For someone with a debilitating fear of heights I often wonder why I am drawn to these “climbing games”. It’s only been months since I recuperated from Horizon Call of the Mountain on PSVR2 and here I was stuck to the side of a new mountain, only this time a much less threatening mountain, more of a Zen vertical garden. Jusant is only two months away and we got a chance to take an early look at the first two hours of gameplay, which got us two chapters up the side of this massive and seemingly endless stone tower.
There wasn’t much initial setup or introduction to the story, or our young climber and Ballast, this adorable companion creature made from water; a rare commodity in this world. Most of the narrative is trickled out through discoverable notes, diaries, and letters that will fill in the history of your dehydrated planet and expand the lore of its inhabitants. There looks to be a compelling world being built at the pace of your own exploration, and I can’t wait to learn more.
And exploration is what it’s all about in Jusant, with some of the finest climbing controls that you would expect to find in a game that is mostly climbing. The big deal here is with the individual left/right grips using corresponding triggers, and while this has been done many times before in other games, no one has ever got it feeling as good as it does in Jusant. It’s not just the gripping but also that analog stick movement that mimics those flailing limbs on our climber. I had at least one flashback to playing Crazy Climber in an arcade in the 80’s, as I navigated my way up a variety of branching paths leading to key areas.
Adding to the realism is your ability to set temporary anchor points, a technic you will certainly need to access those hard-to-reach areas or just create a safety point before attempting a daring leap. And to add just a bit of extra tension, you’ll be happy to know you have limited stamina, so keep an eye on that gauge as you climb and scramble between ledges where it will automatically refill.
There is a slow progression of difficulty that seems to match the natural learning curve of the game. New oddities are added regularly which incentivizes moving on, and then the game starts mixing and chaining these to create organic obstacles courses, so by the end of my preview I was swinging from a rope to grab some grass on the wall that was about to disappear then reach up and grab one of these giant critters that scuttle along the walls, which literally carries you to a broken window frame, and so on.
Most of my climbing games are in VR, so it was refreshing to experience this from a more cinematic perspective. Jusant does a great job of hinting at your path using natural terrain and objects, and there appear to be multiple short detours and paths in certain areas; some leading to a collectible and others just offering up a reason to replay later to experience the path not chosen. I also look forward to experiencing some of the other biomes that promise even greater diversity in level design and gameplay.
Even in this pre-release state, Jusant looks incredible with its stylized cel-shaded vibe, charming character designs, fluid and realistic animations, and some fantastic lighting and shadows. The draw distance and level of detail was most impressive with virtually no object popping, and it is both dizzying and rewarding to look down and see your last hour of play. There is no spoken dialogue, but the environmental and physical sound effects are excellent, and the music can only be classified as “inspirational”, adding to the Zen-like atmosphere of the game.
My preview peek was only a tasty appetizer that left me wanting more. The sheer scope of design and scale of this world combined with an intuitive control scheme that really connects you with your avatar, charming characters, and an intriguing story makes Jusant one game you won’t want to miss. Coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC on October 31st, Jusant has been one of the more memorable and enjoyable experiences of my summer, and I can’t wait to dive into the full game.
Check back for our full review and livestream show coming soon!
