Jusant - Review
there are certain developers that have a niche, genres that they tend to stick to that they know fairly well and when they announce a new game, you know roughly what you're getting. But then you have a developer like don't nod, who with each game they released tend to stray into new uncharted genres, with them very rarely releasing a sequel or even a spiritual successor to something they've done before. That brings us to Jusant, climbing game that tells an interesting story where everything is done at your own pace. Does this game reach the peak over the developer skills or is it nothing more than a cliffhanger?
There is a story in Jusant, well two of them but one is far more detailed than the other. The simple story is that of your character, who is unnamed and their goal to climb the tower, along for the journey is their creature companion Ballast, who is made of water. The second story is more about the collapse of the civilization that called the tower home, as the people there start to come to the realisation that the water, the thing they need to survive is going away. The amount of story you get on the second part is going to be determined on exactly how much you explore and collect the letters and other assorted notes. If you power through the game, you might miss most of them, but just doing a little exploration when you can, should net you most of them.
Exploration leads me to the games main mechanic, the climbing. This is not some random hold a stick forward to climb system, but rather you need to use the triggers on the controller, in order to grab onto things with the corresponding hand. The games climbing system does take some getting used to, but thankfully the game will ease you into things. Getting around is fairly simple, the left stick aims your hands and then you simply grab onto the surface by pulling the trigger in of the hand reaching for it. As you begin the climb, that is all you need to worry about, but eventually the game will introduce a stamina meter, which you have to keep an eye on. The stamina meter acts like it does in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, you can climb as much as you want, but if the stamina gauge empties, you lose your grip and fall.
Falling isn’t the end of the game, well depending on when you fall and how high up you are. The game tells you all the time to anchor yourself to the tower with the three available Pitons. As you climb higher away from safety, if you fall and don’t have any pitons in place, you can quite easily fall all the way back down, with one in place your fall might only be a few meters. The game will let you recover stamina by clicking in a stick, but while that happens you won’t be able to move, so timing is crucial there, especially in later parts of the game. When you climb, you automatically anchor yourself to climbing points, if they are around, or the wall if there is nothing and that point is the starting point for your available rope. The amount of climbing you can do is not infinite, as eventually you will run out of rope and while this did happen to me a few times, its easily avoidable. As you can reclaim a piton, going back and removing your first will provide you with plenty of slack, but you still need to make sure you have enough to get back there.
Perhaps the only real issue with the game is nothing else to do but climb up and I do stress up, as you can’t go back again. There are plenty of notes to find, rocks to stack and vines to make grow, but it all happens as you climb, once you have left an area, you can’t return to it. I also had times when I would jump onto things to try and explore locations, only to get stuck on them and then I would have to fight the game to get unstuck. I didn’t have to quit the game, but randomly press the buttons on the controller to get lose and it sadly happened far to often for my liking. Now these issues were more annoying than anything, the major point of concern is sadly that of the games only climbing controls. While I can appreciate the need to make things a little more realistic, with each hand assigned to a trigger, there are no other options, so if you struggle with dexterity or are unable to hold a controller the way they are designed, this game may not be for you. Now sure, there are adaptive controllers that one can use, but if you only have a standard controller and the games controls don’t work for you, then you are out of luck.
Visually the game looks good, the main character has a simple silhouette which as you will often see them from behind as you climb, is a nice touch. The world is full of some amazing scenery, especially when you exit the dark interior of the tower for the sun drenched outside. Outside has some nice vistas, but the final section was the one that I really enjoyed. Ballast is cute, but they spend more time in their little pouch so you only get to see them during story beats. If I had to nit pick the visuals it would be the eyes, Ballast and the main character both suffer from Funko Pop eyes, singular black dots and nothing else and it just feels cheap.
The games sound design is just as impressive as the visuals, there are times when the music is turned up and it feels like a soaring soundscape that welcomes you to enjoy it, but then when the climbing gets intense, it fades away to let the sounds of nature seep in. Your character doesn’t speak, though they do make grunts and other assorted noises, which helps sell that they are not a machine. Ballast makes noises as well, which are cute as well, but there are moments when you put shells up to your ear and rather than hear the ocean, you hear the sounds of history. These moments are tied to the locations that you find them in and those sounds, while simple, help build a sense that these places were once vibrant and bustling locales.
Jusant is an intriguing game, its simple yet intriguing climbing system will test your dexterity in the early stages, but will eventually fade away and leave you feeling all zen like. The more complicated actions can require some complex planning, but never to the point where you feel stuck. While a wonderful experience, unless you want to collect every single item, it’s a one and done title, which is a shame as the climb is totally worth it.
The Score
8.5
Review code provided by Don't Nod
The Pros
The stories are interesting and while neither is a standout on their own, its fun to discover both as you climb
Climbing feels great, once you get used to the mechanics and restrictions…
The Cons
… it is just a shame that there are no other options for players with less dexterity
The game is a one and done experience
