Journey

Just when people began to think adventure games were dead, Journey burst onto the scene. It quickly became the fastest-selling game on the PlayStation Store and won eight awards for innovation, art direction, and music. It was even picked up by Smithsonian Art Museum as an exhibit. As you would expect, the imagery in the game is unrivalled. It's perfectly crafted, down to each rock and ray of light. It's the experience that makes the game truly special, however. You play a genderless, robed character in a desert world, floating through the air and trying to discover the history of a people long since dead. If nothing else, that would be a powerful concept, but the true innovation comes from the multiplayer aspect. As you follow a physical representation of the Hero's Journey, you think you are alone. Then, in the distance, you see a player. You can't talk to them, you can't message them, all you can do is travel the same road together and help where you can. It's hard to say exactly how That Game Company achieves it; whether it's in the art, the soundtrack, the gameplay, or all of those things. But the result is an emotional connection between two people who haven't spoken a single word.