There are times when a game so clearly is attempting (and so desperately hopes its players will perceive it so) to be a throwback to past greats in a visual sense. And then there are times when a game manages to evoke the philosophy and personal mindset of those former experiences, without making it so blatant it’s even doing it. If of course that was ever the intention at all. As brief a time the six chapter ascent up the towering cliff-face at the heart of Jusant is, it’s hard to shake the feeling one is reliving moments spent blissfully fixated on the pre-21st century side-scrolling platformers.
The SNES-era Super Mario titles, original PlayStation Crash Bandicoot games and even Megaman deserves to be thrown in here. Games whose immediate draw wasn’t so much the challenge to get from start to finish, but the persistent dread in one’s mind of those bottomless pits to navigate over. Limited ground to tread, but overall level design whose single, solitary stages always felt like an almighty accomplishment to figure out – let alone master and subsequently beat with lives to spare. Jusant isn’t necessarily a platformer in the traditional sense. Safe ground is abundant, death is pretty much non-existent and any sense of hostile, counteracting your progression is self-inflicting. But it undoubtedly pays homage to the old-school philosophy of pre-3D efforts. When risk-taking and stepping up to the task put before you was the main focus. No alternatives, no work-arounds; the ordeal may seem intimidating, but with a little patience and quick deduction work, is far from impossible.
Perhaps these fond memories of accomplishment are why one’s conclusion on Jusant is as surprisingly glowing as it is. Not to say Don’t Nod’s application of color – a primarily orange/yellow/white palette taking center stage – lighting, scale and some terrific understanding of how 3D spaces can be elaborate yet evocative. All wound up around a kind of adventure fans of thatgamecompany’s/Giant Squid’s collective portfolio will immediately gravitate toward, but whose inherent appeal isn’t entirely exclusive to such a base. But even there: that Don’t Nod so effortlessly avoid the potential pitfalls of the “wondrous world, cryptic backstory” cliche that had wound up with many a dime-a-dozen premise and boat-load of releases over the years. Making its journey upward and onward one of genuine intrigue, without feeling too full of itself. We’re a far-cry from the widespread, dismissive perceptions of being solely the “Life is Strange folk” here. Not that we weren’t already, but from out of nowhere Jusant not only delivers on an early promise, but excels moreso.
Suffice it to say Don’t Nod are two-for-two this year – in Jusant, the French studio have carved out what is easily one of this year’s stand-out surprises. To do so with so simple a set-up on top speaks to just how fulfilling and cleverly constructed Jusant is, both in gameplay and presentation terms alike. Again, that Jusant takes something so commonplace and relied upon as a vibrant, low-poly art-style/aesthetic. The kind of bold, expressive visual style we’ve seen so many times and makes it feel entirely fresh and evocative all over again. Regions in Jusant across its six chapter progression steadily transitioning from one carefully-curated color palette to another. The sun baked mix of oranges and yellows in the first half soon giving way to cool blues and eventual earthly greens and whites. The narrative implications are partly the reason as to why these approaches work as well as they do, but it’s also due in large to the amount of small and minute details placed amid these environments that stops surroundings from feeling too plain or simplified.
Details that too aren’t simply window dressing, but make the world of Jusant one you can immediately buy as a lived-in locale with its own history. The abandoned buildings, outposts, places of residence and the like – surroundings that manage to tow the line between suggestions of something apocalyptic/world-ending and one that might not be as dire as such. But it’s how Jusant constructs its core gameplay of mountaineering and making that long, perilous ascent upward where the joy truly lies. Because at the center of Jusant – as demanding and seemingly never-ending the climb might initially seem – is the feeling of accomplishment. More specifically, small accomplishments that add up to a greater whole; each section between solid ground, a sort of miniature puzzle to solve as to where one should move, which jutting-out rocks or parts of the environment one should grab with either hand, how best to make use of one’s rope and accompanying carabiners.
Better still, that the challenge and means by which the difficulty can sway to and fro is entirely dictated by a player’s own deduction and confidence in their abilities. While death is all-but-impossible in Jusant, that doesn’t mean the dread of falling and having one’s work completely undone is watered down. Far from – that even without the concept of death or a finite number of lives or the sort, the sheer spectacle of ascending such a height seldom leaves. Not only that, but Jusant’s emphasis on inventory and personal management alike wouldn’t be as compelling were it not for how brilliantly the game constructs its vertical platforming of sorts. Indeed, to refer back to that early analogy, such is the nature of Jusant’s progression that it almost feels like playing a 2D platformer only with the axis turned on its angle. On making those crucial maneuvers in getting from A to B, knowing full well failure – be it some forced or unforced error alike – is but a mere ill-timed/ill-advised interaction away.
It also helps that Jusant is fair in how much it willingly gives away in so far as guiding players down the correct/ideal route. Sure, some stick out more than others – conveniently-marked bits of wood or hand-rails being notable examples that indicate the start/end of a route – but like so many other components here, Don’t Nod ultimately commit to placing greater trust in a players' own wits rather than the fear of them not immediately understanding first-time round. And that trust pays off superbly. There’s just so much to admire and commend Jusant over, simply on the basis of how much it sets out to instruct and reveal to its player, when compared to that which it doesn’t and/or leave to one’s own assumptions.
As so speedily obvious the themes are after even just a small portion of reading up on its collectible written logs and diary inserts, Jusant thankfully doesn’t try and take some morally-grandstanding approach to the ideas it’s aiming to profess. Better still, that the mystery of its world – its former state as much what its current state alludes to – is more focal than the game’s themes gives more reason to explore every nook and cranny of the interior and exterior environments alike. Allowing as a result the trial-and-error nature of traversal to come to the forefront. To baffle-come-surprise players time after time upon the realization that just because a path isn’t clearly marked doesn’t necessarily mean the route forward is impassable.
A later utilization of wall-running, altering one’s height from off the ground and even swinging between points; Jusant fully committing to the notion of three dimensional space as a tool let alone another pretty scene to offer intriguing world-building for. Admittedly, this leaning more into experimenting with the tools at one’s disposal can lead to some occasionally clumsy and sadly glitchy instances of getting caught between geometry. Likewise, the jagged and organic nature of one’s surroundings can throw up an odd instance of getting frozen in place by the tiniest of pebbles. In a similar vain to the general performance that doesn’t always manage to strike a consistently-fluid framerate, Jusant may not be flawless on its execution, but it comes close to carving out a world that’s both visually and aesthetically appealing alike.
Closing Comments:
Combining a gorgeous art style, intriguing setting and a surprisingly old-school yet welcome nod to platforming of the past, Jusant is a terrific adventure full of accomplished set-pieces and smart design throughout. A game that doesn’t outstay its welcome and as such, makes every one of its rock-climbing ascents a curious, environmental puzzle to work out. That Don’t Nod have crafted something mechanically, artistically and even thematically satisfying as this is one thing. That this marks the team’s second game released this year – solidifying the French developer’s growing, widening talents across a bevvy of fields – and one arguably even greater in its breadth of quality is another. For players, it may well revolve around the satisfaction of small accomplishments, but for Don’t Nod themselves, Jusant has all the hallmarks of being hailed the studio’s finest work yet.
