Jusant

Gameplay and Mechanics: Jusant is an exploration game with a simple mechanic of climbing rocks, yet that singular mechanic is constantly challenged. From a simple two button combo controlling each hand, moving one hand to grasp and hold, while letting the other one go to move up, and you do that till you reach the end. Gradually jumping is introduced, putting in points so that you can gather speed along the wall to make a bigger jump and many more. Jusant introduces newer mechanics in an effective way so that you don't get bored or feel that you mastered it.

After so many walls climbed, evidently impossible angles to climb (or some that would require massive strength), jumps barely made and secrets unlocked. Jusant's central rope mechanic is what stood above all else, using it as leverage over objects you place or already present objects, sliding down or up to gain more speed while swinging and manymore. For a seemingly simple game, the central mechanic is perfectly elaborated and expanded, without making it too much of a hassle to learn and or master.

Graphics and Visuals: I would call the visual style of Jusant as 'non-intrusive' as in saying that it is not trying to go for realism nor is it going in the whole other direction. Games that prefer to use a specific style to render every inch of their world don't really age, while those going for 'realistic' are beautiful, until something newer comes, and out of nowhere that old game isn't that 'realistic' looking. This is a very specific problem that many games start to have as years pass by and even having something more stylized gives that very much needed character.

What stood out immensely is how Jusant uses shadows to enlarge an already big world. There are times where your whole road ahead is covered in a light yet still noticeable layer of thin shadow. On the other hand, we have lighting, while Jusant is almost perfect in terms of shadows, lighting shines brightly (pun intended) in the cavers. In Jusant you have long stretches of gameplay where you are trying to go through tunnels of that aforementioned civilization. These long tunnels are only lit by small or big cracks in the walls to let some sunlight in or in places where there are no cracks. However, when there are no cracks to help light the way, bioluminescence comes into play thanks to a few little creatures to light up the floor and walls. The environment feels alive and dynamic.

Sound Design and Music: Jusant's audio design is intentionally quiet, due to it being made that way, even a single stone falling down a rocky wall can oversaturate the vast sandscape. Even more when you eventually enter a cavern area where each footstep is reverberated endlessly amongst these halls. I cannot praise enough the mechanic with the seashells which is so simple, yet so effective. Slightly zooming in to certain objects within your vicinity, stopping on them and playing sounds, as if they were still working or people are traversing/chatting around them. Showing rather than straight out telling can work remarkably well.

The soundtrack, composed by Guillaume Ferran adds weight to everything you witness. When you get the hang of something new and finally observe how it works you get enveloped by an evidently calm, yet steadfast song that serves to push you even further onto the new ever high ledge or barely standing stone in the tower's wall. Steadily changing pace to something more melancholic when you witness all the disarray left from people in a rush and all that will never be used again, but wholly left to the elements. Ramping up the speed when certain moments come about where precision and timing is key and steadily dissipating when the challenge is beaten. Never forgetting to keep up with the curious mind and adding a cute 'childlike wonder' to some songs in between all the 'hard hitting' ones. The soundtrack complements the game's pacing, enhancing the overall sense of wonder and exploration.

Game Setting and Worldbuilding: The intro to Jusant is one of intimidation. Opening on a, as far as one can tell, barren wasteland with different objects scattered along the way and the focus being one tower at the very front. The tower appears endless, shrouded in clouds, hinting at its vastness.

The game excels in worldbuilding, offering answers while posing new questions. These people that lived here seem somewhat primitive, yet by going persistently up and up, you witness more and more elaborate mechanisms that helped them in various ways. Rather than spewing all their lore and being done with it, this way it offers gradual learning while still keeping you guessing at all the snippets of lore. This way of presenting a story or just giving you context is not for all players and some wouldn't even glimpse at the various notes placed around the world. For those who couldn't be bothered to read anything there won't be any consequences in you beating the story or just advancing on to the next ledge, cavern or barely standing house.

Overall Story, Side Quests, and More: Jusant delivers a story better experienced than watched, relying heavily on visual storytelling. With no talking and a massive focus on visual storytelling be it through places that you could walk through or distant locations only there to be seen rather than reached. The only snippets of story you would gather would be through a few well-placed seashells, notes left from previously settled people on the tower and what your own mind can muster through what you're seeing.

There is a certain number of collectible notes that when gathered make up a story between certain characters. Which could be considered as sort of a "side quest", but in traditional terms there isn't anything else except that main quest of going up the pillar.

Probable Visual, Audio, and Gameplay Bugs: In terms of bugs, my entire playtime only encountered one issue, a softlock during a specific gear rotation segment. This could be attributed to playing with a keyboard instead of a controller, and the easy fix was connecting a controller. Other than this isolated incident, Jusant delivered a stable experience from start to finish.

Replayability: Jusant has a few pretty cute collectibles, be it in notes scattered throughout the world where you can read up upon the everyday life of its inhabitants, different conversations between individuals, shells that offer a momentary respite with accompanying sounds of past time and rock balancing / stone stacking offer tranquil moments and are placed in places that offer beautiful views. Without counting collectibles, Jusant is an experience that is hard to achieve again on the second playthrough. So preferably beat it once and only go off the beaten path to gather collectibles if you wish.

Closing Thoughts: Jusant offers an enjoyable journey with its simple yet engaging gameplay, effective visual storytelling, and immersive atmosphere. It comes highly recommended for fans of games like Journey, Gris, ABZU, Limbo, Exo One, and similar titles.