Jazzpunk Review

Prepare yourselves; for Jazzpunk isn’t your conventional adventure game, in fact it’s hardly a conventional videogame at all! Following the recent trend of exploration/adventure game hybrids such as The Stanley Parable, this particular title relies heavily on its story and interaction rather than any core gameplay. As such, Jazzpunk lives through its constant barrage of obscure humour, its many pop-culture references, and its unpredictable nature.

A self-proclaimed ‘comedy game’ wrapped up within a mysterious (and often mind-bending) tale of espionage, Jazzpunk tries it’s hardest to not be taken seriously, instead making sure that it pushes the boundaries of all it’s crazy ideas to create an experience like no other. Taking place across a variety of different locales containing a plethora of things to do within each, the player is free to wander around and interact with whatever they please without any constraints. While the main objectives given to you are fun to complete and totally unique between each level, it’s in the freedom that the player has inside these levels where the game hits its stride. There are a tonne of things to do in each level, and while there is never anything physical to gain from completing these interactions and side-quests, what the players will gain is a lot of enjoyment and a naturally urge to explore and complete everything. What is important to remember is that Jazzpunk exists to make you laugh, and everything in the game is there to make you crack a smile at the least, and this is where the game’s greatest strength lies. I don’t remember the last game that I played that was anywhere near as consistently funny as Jazzpunk is, and it’s a real credit to the writers who were able to build a comedy game without dropping a single duff joke.

The espionage and ‘spy thrillier’ narrative style that game bases itself around is certainly an interesting choice, and it does well to hold the players interest and work well within the confines of the games unique style of humour. While it certainly isn’t an award-winning drama, it doesn’t have to be, and the game developers have put in a lot of effort to make the narrative entertaining and as unpredictable as it can get while playing with genre conventions and clichés along the way. It’s rather refreshing and apart from a very sudden story conclusion, the story is thoroughly enjoyable.

As far as gameplay is concerned, Jazzpunk can be considered as lacking. Players will generally spend most of their time walking and platforming around each level interacting with the games extensive cast of characters and varied environments. Most gameplay consists of pressing the ‘E’ button to interact with things, and occasionally flicking through equipped items to interact further with environment pieces and situations. It’s very basic and requires little effort, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad thing. If anything it eases the player into world of Jazzpunk and ensures that the gameplay never impedes on the humour that fuels every inch of this game. There are instances of more gameplay variety to be found, but they are few and far between and only offer a slight diversion from the base exploration. No matter what it is that these sections throw at you, they continue the trend of bare-bones gameplay and as a result, are rather disappointing. It would have been nice if these sections worked harder to spice things up and break up the occasional monotony of the (lack of) gameplay that persists throughout the disappointingly short 3 hour playtime.

Just like the game world, the graphical style of Jazzpunk is rich with personality. Taking on a cel-shaded appearance, it suits the world perfectly and breathes further life into the zany world surrounding you. Colours are nice and vibrant, and everything looks like it was stripped straight out of a comic book, a look that perfectly complements the unique style of humour found within the game. Another success in the games presentation is that of the audio which supplies some great pieces of music and laugh-out-loud dialogue that is just as unpredictable as the world itself.

Verdict

Jazzpunk is a very quirky and funny game that makes for an often memorable experience. Though the gameplay largely boils down to basic interactions with the environment and characters, the world encompassing it is so rich with vivid personality that there is more than enough to sink your teeth into. While the games humour is certainly not for everyone (and what do you honestly expect for an Adult Swim production?), for those it does appeal to they will find plenty to enjoy, while those that don’t enjoy it will find nothing of value here.

Positives:

• Absolutely full of quirky and brilliant humour.
• Plenty to explore and interact with.
• Lots of memorable moments.
• Interesting art style.

Negatives:

• Short length – 3 hours.
• Lack of gameplay is occasionally tiresome.
• If you don’t get the humour, the game has nothing else for you.
• The ending is very sudden and unsatisfying.

Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.