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“The way it moves between moments of wonder, humour and tragedy makes The Long Journey Home a rare pleasure among science fiction games.” Kotaku “Interacting with different alien races makes the universe in the game feel vivid and alive – that’s something The Long Journey Home does way better than other games in the past.” 90% – Gamereactor “The game can’t teach you everything in tutorial after tutorial. Thank goodness. You’d never start your doomed mission. But you’ll have to be patient with yourself. You know so little going into this.” 80% – GamingNexus

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About This Game

System requirements.

• OS *: Win 7, 8, 10, 64-bit
• Processor: 3 GHz Dual Core CPU
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 650 Ti / AMD Radeon HD 7790
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 16 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX 11 compatible sound card with latest drivers
• Processor: 3GHz Quad Core CPU
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 970 / AMD Radeon R9 380
• Processor: i5 3GHz
• Graphics: AMD R9 M380X
• Storage: 15 GB available space
• Additional Notes: SSD and Controller recommended
• Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 560

© Copyright 2017 Daedalic Entertainment Studio West GmbH and Daedalic Entertainment GmbH. The Long Journey Home is a trademark of Daedalic Entertainment Studio West GmbH. Daedalic and the Daedalic logo are trademarks of Daedalic Entertainment GmbH. All rights reserved.

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The Long Journey Home review

A punishing resource and repair system gets in the way of the long journey home's characterful exploration., our verdict.

A savage, sometimes frustrating space exploration game that succeeds because of beautiful design and a compelling universe.

PC Gamer's got your back Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.

What is it: A procedural space exploration and resource gathering game where everything will go wrong. Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment Developer Daedalic Studio West Reviewed on: Windows 10, 16GB RAM, Intel Core i7-7700, NVidia GeForce GTX 1070 Expect To Pay: £34 / $40 Multiplayer: No Link: Official site

One of my favourite moments in The Long Journey Home happens before I take off. I spend 15 minutes analysing the characters, picking the ones I’d tolerate being trapped with, trying to work out if there was a secret reason I should take a potted plant into the space. It didn’t matter. Three hours later they were all dead from burns and/or suffocation. This doesn’t mean that what came after was bad (apart from the deaths), but just that the game does a smart job of defining the gravitas of your mission. You’re going into space and, despite the name, you’re probably not coming back.

Your four adventurers are flung to the far side of universe and must navigate their way home by farming resources, maintaining their ship, and negotiating with a selection of distinct alien races. The journey is different each time, and their are loads of combinations of crew and craft, so there’s no ‘right’ way to play it. (Although I discovered multiple times there’s definitely a ‘wrong’ way.) The Long Journey Home largely delivers on the promise of grasping and desperate journey across space, but it’s deliberately tough. Your crew will die. Your equipment will break. Aliens will take your things. 

I went into the game expecting the difficulty to be high, but there are times when the balance feels off. You gather resources by dropping your lander onto planets, drilling for metals, and sucking up gases like a vacuum cleaner. You’re given a description of each planet before you land, so you don’t have to be reckless, but it’s always a risk. Any errant bumps and crashes can cause injuries to your pilot which can only be cured with expensive medpacks. Each excursion only takes a few minutes, but it’s still a gruelling, repetitive way of gathering essential resources, and it isn’t always fun. Variables such as convection, which blows your lander off course, only compound the frustration. I pimped my lander to reduce the effect of wind, but I started to dread the threat of landing on a planet’s surface. Sometimes, you have no choice but to brave the most difficult planets, and it often results in disaster.

Gathering essential resources can be a chore, but it’s not the only way to play the game. The Long Journey home is full of alien encounters, which feel like the heart of the game. You could push through by just collecting resources, but interacting with the aliens and completing tasks feels like the more rewarding route. I searched for lost artifacts, located stranded explorers, and helped religious zealots wipe out alien infestation. It felt more righteous than that reads. Each encounter feels different and the aliens are all different, so you get real sense of the universe being inhabited by creatures who were there before you. Being able to actually talk to the aliens helps, too—it’s precisely the thing I felt No Man’s Sky lacked, and it brings this universe to life. 

It’s a bright, interesting system to explore. Characters are crisply designed, and I got a strong sense of who everyone was just by looking at them. Planets are striking and varied. The music makes everything you do feel important—even asking a crewmate what they think about a medicinal slime takes on a cosmic significance. But it’s the story that stands out, adding definition and reason to a world that would otherwise seem soulless. It’s good enough, in fact, that sometimes I wished that I could enjoy it without all the broken bones, fuel ruptures, and suffocation. The unpredictability can feel punitive.

Likewise, some of the random, wear-and-tear problems your ship experiences feel mean-spirited. Mechanical failures are common, and they’re expensive to fix. There are also occasions where it feels like a solution should come quicker than it does. I foolishly accepted a gift from a suspiciously-friendly race of infectious plant monsters, because I didn’t want to seem rude—even in space, it’s important to remain civil—and I had to watch as my crew slowly became infested, aware of the issue but unable to fix it. Each playthrough is defined by the things that go wrong, which makes the game striking and memorable, but too often the resources needed to fix problems are too precious or too rare, and the game piles misery upon misery. 

Despite this, I like the game enough to keep coming back, and I’m ready to start my fifth (certainly doomed) attempt to get home. Each journey is a learning experience, and the vague promise of success is enough to keep me interested, even if half the missions end up with me screaming at my lander as it blows around like a duckling on a windy day. If nothing else, I won’t rest until I find out what that bloody plant does.

Disclosure: PC Gamer contributor Richard Cobbett worked on The Long Journey Home.

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The Long Journey Home is a game of great ambition — an ambition that pulled me in before I realized the limited scope of its mechanics.

If you watch a trailer for The Long Journey Home or read the description on its Steam store page, you’ll get a sense for what this game wants to be: a procedurally generated science-fiction universe; a coherent, emergent sci-fi odyssey that players can shape through diplomacy, craft and skill. It’s a tantalizing idea, and one that got me immediately excited to discover more.

The reality is a lot less appealing than the pitch. The Long Journey Home contains some colorful ideas, but it’s dragged down by an overwhelming dependence on repetitive, discouraging tests of mechanical patience and skill.

The Long Journey Home stylizes itself as a more scientific, literary roguelike. You play as the guiding hand behind an expedition to test humanity's first jump drive. It malfunctions, of course, and deposits you on the other side of the galaxy, around a hundred jumps away from Earth. To get back, you'll have to meet alien races, conquer hostile terrain and upgrade your ship. At least, that's the framing idea.

The vast majority of my time with The Long Journey Home was spent controlling the velocity of a fragile spacecraft as I harvested resources from procedurally generated planets. On the primary star map, gravity is represented as a grid, folding and dipping as planets, moons and stars leave their gravitational indentations. And then there's the shuttle landing minigame, where you have to settle your lander down on a resource while managing approach vector, wind speed and escape velocity.

These are the overwhelmingly primary mechanics of the game. No matter what the page on the Steam store promises about diplomacy, trading and surprise encounters, eighty percent of the actual game is trying not to smash into the ground during these frustrating sequences.

It's extraordinarily difficult to navigate around mountains, planets and meteorites in The Long Journey Home . A small miscalculation of velocity when you're trying to achieve stable orbit, and you bounce off the atmosphere, damaging your ship, injuring your crew and forcing you to try again. Even after over a dozen hours familiarizing myself with the game and its controls, I found myself approaching each new planet three or four times, swinging wide, coming up short, too fast, too shallow.

The lander sequences are even more unforgiving and awkward. I routinely shaved off over half the lander's health just trying to perch it atop the meager resources the planet offers. Generally speaking, I did more damage to my lander trying to collect metal than I could ever repair with the metal harvested. Not to mention that bouncing your lander off the surface will seriously injure your pilot. A simple mistake can cause two or three semi-permanent damage conditions that you'll have to spend precious (and rare) items to repair.

The Long Journey Home is a game dependent on extremely miserly resource management, and any kind of deep progress is only made possible by planning your expeditions with care. The game gives you an impression like you don't have to land on dangerous planets, that you can pick and choose to only make dangerous landings in emergencies, but the math just never added up that way. It can take over five individual metal nodes to fix your ship, and a single mineral resource is almost never enough to allow a system-to-system jump. Being imprecise with velocity and skimming off a planet's atmosphere can give you a 30 percent penalty to filling up your jump drive, which can quickly leave you stranded.

So you have to hoover up everything you see to survive. But there are so many serious, long-lasting, deeply impactful penalties for even the simplest of navigation errors in the simplest conditions that it's hard to come out ahead. I routinely quit back to the main menu and reloaded over and over to ensure that I would pull off successful resource runs with minimal damage to my lander. The most intriguing elements of The Long Journey Home are the ones teased as being in the late game: discovering ancient relics, resolving major interstellar conflicts, grand arcs of plot that are only suggested in the early game. But the whole thing is so mechanically punitive, so quick to mire you in the simplest, least engaging mechanics, that actually arriving at those most complex levels seems as distant as Earth itself.

Combat adds a whole new dimension of pain to the experience: Your ship, at least to start, is only capable of firing broadsides. These sequences play out like top-down naval engagements where your puny human vessel, firing and moving as agonizingly slowly as a Spanish galleon, must spar off against alien ships with homing missiles and defensive fighters. After dozens of fights, I still couldn't pin down proper aiming technique. My only workable tactic was to ram the enemy vessel, hook on the geometry of their ship, and fire point-blank. Combat can be expected about once per star system after the first star cluster, with some systems holding a half dozen enemy ships who all ask for Blood or Coin.

The aggressive pace of the combat encounters further gates the narrative content behind a skill wall. There are complicated systems of allegiance with the aliens you meet, and they respond in complex ways to prompts and quests. For example, I accidently showed the leader of a pirate base the head of one of his lieutenants, whose ship I destroyed when they tried to rob me. At first, he screamed at the insult, then immediately offered me a job as a pirate for my bloodthirsty gall. Or consider an over-friendly race who offer helpful items, leaving you to realize too late that the items give your crew an infestation. Narratively speaking, this is engaging. But mechanically, it’s infuriating: insult on top of injury. The excitement of being offered a piracy job is dulled when you consider that it means you have to spend more time with the combat minigame.

I can tell that The Long Journey is a complicated game, but the narrative is the least complex thing about it. That's the fundamental frustration of the game: It's marketed to people exactly like me, sci-fi fans who want a video game that's grounded in the optimism and curiosity of the science fiction novels of yesteryear. Artistically, thematically, the game follows in those footsteps. But don't get the impression that it's a casual game by any means. It's a cruel and finicky physics puzzler. It requires absolute attention be paid to each one of its many mechanical systems, even on the easiest difficulty. It supposes the power of your imagination is enough to make micromanaging the curve and flight velocity of a cursor on a screen exciting.

The Long Journey Home may hold many secrets and wonders, but it's hard to hold on to the promise of them when the game's more likely to break both your legs as soon as you step off the front porch. The promise of a truly narrative-driven roguelike is tantalizing, but this isn’t that game. It's just as tied to your skill with the controller as any bullet hell — more so, really, because you carry the consequences of even the slightest mistake a long ways before finally seeing the game over screen. It promises to be a game about the wonder of unbound space; instead, it’s more about the infuriating heartbreak of high wind speeds in a low gravity environment.

The Long Journey Home was reviewed using a pre-release final Steam code provided by Daedalic Entertainment. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here .

The Long Journey Home

Game length provided by HowLongToBeat

• Endless Space - Explore a living, procedurally generated universe inspired by both classic and modern Science Fiction. Meet different aliens. Find different stories. Take different risks. Learn the secrets of the universe and with them, new possibilities.
• Hidden stories - Raid alien tombs full of traps and treasure. Compete in the galaxy’s greatest combat tournament. Find and research strange artifacts, and use your crew’s skills to find out whether that old skull is just a piece of bone, or the Holy Grail of an aggressive new species.
• A crew worth leading - Choose four out of ten experts, all with personality as well as specialties. Far from just stats, you’ll come to know them as they share their feelings, their fears, their excitement and their concerns on the trip and your decisions. Learn how best to use their skills to help the others… and who might be willing to sacrifice themselves to get the others back Home.

© Copyright 2016 Daedalic Entertainment Studio West GmbH and Daedalic Entertainment GmbH. The Long Journey Home is a trademark of Daedalic Entertainment Studio West GmbH. Daedalic and the Daedalic logo are trademarks of Daedalic Entertainment GmbH. All rights reserved.

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• Featured Content / Reviews

The Long Journey Home Review

by Alex Fuller · November 30, 2018

Are We Nearly There Yet?

Originally released for PC last year before making its way onto consoles this November, The Long Journey Home is a different title from what many have come to expect from Daedalic Entertainment, a developer and publisher more renowned for its various adventure titles. Tasking players with guiding a ship across the far reaches of space, The Long Journey Home never attempts to make its journey particularly thrilling, but the deliberate pacing combines well with its risk-versus-reward elements and the simple enjoyment of travelling the stars.

The Long Journey Home begins with players selecting the crew, spaceship, and universe seed for a mission to test a new faster-than-light drive. There are ten potential members to fill out the four available crew slots, each with their own item and skill set, as well as three spaceship and lander options providing different attributes in terms of speed, cargo space, and so forth. As the title alludes to, the test does not go quite as planned, and the crew find themselves and the ship far, far away from home. Left to their own devices, the crew must try and find the way home while dealing with dangerous locations, limited resources, and aliens of the friendly and not-so-friendly varieties.

The universe seed is the primary factor that will affect a playthrough of The Long Journey Home . It determines what players will be able to encounter, from the alien species present to the general makeup of the stars and galaxies they will be roaming in. This leads to a wide variety in difficulty between playthroughs, with certain seeds being far more welcoming to new players than others. However, there is always an element of luck to things, and even on an easier seed and with the game’s story difficulty setting, there will be many opportunities for the journey to end prematurely.

Successfully slinging the ship between planets is highly satisfactory.

The structure of the game has players jumping from star system to star system, stopping off at planets, space stations, and asteroid fields to find resources, investigate points of interest, or take on small jobs. Gravity plays a big part in travelling between locations in the star system, and players are heavily encouraged to make use of gravitational slingshots wherever they can to ensure they don’t needlessly waste fuel. Once players have successfully gone into orbit around a planet or moon, they can send the lander down to the surface, where it will have resource points that can be gathered and maybe other points of interest such as an alien settlement or set of ruins to explore. The structure is decently paced, with planetary stopovers always being a quick in-and-out, and it makes for an engaging journey where it can be easy and enjoyable to get sucked into a mindset of “just one more system…”.

The game’s controls are nice and straightforward, but one of the few annoyances comes with controlling the lander. Some planets are more hostile and difficult to land on than others, some having high gravity or winds, others prone to earthquakes or lightning storms, with players able buy and attach modules to the lander to help against these. However, the game always seems to enjoy throwing the lander down at high speed, so that even a lander that has in theory been modified to cope with the conditions will still be flung onto the surface despite the player’s best attempts. In these cases all players can do is hope the damage isn’t too severe and just carry on. It’s understandable that the game is promoting a sense of risk-versus-reward on using the lander, but it’s nevertheless frustrating, particularly given how much more enjoyable and comparatively friendly interplanetary travel is.

Combat encounters are not worth actively seeking out.

Though there are some interesting quests and pieces of lore to discover, there isn’t much of a narrative to The Long Journey Home . Part of this is because quests and jobs often require that players go out of their way to complete them, which is generally a high risk to take considering the limited resources available and the propensity of the ship to be damaged through wear and tear when it jumps. Even on the friendly seeds, money needed for repairs can be hard to come by and so time spent going back and forth in one sector can be very costly in the long run. There are very few named characters in the game, and those that are named generally appear for a single quest before they disappear and are never heard from again. The Long Journey Home is undeniably more about trying to survive the journey above anything else, but there’s some interesting variety to the alien species that can appear, with some enjoyable writing and inconsequential banter between the crew that appears from time to time.

Crew members don’t gain any new skills on top of those they come with; anything they can do to help depends on items picked up throughout the voyage. The main concern is keeping them alive, as various things such as radiation from stars and heavy lander impacts can cause injuries, five of which will cause that crew member’s death. Instead, any progress comes from what helpful items players are able to attain, and crew members can be help get these. For example, Ash is able to turn alien flora into medical items, used to heal aforementioned injuries. Meanwhile, players can also buy new modules for the ship or lander that will provide bonuses such as improved radiation shielding. It all follows the theme of survival above anything else.

Combat is not very interesting and more often than not best avoided. Combat will see the ship come up against another ship, usually bigger, which may itself spawn additional smaller ships. The ships then fly around each other, shooting in pre-defined directions — the default weapon has the player ship fire up to four projectiles directly port and starboard, with players able to buy upgrades from a very limited selection of weapons and shields — then recharging before firing again. If players win, they may be lucky enough to receive a paltry set of credits or resources that may just about cover any repairs. If players lose, then it’s time to rewind back to the start of the star system or start the entire journey anew. The combat itself is straightforward, but is rarely worth the time and effort.

Some planets have very pretty backdrops, but be prepared to see similar ones elsewhere in the galaxy.

There’s not too much to say about the audio in The Long Journey Home . The best thing to say is that the atmospheric music tracks do a nice job combined with the gravitational simulation to make the journeys between planets nice and chilled out. Sound effects are fine, but there’s no voice acting, though given the general lack of narrative in the game, there isn’t much to be gained even if it was present. Visuals also do the job well, with a nice and clear UI, but the positives reduce out over time. Some planets are pleasing to look at, but by the time players are through they will have seen all the templates multiple times. The same goes for the alien species, there is good variation between them, but just one design for each species and nothing to distinguish individual encounters.

The Long Journey Home doesn’t outstay its welcome. A successful journey should take most players around ten hours, which is a good length for those who just want to get home and enjoy the accomplishment while the gameplay cycle remains enjoyable. Meanwhile, the way the universe is generated with seeds means that those who are interested in seeing everything the game has to offer as well as find new challenges have many reasons to keep coming back. It never offers the most in-depth or exciting gameplay moments, but the overall experience of The Long Journey Home is an enjoyable one.

Good at sucking players into the journey

Using gravity is fun

Combat feels like an afterthought

Some lander annoyances

Tags: Daedalic Entertainment PS4 The Long Journey Home

Alex Fuller

Alex joined RPGamer in 2011 as a Previewer before moving onto Reviews, News Director, and Managing Editor. Became Acting Editor-in-Chief in 2018.

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Wot I Think: The Long Journey Home

Star Trekkin'

It's not all that long, the journey, but it is very busy. About six hours might do the trick, but you're likely to get distracted along the way. Part Star Trek Voyager and part The Odyssey, The Long Journey Home [ official site ] puts you in charge of a small crew who have been stranded far from Earth due to a tech malfunction, and must make their way home, making friends and enemies along the way. Though it's clearly inspired by the likes of Star Control and Captain Blood, I've found myself thinking of No Man's Sky as I play. Here's wot I think.

TLJH is one of those games that feels like lots of mini-games stitched together. There's some basic resource management, Thrust-like planetary landings, conversations with alien races, combat, and star system navigation. It's a game that could easily end up being less than the sum of its parts, but the structure of the journey itself ties everything together and makes each decision and challenge important. Whether you're figuring out if a diversion to save a plague-ridden planet is worthwhile or even a realistic possibility given how limited the essential resources needed to keep your ship running might be.

There are four things to consider. Your crew are a primary resource and as they pick up injuries, your journey becomes more perilous. Those injuries come from rough landings, risky flying, certain encounters and ship-to-ship combat. People are your most precious resource, and are irreplaceable, though they can be healed if you find the appropriate items.

The other three resources you'll need to trek across the stars can all be picked up along the way and the core loop of the game involves ensuring you gather enough of each at each stop along the route.

First of all, you'll need fuel to move within systems, and to send your single-seater lander craft down to the surface of planets. It's planetside where you'll find the gases, metals and minerals that are used for refuelling and repair, but you might also want to visit some planets as part of a quest chain, or on the off-chance there'll be some mystery to uncover. But, yes, fuel is of vital importance, and you'll use it to move between planets and find it on planets.

And then there's a second kind of fuel that lets you jump between systems. The ingredients for that are found on planets as well, and you'll always have a fairly good idea what you're going to find once you settle into orbit. A scan tells you what kind of resources to expect, and what quantities they might be found in, and information about inhabitants, atmosphere, weather and overall threat level.

If a planet has firestorms, high winds and scarce supplies, it's probably not worth risking your lander and crew. You can repair both your ship and lander, and that's where the third resource, metal, comes into play.

On one level, that's how The Long Journey Home works; you travel from place to place, gathering enough resources to ensure you can make the next jump, or survive the next tricky landing in order to get the fuel to make the jump. That's where it reminds me of my hours with No Man's Sky, a game in which I never cared for the journey so much as the destination. The lure of discovering new species and biomes was powerful, for a few days, and part of the attraction was knowing that everything I saw mine and mine alone. Discoveries born of code and procedural design.

There is randomisation in The Long Journey Home as well, but it affects the order of things rather than the things themselves. The systems you'll pass through on your way back to our solar system are different each time, but the things within them are hand-crafted. There are several species to encounter, all with their own stories, dialogues and quest chains. Those quests range from delightfully silly interstellar quiz shows and tests of strength to genocide and flirtations with transcendental beings. What they all have in common is a sense of mischievous wit in the writing, which is courtesy of RPS columnist Richard Cobbett, a man who has forgotten more about RPGs and their tropes than most of us have ever known.

The combination of resource-gathering and wordy adventures is an odd one, but it's mostly successful. At worst, the actual business of scooping up fuel and minerals becomes busywork, interrupting the flow of a quest, and the limited number of encounters means that you'll start to see repetition after a few playthroughs. Thankfully, running into aliens you've already met on a previous journey doesn't mean you're in for an identical story – some encounters have fairly predictable outcomes, but some branch and twist, and there are even emergent qualities to some stories, which can be derailed or unexpectedly collide with one another.

There's a lot to like in those encounters but it's hard to escape from the feeling that the actual machinery driving the game is simpler than I'd like it to be. If you come for the stories, you still have to do the work in between them, as if visiting a library with a byzantine membership system that requires you to sign up again every time you want to borrow a book.

Take the lander sections: they're beautiful and simple enough, rarely taking more than five minutes to complete, even if you actually explore the surface and have a mini text adventure rather than just scooping up resources before jetting away. But they're also repetitive and a couple of mistakes can make the cost of landing heavier than rewards. I'd describe The Long Journey Home as a difficult game, given how hard it is to get home, but it's an oddly pitched difficulty. I'm more likely to peter out than to explode in a blaze of glory or perish in a calamitous misadventure.

Simply put, getting home is hard work and even though there are loads of amazing adventures to be had along the way, you'll also be carrying out a lot of maintenance. Think of this more as a warning than a condemnation because I'm still enjoying the game after thirty-five hours of playing. There's something quite soothing about the repetition that puts Long Journey Home into my Podcast Pile – which is to say, the pile of games that I play while listening to podcasts. That's not a bad pile to be in given how many podcasts I listen to every day.

And, yes, it still reminds me of No Man's Sky, but with these discrete mini-games instead of the arduous walking and gathering and crafting and inventory juggling. It also feels like a successor to Digital Eel's Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, and a stronger one than the actual sequel. There's not quite enough here to win me over completely, but there's more than enough to make the numerous trips I've made worthwhile, and part of the charm is in never knowing if there's anything left to discover. The stars are strange and home to many mysteries and it's tempting to stick around until I've seen them all. But keep in mind that there's lots of work to do along the way.

The Long Journey Home is available now for Windows, via Steam and GOG .

Disclosure: Richard Cobbett wrote the words and has a regular column on RPS that I edit most weeks. The fact that I have to look at so many of his words as part of my day-job and actually enjoyed playing a game that was stuffed with even more of them could probably be seen as a compliment.

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The Long Journey Home

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It was supposed to be a short test run – a quick flight to Alpha Centauri and back. But when mankind’s first experimental jump drive goes wrong, you and your crew find yourselves trapped on the wrong side of the galaxy. Now, you are entirely on your own – and the only way back leads through the vast unknown of outer space. On your strange journey, you will encounter unforeseen obstacles and unimaginable treasures. You will fail and you will pick yourselves up again. You will suffer painful losses and also make new friends – in a vibrant universe that changes its design with every new journey. Your most important goal: Bring your crew back home to their families and friends. The Long Journey Home combines an open world full of galaxies, planets and anomalies with quests and mechanics of a rogue-like RPG. You have to make decisions – and choose to live with the consequences. One destination. Endless adventures. Where will this journey take you?

From the bridge of your ship, you see a million points of light. Only one of them matters. Home.

It was only supposed to be a short trip. But when your jump drive malfunctions, you and a mismatched crew of specialists along for the ride find yourselves trapped and alone on the wrong side of the galaxy. The only way back is through. Forge alliances with strange Alien Races . Explore distant Planets for the Ruins , Artifacts and Resources they hide. Harness your crew’s Skills , from archeology to diplomacy. Make deals and moral decisions that change the universe. Do whatever it takes to survive.

And every game, enter a new galaxy. Will you find yourself welcomed by Traders and noble warrior knights... or surrounded by Pirates , psychopaths, and an unspeakable cosmic horror that threatens to snuff out the stars themselves. One destination. Endless adventures. Where will your Journey take you?

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The Long Journey Home

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There are a million stars in the universe. Only one of them is Home. It was supposed to be a short test run – a quick flight to Alpha Centauri and back. But when mankind’s first experimental jump drive goes wrong, you and your crew find yourselves trapped on the wrong side of the galaxy. Now, you are entirely on your own – and the only way back leads through the vast unknown of outer space. On your strange journey, you will encounter unforeseen obstacles and unimaginable treasures. You will fail and you will pick yourselves up again. You will suffer painful losses and also make new friends – in a vibrant universe that changes its design with every new journey. Your most important goal: Bring your crew back home to their families and friends. The Long Journey Home combines an open world full of galaxies, planets and anomalies with quests and mechanics of a rogue-like RPG. You have to make decisions – and choose to live with the consequences. One destination. Endless adventures. Where will this journey take you?

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The Long Journey By Johannes V. Jensen

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The Long Journey: A Story of Survival Paperback – April 20, 2016

Purchase options and add-ons.

• Print length 130 pages
• Language English
• Publication date April 20, 2016
• Dimensions 6 x 0.3 x 9 inches
• ISBN-10 1530966884
• ISBN-13 978-1530966882
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (April 20, 2016)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 130 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1530966884
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1530966882
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.3 x 9 inches
• #136,420 in Memoirs (Books)

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The Long Journey

by John L. Kennedy

Main Content

About the book.

The Long Journey is the story of one man’s trials and triumphs as a Korean adoptee, from his time in Korea as a small child to his struggles as an outsider trying to find his place in America. John tells of his reunion with the other orphans in Korea and the surprise that would change his life forever. Grab your tissues. This inspiring and heartfelt account will leave you in tears.

About the Author

John L. Kennedy was born in Korea, placed in an orphanage, adopted twice in America, served in the United States Air Force, and was a small business owner. He resides in Mansfield, Texas with his wife Alma, and is often found babysitting his grandchildren.

Buy the Book

Read about John’s incredible journey and experience the heart-felt encounters he made along the way. eBook and paperback versions available.

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Screen Rant

Inside out 2 director kelsey mann & producer mark nielsen on the long journey to pixar’s sequel.

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Where To Watch Inside Out 2: Showtimes & Streaming Status

Inside out 2 rotten tomatoes score can't replicate original's near perfection (but it's still super fresh), how much did inside out 2 cost to make & what box office it needs.

• Inside Out 2 introduces new emotions like Anxiety and Ennui as Riley navigates her teenage years and a changing sense of self.
• Director Kelsey Mann and producer Mark Nielsen cut emotions, like Schadenfreude, and story beats to craft a focused and impactful sequel.
• The film delves into Riley's belief system, which Mann hopes captures the same level of enthusiasm as the Core Memories concept from the first movie.

Inside Out 2 is set to take viewers on an emotional rollercoaster. Once again telling the story of the inner workings of a girl named Riley, the Pixar animated sequel introduces new characters as Riley hits her teenage years and begins to feel the effects of puberty. Original characters Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust return, but are joined by the powerful new emotions of Anxiety, Ennui, Envy, and Embarrassment.

Two filmmakers responsible for creating a worthy successor to one of Pixar’s most beloved properties are director Kelsey Mann and producer Mark Nielsen. In shaping the movie, Mann and Nielsen cut new Inside Out 2 emotions and story beats to clear the way for a focused and impactful story. Nielsen and Mann have each spent years bringing Pixar projects to life, although Inside Out 2 is Mann’s first feature film as a director.

Pixar's beloved property has returned, and there are different options for where to watch Inside Out 2, such as in theaters and at home on streaming.

With these new emotions comes an ensemble roster of fresh actors for the Inside Out 2 cast . Joining returning stars Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan are Maya Hawke ( Stranger Things ), Ayo Edebiri ( The Bear, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem ), Adèle Exarchopoulos ( Blue is the Warmest Color ), Paul Walter Hauser ( Cobra Kai, Orion and the Dark ) and June Squibb ( Toy Story 4, Soul ).

Screen Rant interviewed Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen about their work on Inside Out 2 . They discussed the movie's cut emotions, their darkest moments during filmmaking, and what they hope audiences will take away from the sequel.

Watching " Terrible " First Screenings Of Past Pixar Films Helped Mann Keep Faith

Screen Rant: Kelsey, this is a wonderful movie. It does the thing that all the great Pixar things do, which is navigate these amazingly high highs and low lows. In that spirit, what was the end of the second act, “ all is lost ” moment in the production of the movie?

Kelsey Mann: There are a lot. A lot has happened. A lot has happened in our world in the nine years since the last one came out. Four of those years have been us making this movie, and we've gone through quite a lot. What’s my act two low moment on this movie? There's always that sense of doubt. “Is it good enough? Could it be better?” Every single movie goes through that journey. At the studio — we do this every once in a while — we will watch the first screening of our old films just to remind ourselves… because you get caught up in like, “Oh, Monsters, Inc. is an awesome, perfect film.” We have to go, “Wait a minute, do you remember the first screening? It was terrible.” Mark Nielsen: It was rough. Kelsey Mann: It reminds us it's okay, and that's part of the process. You can be so hard on yourself at Pixar because you have all these wonderful films and there's an expectation you have to be perfect out of the gate. We just have to remind ourselves [that’s not the case.] So, it was definitely around one of those times. Probably a screening that was like, “That could have gone better.” But there's always something positive we get out of screenings, even when they don't do well, because we learn from them.

Inside Out 2 Went Through Tons Of Changes Along The Way

Mark, to that directly, I listened to a podcast with the writers of the film and one said that there was nothing from the first screening that made it into the final.

Mark Nielsen: Oh, yeah. Kelsey Mann: Maybe Nostalgia. I think she was from the beginning. Mark Nielsen: I think Nostalgia was probably there. Joy was definitely in the first version. The spirit of it is probably true though, that there is a lot of change that happens over the nine or 10 screenings that you build over this four-year period.

Is there something that you missed the most that didn’t make it to the final, and why didn’t it make it in?

Mark Nielsen: No. I think we finished with all the best stuff, and I think we weeded out the things that didn't quite fit. There were some great things we had to weed out, but they were things that didn't quite fit, that made the movie too long or a little too complicated, or didn't fit perfectly into the story of Riley and Joy and Anxiety that we were telling. But I do think we saved the best for the last screening, which is the one that's coming out in June.

Riley's Belief System Is One Of The Filmmakers' Favorite Parts Of Inside Out 2

In watching this, it was hard for me to imagine a world without the first Inside Out. It was so influential, it popularized the idea of core memories.

Kelsey Mann: We made that up! But now it’s out there.

It’s just part of the language. Is there something like that from this second movie that you both would like to hit the masses in that way?

Kelsey Mann: I really love what we've done with the belief system and Riley’s sense of self. I feel like that's something that I can definitely relate to, and one thing we got really excited about. The first film did that — they took the concept of memories, and now we've got a visual of the way we see memories, with the sphere that plays it. We got really excited about Riley becoming a teenager, and you're starting to develop your own identity at that age, and your own beliefs. We were like, “Beliefs. Beliefs! The belief system. I want to go down to the belief system. What does that look like?” We got really excited about that. I hope people really latch onto [that], because it's one of my favorite locations we've expanded the world into.

Schadenfreude Was One Of Many Dropped Inside Out 2 Emotions

Are there any emotions you two would like to introduce or spend more time with for a third film, if you got the chance?

Kelsey Mann: There are a ton. A lot were left on the table, both for the first film and for this one. My favorite is schadenfreude. Do you know the feeling of schadenfreude? It's the feeling you get of taking pleasure in someone else's pain, which I think is hilarious. We had him show up — he had a German accent — and I think Fear got hit in the head or something, and he went, “Your cries of pain amuse me!” He was a really funny character that I believe is down in the waiting room with Nostalgia. Mark Nielsen: Waiting for the right moment to come back.

About Inside Out 2

Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 invites moviegoers inside the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as Headquarters undergoes a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions.

Check out our other Inside Out 2 interviews with:

• Amy Poehler & Maya Hawke
• Tony Hale & Liza Lapira
• Lewis Black & Paul Walter Hauser

Inside Out 2 hits theaters on June 14.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

Inside Out 2

Inside Out 2 is the sequel to the 2015 original film, which starred a young girl named Riley with a head full of emotions. - literally. With Amy Pohler as Joy, Bill Hader as fear, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, and Lewis Black as Anger, the all-star cast brought to life the emotions that adolescents face as they grow, change, and adapt to new situations. This sequel, currently in development, will bring Amy Pohler back as Joy, with Riley, now a teenager.

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The Nimona cast on the film's long journey (and learning to make ostrich noises)

Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, and Eugene Lee Yang open up about shape-shifting and the film’s unlikely revival.

Devan Coggan (rhymes with seven slogan) is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly. Most of her personality is just John Mulaney quotes and Lord of the Rings references.

Chloë Grace Moretz technically only plays one role in Nimona . The actress voices the film's titular shape-shifter, a stout agent of chaos who can transform into any animal she wishes. But lending her voice to a shape-shifter meant that Moretz had to do a bit of shape-shifting herself, figuring out how to breathe life into all of Nimona's animal forms. And there are a lot of animal forms: Throughout the film, Nimona morphs into whales, gorillas, sharks, and a whole menagerie of creatures.

"My favorite is when she turns into an ostrich," Moretz tells EW with a laugh. "I had to figure out: What does it sound like when an ostrich has their tongue hanging out and their neck flapping back and forth? I'm sure there's a lot of videos of me doing that in the booth that I don't know that anybody ever needs to see."

Based on the beloved graphic novel by ND Stevenson , Nimona (out June 30 on Netflix) is a candy-colored action-adventure, following Nimona as she teams up with disgraced knight Ballister Boldheart ( Riz Ahmed ). Together, the two embark on a quest to solve a murder mystery and clear Ballister's name, all while evading the eye of Ballister's romantic interest, the noble knight Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang).

It's also had a long journey to the screen: Originally, Nimona was in the works at animation studio Blue Sky, a subsidiary of Fox. But when Disney bought Fox in 2019, it soon shut down Blue Sky , effectively killing the fledgling Nimona. At that point, Moretz had already sunk several months of work into the film, and she says the shutdown was "devastating."

"It was really heartbreaking," Moretz admits. "We were putting so much effort into a story that I think really deserves to be seen and is so poignant and important right now. Then, we got that call that Big Sky was shutting down, and Disney wasn't going to go any further with the story. We were just at a loss."

Then, a lifeline: Megan Ellison of Annapurna saw early footage and started sharing it around Hollywood. Eventually, Netflix swooped in to save Nimona , finally bringing it to the screen in 2023. "They've really stood behind this project," Moretz adds. "It just makes us all teary-eyed. The story of Nimona really comes through when you think of the story of Nimona the movie surviving as well. There are so many parallels, and it's really beautiful."

It was those themes of heroism and survival that drew Ahmed and Yang to the project, too. Ahmed particularly connected with the disgraced Ballister, a lower-class knight who fights to prove himself amongst his pedigreed peers. When he's framed for a murder he didn't commit, Ballister starts to question whether he really is the villain his kingdom has painted him as.

"So often we think that in order to be a hero, you have to create a villain, and elevating yourself involves putting someone else down or vanquishing someone else," Ahmed explains, calling the long recording process "a marathon." He continues, "But what I loved about Ballister's journey is that real heroism is not about putting down someone else but accepting yourself. It's about being brave to show people who you really are and not trying to fit in. That's heroism."

Yang, known for his work as a member of the Try Guys, says he'd long been a fan of Stevenson's other Netflix project, the animated series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power , so he jumped at the chance to lend his voice to Nimona . The film version of Goldenloin is a bit smarter than he is in the graphic novel, where he's portrayed as more of a preening blond himbo. Yang wanted to bring a bit more depth and nobility to his Goldenloin, particularly in his romantic relationship with Ballister.

"Although he's popular and glorified as this literal descendant of Gloreth, he's also just this sweet, honest guy who wants to figure out what's going wrong with his relationship," Yang explains. "And that's where it gets me right in the gut, you know?"

Ultimately, the cast hopes that audiences connect with Nimona and her motley band of oddballs the same way they did — and that the film was ultimately worth the (very long!) wait. "This is a story for anyone that's ever felt other, for anyone that's ever felt ostracized by society or villainized for the way they look or present," Moretz says. "When I finally saw it recently, I felt so seen. Immediately, my first words were like, 'Man, if I had this when I was younger, I think I would've been able to sort through things a lot sooner.'"

"I don't cry very often, but when I saw it, I actually cried," Yang adds. "And I was shocked because I know the story!"

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly 's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• The story of Nimona , the groundbreaking animated film that refused to die
• A new hero takes shape in Netflix's Nimona teaser trailer
• Netflix saves Nimona after Disney scrapped LGBTQ-friendly animated film

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Christen Press’ long journey back from injury: ‘The last six months have been the best of my life’

On Tuesday, Christen Press returned to team training with Angel City FC, exactly two years to the day from when she tore her ACL in a 2022 match against Racing Louisville. While her involvement in training is still limited, with her only taking part in the warm-ups and a passing drill to start, it’s one of the many milestones Press can celebrate on the arduous journey she’s undertaken for a full return to the sport.

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As she noted in a call with The Athletic , most of those milestones have been reached in private. At first, she wanted this moment to be private too — well, as private as it could be with a full team and staff around, but in a closed practice where she could evaluate how she felt. With further thought, she changed her mind: this milestone was one that could be celebrated, and with so much uncertainty still left about what milestones remain, she might as well embrace this one.

“If this is something we can all celebrate, let’s just go for it, because this journey has been really, really long,” Press said on Monday, a little more than 24 hours out from the return to training. “When you don’t play, you do have a different relationship with the fanbase, and it’s nice to see this as the re-entry point. People are going to get videos of me in team training, and I’m just going to be around.”

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Christen Press (@christenpress)

Back in February, Press referenced her “ relentless optimism ” that has helped her on this wildly unpredictable recovery process, which required four surgeries and resulted in her missing out entirely for competing for a 2023 World Cup roster spot. Her fourth surgery was timed right around when the USWNT was heading to New Zealand, which released her from being tied to a recovery timeline and feeling the pressure to return.

“When I found out I had to have the fourth surgery, I was like, well, I’m not going to the World Cup because I’ll be in surgery during the World Cup,” she said in February. “So that was the moment I actually exhaled. I had to grieve that.”

The release from external timelines has extended to another tournament, the Olympics, which Press said on Monday she’s never really focused on in terms of a potential return. Despite the standard recovery timelines lining up from her fourth and final ACL surgery, last summer’s World Cup experience wasn’t something she wanted to repeat.

“There’s no way your mind can’t start doing the math, right?” Press said this week, saying she’d catch herself counting down the weeks to this summer’s tournament. She doesn’t want to turn off the part of herself still dreaming and striving for a roster spot or any accomplishment on the field, but it’s all a balance.

There’s also a delicate emotional balance in other ways through the recovery process. She’s been in with the team at their training facility, watching the rest of the players train; she’s been at games supporting Angel City, too. Injuries can be isolating, but there’s a weight to being around the team, unable to participate.

“Some of the hardest days of my week are game days when I watch my team play, and there’s a lot of nuance to that. I do feel part of the team. I’m very loyal and dedicated to my teammates and to the club, but it’s actually really hard and painful to watch,” she said. 

Having her own space at her physical therapy clinic provided a healing environment. One that lives outside the specific pressures and stresses of the week-to-week grind of the NWSL season, one where the coaches turn from a Friday night result to the new outlook of Monday morning.

“It was a huge blessing to be able to be outside of that, and then the re-entry has been just so great because I have been in a bubble. I’ve been saying, I’ve been bubble-wrapped for so long and now to get in and experience the shift in moods, the shift in energy that comes with preparing for a game and dealing with the results is really important,” she said, now having been more integrated with the team over the past three months. 

She’s adjusted now, but shifting from the PT clinic, where she saw the same three people every day, to the full Angel City experience was a bit of a shock. 

“It was so social,” she said, laughing a little, recalling just how many people were suddenly talking to her on a daily basis. “Oh my god, I am so introverted. I can’t be around 23 people that are asking me about my life. This is wild! I kept being like, I want to wear a shirt that says, ‘Please don’t ask me about my knee today.’”

With the integration underway and the public milestone achieved, Press has also been busy with the return of The RE-CAP Show , which she hosts with Tobin Heath. Now into their third season, they’ve already recorded with guests like former USWNT player Abby Wambach and Glennon Doyle (who both are in the Angel City investment group, too). 

Press and Heath were among the first players to balance active careers with stepping into the media realm, a path shared by the likes of Sam Mewis, Becky Sauerbrunn, Lynn Williams, Midge Purce and others. But still the far more common path is for a player to retire, then start talking about soccer for a living. Press and Heath embrace the tension and perspective this provides.

“Neither Tobin nor I are retired, and neither Tobin nor I have put that chapter behind us,” she said. “We always say it’s a very unique insider/outsider perspective with the USWNT.” As she noted on Monday’s call, you can’t get cut from the national team — a player can always get left off a roster, but they’re also always in contention for the next one. “With the national team, we’re both like, ‘You never know.’ If we can play, we’re going for it right?”

Press noted that discussing the NWSL felt different to her on the show — she’s actively contracted to a team, after all. But either way, her and Heath approach the show with an “active eye” rather than two players who are looking back. But they’ve also focused on building a community along with their foray into the media space. Press has been providing videos with an intimate look into her recovery process for paying members of RE-INC, something that she didn’t think she’d want to create in a more public forum.

“We’ve been able to stay inside the women’s soccer community, having a relationship with our community and our fan base through it all,” Press said.

“We’re simply having the same conversation that we have on our living room couch. I carry a weight of being thoughtful and careful and intentional all the time, inside my own home, so it’s easy for me to translate that. So when we have our banter back and forth, we can stand in a place where we’re challenging each other, and that makes the show more of a provocation than an answer,” she continued. “It’s a question. It’s not an answer.”

Press’ reputation is built in many ways around that thoughtfulness, but it’s not an act either. And sometimes, the way she approaches the world in her “cerebral” fashion means that she wants things to make sense, like her ACL injury and all four surgeries. “I want this fairy tale story where I come back, I’m delightful — that’s actually what I want. ‘I went through all of this, and now you all find me delightful.’”

Press is also all too aware of another reputation, one earned because she’s not afraid to ask for what she wants. She’s fought for everything she wanted. She knows her value. 

“Before, you called me a diva, and now I’m delightful. It’s not going to be like that; that’s not what life is. But I will say, the last year of my life — maybe even shorter, the last six months — have been the best of my life because of the space that my ACL created for me to heal as a human. I’m still on that journey, and I intend to stay on that journey.”

Press said this time has allowed her to process and work through all the things she wanted to work through when she actively took a break from the national team, following the previous Olympics. That was the last time she put on a USWNT jersey, after all, and it was and still is a big part of her identity. There have been chapters of her life since then though, and through the recovery process she has asked herself time and time again not when she wants to come back, but how .

She acknowledged there will be fear and pressure with this milestone and the ones yet to come, but the simple goal is for her to be delightful as a human being, for others to be around. Someone that can mentor or be good on the field, laugh at themselves and tease a little too. That doesn’t feel like too much to ask.

“Getting that role in the team where I can be happy and joyful and chasing excellence, really appreciating what I’m doing and what I’m able to do.” That’s what’s important, after a stretch when she did not enjoy the sport itself. “Because if I go back, and I go back and feel the same way that I did about soccer and winning and scoring, then that will feel like a bigger failure than not making it back at all.”

“The competitor in me and the perfectionist in me and the Capricorn in me and the Enneagram three in me just wants to be this delightful, great soccer player that has so much fun and scores all these goals and can totally deal with stress and is always laughing,” she said. 

That’s the dream part. The real answer is simple.

“With delight.”

(Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

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Meg Linehan is a senior writer for The Athletic who covers the U.S. women's national team, the National Women's Soccer League and more. She also hosts the weekly podcast "Full Time with Meg Linehan." Follow Meg on Twitter @ itsmeglinehan

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1250 BELLFLOWER BOULEVARD LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA 90840 562.985.4111

‘Beach Journey’ remaps the student, alumni experience at CSULB

There was a time not so long ago when the college experience was seen as a four-year affair with three main directives: Enroll. Learn. Graduate.  

Universities focused on academic achievements. “Career services” referred to resume workshops and job boards. And alumni connections were mainly limited to sporting events, class reunions and chance encounters.   

That’s no longer the case.  

At the forefront of a nationwide trend that shows a growing appetite among young people for mentoring , networking and upskilling, CSULB is redefining what it means to be a student here — and an alum. Embracing a more holistic approach that extends beyond the traditional boundaries of college life, The Beach’s pivot includes robust career development resources, avenues for growth both during and after a student’s time on campus, and a comprehensive alumni network that integrates both digital and in-person elements.  

Coined “ The Beach Journey ,” the new model casts CSULB not as a steppingstone, but as the path itself.   

“We want to be that lifelong partner,” said Alumni Engagement Director Noemi Guevara, as she described the array of programs, services and opportunities that will be offered to alums in perpetuity. “We want alumni to know, ‘We are here for every stage of your life.’”  

Journey Milestones  

The Beach Journey has been years in the making and was not hatched in a vacuum. Studies show that recent grads have a strong desire for meaningful, authentic connections and niche networking opportunities , Guevara said. Particularly in the post-Covid world, she said, young professionals are seeking to be more intentional about where and how they invest their time, prioritizing the need for belonging and support in their chosen industries.  

While the journey can be viewed as a roadmap, everyone's path will differ. Most offerings are available at any point, providing flexibility for individuals to shape their experiences according to their own goals and needs.  

Enrollment  

Guevara wants new students to feel an immediate sense of support and belonging from the moment they enroll. A program called " Connect with a Future 49er " encourages alumni of any age to call newly admitted and enrolled students to congratulate and welcome them to the university.  

SOAR  

Student, Orientation, Advising and Registration (SOAR ) is the first official step in the Beach Journey. Required for all new students, SOAR is a comprehensive program designed to support their transition both academically and socially at CSULB.  

Beach Nexus  

Beach Nexus is an online platform that matches seasoned alumni with current students and recent grads. Students can find mentors in their fields, and, in turn, alumni can offer their own time, talents and moral support to both students and those just launching their careers. Through Beach Nexus, anyone can create and participate in affinity networks , which may be built around anything from career choice and life interests to ethnic, racial or sexual identity.

61+ Club  

Students who have completed between 61 and 89 hours of coursework — the halfway mark — will be encouraged to join the 61+ Club and start thinking about their career aspirations. The club will offer one-on-one guidance and help seeking internships; but most pivotal, Guevara said, will be getting students to see themselves as future alums , thus smoothing the inevitable transition from student to grad.  

Graduation  

Alumni Engagement invites graduating students to join the mybeach Senior Class Experience , a monthly one-stop-shop featuring senior profiles, campus events, commencement information, senior giving, networking opportunities and more.  

Job Search Boot Camp  

A series of workshops and events, the inaugural Recent Grad & Alumni Job Search Boot Camp is being held this month. Participants attend resume workshops, participate in mock interviews and attend inspiration talks from Long Beach State alums, among other things, while enjoying free food and giveaways.

49er Industry Chats  

With nearly 400,000 alumni, CSULB has a broad base of experience to pull from for its 49er Industry Chats . The recorded series invites professionals from all sectors to share their knowledge and industry insights with the next generation. Past chats can be viewed here.

Career Development Center  

In addition to advising students, the Career Development Center hosts job fairs, employer presentations, industry panels and networking events throughout the year. The CDC encourages alumni to sign up for CareerLINK to continue to take advantage of various virtual events and in-person events and workshops. All services continue to be free to alumni, with the exception of a career counseling annual subscription, which includes one-on-one assistance. The CDC also is involved in the Beach Nexus mentoring program and the 61+ Club.

College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPaCE)  

Not all careers stick. For those looking to enter a new workforce, change careers, level up their skillset or pursue lifelong learning opportunities, the College of Professional and Continuing Education is the answer. CPaCE (pronounced C-pace) is a hub where anyone can earn special credentials or certificate s, brush up on specific professional skills, or pursue a bachelor's or a master’s degree . CPaCE also offers K-12 career pathways, language learning and cross-cultural literacy, as well as flexible enrollment options like Open University , Summer Sessions , Winter Sessions and May Intersession .  

Dinner with Twelve  

Dinner with Twelve is a quarterly event in which one accomplished CSULB alum hosts a meal for 12 younger alums working within the same industry. The meals — which can range from casual to fancy — are centered on a particular discussion topic. Although Alumni Engagement hand-picks the seasoned alums, Guevara said, all alums are welcome to apply to be selected as one of the 12.  

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)   

A mainstay of the university, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) has offered seniors low-cost learning opportunities for nearly 30 years. The unique and well-loved space offers chances for alums to both teach and take classes . volunteer support  

Leave a Legacy  

The Beach’s success is significantly attributed to the dedication and volunteer support of its alumni. From mentoring programs to community service initiatives and leadership roles, there are countless ways to make a lasting impact.

Asking for ‘time and talent’  

During the series of Long Beach State commencement ceremonies at Angels Stadium last month, each grad received a letter inviting them to claim their CSULB Alumni Membership card. Guevera recalls one young man joking that he barely had his diploma in hand and his alma mater was already hitting him up for money.   

Guevera intervened. She explained to the young skeptic that it was her name signed to the letter and that all memberships were complimentary. She said Alumni Engagement was here for him and encouraged him to take advantage of its many offerings free of charge. As for what the university wanted in return?   

“I’m not asking for your money,” she said. “I’m asking for your time and your talent." 

His reaction? “He looks at me, and he’s like, ‘That is awesome!’”  

It's true, Guevera said, that part of the purpose of the Alumni Engagement is to secure financial support for the university’s facilities, programs, faculty and students — especially the areas most at risk of being affected by state budget cuts. As a public university, she said, “that’s part of our job.”   

But the way she sees it, donations and philanthropic support will naturally emerge as a result of The Beach Journey’s holistic approach.  

"You invested your time in helping a student, or even just volunteering in some community event,” Guevara said. “You're going to see the impact, and your financial support is just going to come naturally."  

The Beach Journey doesn’t change everything from the days of old, Guevera said, but rather expands on it. CSULB is still an institution with three main directives: Enroll. Learn. Graduate.    

It’s just that now, she said, there is a fourth: Stay.

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