Free and Solo: Jusant
This 3D platform game has a climbing touch.
‣ Jusant
From: DON’T NOD
Platforms: PC
Release: 31 October 2023
Steam Page • Demo Video • Substack Article
NOTE: This article was originally published on 7 September 2023 on the Substack site. It appears here to populate AIIG’s Medium archive.
The world is dead. Hulks of abandoned ships and submarines litter a desert landscape. A figure emerges from the wastes, headed to a towering rock formation. It’s clear people used to live and work there. What happened to them? The only way to find out is to climb…
There are platform games that focus on going up. And there are sports-themed climbing games that try to recreate the real-world activity. But Jusant goes for new territory by mixing just enough rock climbing ideas with a lightweight arcade experience. The result is a creative platformer where you climb up the ruins of abandoned towns, uncovering the mystery of an ancient civilisation hidden among the ruins.
Best Demo Moment: A first real taste of the climbing…
AIIG’s Take: Jusant is really impressive. The trailer caught our eye earlier this year, and a demo finally surfaced on Steam. In around thirty minutes, it explores the game’s opening areas as our hero (and his mysterious hitchhiker) travel upwards. The controls are very interesting (a controller is by far the best): left and right triggers are your corresponding hands, and your left stick points to where you want to aim. Press a button to grab and release it to let go.
This scheme quickly becomes intuitive thanks to Jusant’s arcade physics and forgiving grip detection. It’s hard to fall, and you have a rope that stops you from plunging into the abyss. But that doesn’t dampen the intense moments, and you can deploy anchors that support your progress along a climb. Reach the top, reel in your rope, and you’re ready to start the next climb or explore the area you just reached.
Jusant is smooth, intuitive and relaxing, but the stamina bar adds a little tension (hinting at the dull game’s puzzle possibilities). The art style and world design are distinct and almost vibrant, adding a spark to the post-apocalyptic bleakness. In a market where we often yearn for fresh ideas, Jusant looks like it will deliver. Expect it on 31 October 2023 (and try the demo on Steam right now).
Explore The Game with Youtube Chapters:
- 📽 00:48 From the wastes
- 📽 02:41 The journey begins
- 📽 05:08 The first climb
- 📽 07:52 A bit trickier
- 📽 08:24 Some protection
- 📽 11:58 A letter?
- 📽 12:55 Go for a swing
- 📽 14:34 What’s this?
- 📽 18:40 Some risk
- 📽 20:51 Overhang!
- 📽 23:00 Wheeee!
- 📽 27:04 A hidden past
- 📽 29:04 The tower
- 📽 33:14 What a view
- 📽 36:05 Land it
- 📽 38:59 Something ancient?
