Jusant Review (PS5)

DON’T NOD is well known for making games that are outside the box and break the norms of the industry. They mix and match the story driven adventures like Life is Strange with more action focused titles like Remember Me or Vampyr. Jusant is neither and nor one of those, rather it is a production that stands on its own feet and invites the player to focus and meditate, while stepping outside the boundaries of the real world to climb a mountain that is both real and metaphorical.

New game mechanics and gameplay structures are usually a double-edged sword: while most critics and many gamers applaud them, they rarely catch on. Just look at Death Stranding that carried with it Kojima’s desire to create a new game genre. I feel like Jusant will have the same faith, while I am sure the developers were not so ambitious as one of the best-known prodigies of the gaming industry.

Jusant sets out to prove that it is more to what lies inside the players than meets the eye. Just as the boy who will act the hero of this tale is set out to conquer a mountain hoping to find the solution to solve the problem of the low tide, so we are challenged to climb a mountain and step out of our comfort zone represented by the most common gameplay mechanics we are used to.

It is not clear if you take your first steps among a world on the brink of collapse, or in one that went through the worst and now tries to recover. The only certainty is that the once flourishing civilization is gone, succumbed to the dry landscapes from where the water receded completely. Looking around the barren cliffs, you can see signs that things were not always as such, but a great calamity happened that resulted in an empty world.

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Or almost empty since we have our boy, his blue companion and several other critters that can still be found in the crevices of the huge rock. At the beginning not very certain why, or maybe to quote James T. Kirk – “just because it’s there” - you start your ascension by vaulting over smaller rocks and climbing ladders. Soon you will find yourself climbing the rockface, planting pitons and executing maneuvers that would make even Ethan Hunt jealous.

And why go through all this trouble? Because along your path to the summit you will find morsels of information that put together will help clear up the picture about what was before, what happened and what it is that you are trying to do. There are no dialogues, no interaction with other characters and no straight answers: just you, the mountain and a spiderweb of notes, diary entries, memory echoes carried by seashells and frescos that help you put together the bigger picture.

And although the game heavily focuses on rock climbing, Jusant is much more than just a climbing simulator. It is full of puzzles that require you to figure out how to best use your environment in order to advance and reach collectibles. It is a gentle experience that can be very punishing for the reckless. The game does not let you die, but if you do not manage your stamina or you do not calculate your moves correctly it will toss you back to the last checkpoint that can be pretty far back.

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The level of difficulty climbs steadily and soon you will be juggling not just with your character’s stamina, but also paying attention to the sun, the movement of the wind, and using your companion’s special ability to influence the plants and animals around you.

There is no voice acting, but the environmental sounds and the music are spot on. You will feel the music carry the optimism for a better future, while the sounds will make you feel like you are on the edge of a cliff climbing higher and higher. Just don’t look down if you are afraid of heights because you will experience vertigo.    

Although minimalistic in approach, Jusant joggles well its limited gameplay mechanic arsenal to best complement the story, or rather atmosphere driven experience. Overall, the game feels eerily familiar, though you can never pinpoint why. The entire atmosphere and experience feel sadly nostalgic, without it becoming heavy or depressing. The developers managed to find the perfect balance to create a feeling of the game akin to its protagonist: an old soul in a young body.

A big role in this is played by the visual style itself that combines windmills, and cavern inhabiting tribal lifestyle with modern and even futuristic elements in an amalgam that somehow works. Adding the Unreal 5 engine to the mix makes sure that the end result is as spectacular as it is simple. Not everything is smooth and there are stutters, here and there, there is no big detractor to break the spell of the game.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion