I’m a huge fan of the developers and now even publishers over at Don’t Nod Entertainment. They made a huge splash in the gaming industry with the (still) popular episode story of “Life Is Strange.” While not all of their games are massive hits, it’s cool to see that they don’t pin themselves into a specific corner with a style. Each game feels very different from the last. Earlier this year I reviewed their previous game “Harmony: The Fall of Reverie” (check out the review HERE) and that was different from anything they had done before. With this new release of “Jusant,” here we are again with a totally different game, but at its core it still manages to hit on emotional beats I didn’t expect. This time around we are thrown into a platformer that is very heavy on the rock-climbing mechanics.
You play as a nameless explorer alongside her mythical watery companion named Ballast. While previous Don’t Nod games are often choice based, this one stands out by not really having any dialogue at all, where the only choice you have is to ascend to the top of a massive pillar. Where I thought climbing in games tended to have been mastered in games such as the “Assassins Creed” franchise or even those of “Tomb Raider” or “Uncharted,” this one really isn’t as easy as you’d expect, but that’s the whole point of the game. It’s supposed to be an exhausting journey of finding out what happened to an ancient civilization and finding out what kind of person you really are by being able to complete this journey… Well, that’s at least what I got out of it. But back to the mechanics, to make the climbing a bit more intuitive the controls divide the explorers’ hands with the left and right triggers, this automatically makes the process quite the adjustment to get used to, but feels as immersive as climbing a mountain can get in a video game. The physics often feel realistic and whenever I managed to climb to a new peak, it felt incredibly satisfying.
My favorite aspect of “Jusant” is the general vibe it gives off. It’s a very peaceful and meditative game, for a platformer that can also be challenging at times. With there not being any dialogue said, you often feel the tranquility of being so high up and just listening to the wind. I also wanted to give a quick shout out to the composer, Guillaume Ferran, who continues to reinforce this vibe with a very tranquil and often-emotional score. Slowly uncovering remnants of a civilization that used to live here and figuring out what happened to them or where they went was a great concept to keep you continuing to want to climb as high as possible to uncover more. I love little games like this that don’t try to focus on too many things and only worry about a few aspects and completely nail them for a very clean and solid experience. It’s hard to say if “Jusant” will be for everyone, but it often puts me in that meditative state of games such as “Journey” that really engrossed me in this adventure.
For even more details on “Jusant” check out our preview by Steven Reyes HERE.
8.5/10
For more information, visit HERE
Related: Nick Navarro Reviews
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
More Stories
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Review for PlayStation 5
No More Room in Hell 2 Review for Steam Early Access
Potionomics: Masterwork Edition Review for Nintendo Switch