I first played Journey to the End of the Night back in 2012.
I was fresh out of college, in probably the best shape of my life, and feeling pretty confident about my chances. I was a distance runner. I could cover ground. I figured that if the robots came after me, I would simply outrun them.
Surely, I wasn’t going to get tagged.
And then, boom!
While I was sneaking out from underneath a viaduct, a robot caught me.
I couldn’t believe it.
One moment I was a human, racing through the city and trying to make it to the next checkpoint. The next, I was handing over my human ribbon and reaching into my back pocket for the other one.
The robot ribbon.
I’d been converted.
Turns Out, Being a Robot Is Pretty Fun
What surprised me most wasn’t getting caught. It was how much fun I had afterwards.
In Robot Apocalypse: Journey to the End of the Night, getting tagged doesn’t mean your night is over. You simply switch sides. The person who caught you is no longer your enemy. They’re your teammate.
And now you’re both hunting humans.
Suddenly, instead of worrying about who might be hiding around the next corner, I was the one looking around corners.
I started chasing people.
I’m a distance runner, not a sprinter, so this occasionally presented a problem. Some humans could absolutely fly. I’d start chasing someone and quickly discover that catching them wasn’t going to happen in the first 50 metres.
But that didn’t necessarily matter.
Sometimes the chase would stretch out. Sometimes I’d have to think about where they were going rather than simply trying to outrun them.
And that was part of the thrill.
Speed Isn’t Everything
Journey taught me something that I’ve remembered ever since:
You don’t always have to be fast. Sometimes you just need to be sneaky.
That’s one of the things I love about this game.
You can run. You can walk. You can use public transportation. You can know every alley, side street and shortcut in the city. You can try to outrun the robots—or outthink them.
And if your brilliant plan fails and a robot eventually catches you?
Your adventure isn’t over.
You just get a new mission.
That’s what makes Journey different from a normal race. There isn’t really a moment when the fun has to stop. Whether you’re desperately trying to remain one of the last surviving humans or you’ve joined the robot apocalypse and are hunting down your former teammates, you’re still part of the story.
And years later, those are the moments you remember.
I certainly still remember that viaduct.
So if you’re joining Robot Apocalypse: Journey to the End of the Night, don’t worry too much about whether you’re the fastest person out there.
Run when you need to run.
Hide when you need to hide.
Be sneaky when you need to be sneaky.
And if the robots get you, embrace your new team and start chasing.
Whatever side you end up on, stay safe, have a good time, and make sure you leave with a story worth telling.
Cheers, and see you out there.
