 Journey 's story is told <unk> throughout gameplay and using cutscenes . The player 's character begins on a sand dune in a seemingly endless desert . In the far distance looms a large , foreboding mountain with a glowing crevice that splits its peak . As the character approaches the mountain , they find remnants of a once @-@ thriving civilization , eroded by sand over time . <unk> throughout the ruins at the end of each area are stones at which the traveler rests ; these stones give the traveler the vision of meeting a larger , white @-@ robed figure in a circular room , with art on the walls describing the rise and fall of the civilization mirroring the player 's journey . The player must also contend with the ancient automatons left over from a war which ended the civilization , and which still <unk> the city looking for intruders . 
