You'll miss out a little by playing when others are less likely to be online, but it's still worth playing. Korny is right try to play in one sitting if you can. 2-4 hours is all it should take.

I did not encounter a single person while playing. Is that why I disliked the experience so much?

I imagine so. A huge part of the experience is unexpectedly encountering someone, then wordlessly interacting, helping one another, traveling together, and either parting or continuing together as far as you can. Sometimes you travel in life with one person, sometimes the person you depended on leaves, and sometimes you meet many people who help you out at different points of your journey. If you missed out on that, you missed out on a massive part of the experience...

But then, some people make a journey alone, and how could they enjoy such an experience if they're the kind that crave attention or depend on others?
And sometimes some people enjoy that solitude, and the ability to depend on themselves to the end...

You'll miss out a little by playing when others are less likely to be online, but it's still worth playing. Korny is right try to play in one sitting if you can. 2-4 hours is all it should take.

I did not encounter a single person while playing. Is that why I disliked the experience so much?

I'm finally going to pick up a PS4 this week. I've always wanted to play Journey--I assume it's still worth playing? I don't know any of the story or anything, so I haven't been spoiled in any significant manner I don't think. But I feel like it's been built up so much that maybe I've missed that boat. Undertale suffered in that way for me. It just couldn't live up to all the praise heaped upon it.

The entire point of Journey is just that, the journey. Don't go in expecting a huge twist or epic payoff at the end. The experience is small and personal. What you get out of it emotionally depends on what you experience during your journey. That's what resonates with folks. You'll likely only play through once or twice, but that is enough to get what you're going to get (I only played through it once, and didn't have the heart to go through it again).
The game is loved because of that small scale and the intimate experience. Expect to get through it in one sitting, and enjoy the views.

PS, welcome to the club. ;)

I'm finally going to pick up a PS4 this week. I've always wanted to play Journey--I assume it's still worth playing? I don't know any of the story or anything, so I haven't been spoiled in any significant manner I don't think. But I feel like it's been built up so much that maybe I've missed that boat. Undertale suffered in that way for me. It just couldn't live up to all the praise heaped upon it.

Journey's really cool. I didn't have as strong as a reaction as most people, it seems, but it's a neat little game. You'll probably love it.

The folks over at Blizzard released another animated short for Overwatch. Can't get enough of animated shorts:

And over on Playstation, a short look into the beauty and impact of Journey, which is a game devoid of dialogue that has brought most people that I know to tears, and is inspiring many others:

Wow, that video itself was tear-inducing.

And over on Playstation, a short look into the beauty and impact of Journey, which is a game devoid of dialogue that has brought most people that I know to tears, and is inspiring many others: