Journey and The Unfinished Swan free on PS4 if you own them on PS3

By Will Fulton Published August 15, 2014

The 2012 indie masterpieces Journey and The Unfinished Swan are coming to PlayStation 4, and now — as Sony confirms — with Cross-Buy compatibility, meaning that gamers who already own either title for PlayStation 3 will be able to download the upgrade for free.

Journey was the breakout success of Jenova Chen, who had earned indie cred with Flow and Flower. A meditative co-op exploration puzzler, Journey was a key part of demonstrating the potential mass market appeal and broad cultural reach of indie games. The score was even nominated for a Grammy.

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Related: Take an artful Journey with Jenova Chen’s masterpiece (review)

The Unfinished Swan from Giant Sparrow Games was not as widely popular as Journey, but is no less lovely. It tells a thoughtful and heartwarming fairy tale about a lonely orphan through the compelling mechanic of exploring a stark white environment that only achieves definition when you splatter it with color.

Both games are on the shorter end, but are extremely memorable, and the announcement of Cross-Buy will go a long way toward encouraging fans to pick up these games again and share them with new audiences in glorious, revamped 1080p.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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