eyes A simple yet elegant score Perfectly balanced puzzles Cons: There truly is nothing negative, you may augure the narrative is confusing. That in and of itself is one of Sojourns many charms in all honesty. With this all said I give this game a final rating of: 10/10 Sojourn is a unique journey that has really captured something special. I imagine the experience to be akin to the wonder of the legend that is Myst when it first came out. I would be so as bold to say this is the second coming of such an adventure. »
