I have very weak arms, but legit legs. It has been that way forever, and we’re talking about 40-plus years. While I will occasionally get baby-bulging triceps thanks to moving lights in class, for the most part, I’m noodle arms and unable to truly put them to good use. I know what you’re thinking, “Thanks for the update, Nathan. Did we really need that?” Nah, but it was a great introduction to my preview of Jusant a rock-climbing action puzzle game from developer DON’T NOD. Rock-climbing? Do you get it now? Connection.
Jusant is a puzzle-action game that features climbing and hooking onto rock walls, scaling great heights, and trying to figure out puzzles on the fly to keep your progression going. The game doesn’t provide much detail about why our main character must scale, but it can be assumed. The small amount of time I spent with the preview for Jusant showed off a lot of potential that mixed the game Journey with just a sprinkle of The Last Guardian, sans the cat-bird-goat-dog. There’s a lot of potential with this game, even if you’re thinking more with your brain than you are with your buttons.
So, get those push-ups going, lift those weights, and get to your local rock-climbing facility so you can get in the mood for our Jusant preview.
Simple Gameplay, Complex Puzzles
When I first began playing, I was put in the position of climbing upward onto a mountain that at some unspecified time housed people. The places I explored looked freshly abandoned yet worn out and crumbling pieces of scattered remains of rooms and climbing points spelled out a longer, more sinister timeline that had more questions than answers. Although I didn’t dive far enough into the narrative during my preview time to come up with a competent narrative answer for what is going on and why the world is empty, the story’s setup left me anxious to see what the finished version is like when it is released. There’s a lot of potential with this story, especially when mixed with gameplay mechanics and elements. Speaking of those mechanics and elements, let’s climb down to them.
The time spent with Jusant made it very clear that the game was trying to do something unique and cool. While I have had a bit of rock-climbing here in there from various gaming titles, including some forced rock-climbing in Skyrim, I have never had mechanics driven by the idea. It’s out there when it comes to taking chances as a main form of movement, but for this game, it works well because of the story. You’re climbing not only to save your caboose and help the world out, but you’re also wanting to solve what is going on with this world around you, which has all but died. Or at least presumed dead. Don’t have all the details, remember?
When started the game, I was climbing up. There were plenty of stairs to traverse, as well as ladders, and then suddenly the game came to a halt. No, it didn’t freeze, I mean I lost the ability to climb stairs and ladders. The game did a great job of introducing the main mechanic of climbing by having a welcoming open space on a railing that looked like it would be a great way to still go up the map. The tell-tale hint to the climbing was our main character attaching ropes at certain points and having the ability to swing left to right or climb up or down. Truthfully, it took me about an hour to figure out what that meant, as visual cues typically present in games weren’t too obvious in this preview (not shocking because it is a preview).
Now, once I moved beyond the head-scratching, I figured out that I could attach a rope, swing on it, and then plant a rock anchor. This would allow me movement across the mountain and permit me to keep swinging up and onward. I cannot explain to you the amount of wonderment and relief I felt when the mechanics finally dawned on me. Took me long enough (I am an idiot).
Figuring out the two abilities to attach a rope and then anchoring it during mid-swing helped to set the mechanic tone for the rest of the game. As I could swing certain distances and create new anchor points to attach my character to. It also meant that it could save my butt when I climbed up the mountain because there is a certain amount of stamina my main character could use before completely losing their grip and falling. That tidbit added a sprinkle of intensity to the entire mechanic process and also introduced the reality of the rock-climbing situation. No one can realistically keep climbing without becoming exhausted. That put more pressure on me to have a little less fun with the game, as I had to keep an eye on that meter. The relief of that pressure came in the form of having the ability to hang or halt at one place during my climbing excursion, which allowed me to recover that stamina. But reality didn’t falter on that solution, as stamina drained portions of the character’s energy meter (blocked some of it out as I kept going, resting, and going) which limited what I could recover while still on the mountainside. The inclusion of stamina added more intensity to the story and made the looming fear of falling off a tall mountain even more real. In other words, I could completely understand the intentions and felt they were well-formed and logical.
Getting back to the swinging and climbing, the mechanics opened a world of possibilities, as the game became flexible with where I could shake, move, and anchor. It also somehow opened some notion that there is a possibility of exploration in the final game. Is there actually exploration? Not sure yet, but Jusant’s mechanics seemed like there was more than just a linear climb upward, and I soon found that to be the case when I finally made it to the top of the first map.
When I made it to the top, and across the first rock bridge, the game encouraged me to explore every nook and cranny of the abandoned city I had found. This meant that even if I found a hook to swing my rope with, I didn’t necessarily need to stay linear with my path. For example, there was a hook on a large pole in the abandoned city that allowed me to swing over to the other side of the city structure. This swinging could lead to going the opposite direction, should I have wanted to go that way. While not perfect, and that’s to be expected with a preview, there was a hint of hope that this world could be getting bigger with the mechanics being so wide open. I felt like I could climb to a lot of different places and maybe find secret goodies somewhere. While I didn’t find them this time out, the option to go exploring was hopeful using these mechanics. The chances this game wants you to find things that you don’t necessarily see by staying on a linear path are greatly increased because of the mechanics. I can’t confirm or deny that this will be the case in the final version, but I’m hopeful.
Anyway, in my hour and some change playing Jusant, I found a pleasant, intriguing rock-climbing video game that built its mechanics to fit perfectly with puzzle-solving. While I didn’t touch too much on the puzzles, and you should try the demo out yourself to see them in action, the game integrated small obstacles and less-than-obvious trickery that you had to solve as you went upward. The lack of words and dialogue during the preview made this a tricky puzzle experience, while also happily making it difficult enough to see how challenging the game could get when it is finally released. Taking all of that into account and the added mystery of a good story, maybe even as deep and meaningful as Journey, makes me want to play the game even more when it releases. As for now, the game replicates some real rock-climbing mechanics, mixes in some clever puzzles you must solve to progress your way through the narrative, and shakes in a dash of explorative intrigue that could be if DON’T NOD so chooses.
The gameplay in this short preview was enough to hook my interest. I can’t wait to continue this game.
Presentation
When I say this game reminded me a lot of The Last Guardian, I wasn’t lying. Visually, the game shows its simple animation and cuteness with our main character and his sidekick which is enhanced by their silent personalities and toughness. They’re visually engaging, yet not too complicated. The journey is far more important than the looks, but the looks are just perfect for the journey.
Speaking of journeys, the environments that I traversed were so tall and intimidating that there were times my palms were sweaty with anticipation due to the height of the maps. They stretch far and wide into the sky, especially the first one, and they’re endless as much as they are dangerous. You’re going to feel like you can’t make a mistake in the game because of the scale of the landscape. You’re going to certainly get a good sense of scope from the environments that reinforce the rhyme and reason for the gameplay.
Overall, the presentation was gorgeous and perfect for the gameplay and the emerging story. Even in the early rendition of this game, I could see how focused the devs were on matching the tone and mechanics with the visual style. I can’t wait to see the finished touches when the game arrives.
On that sweet note, let’s wrap up this preview.
Things to come
While my time with Jusant was short, I truly enjoyed the game. While the learning curve was a bit steep at the beginning, and probably more me than it, as everything wasn’t exactly straightforward or clear with instructions, once I finally figured out how to move and what the heck was going on, it was an entertaining break from Starfield.
Keep an eye on this one, folks. I have a feeling this is going to be a cult classic that lasts a very long time.
