Jusant

Ever since Journey, there has been a specific sub-genre of the indie scene where the player controls a small, relatively fragile figure moving towards a mesmerising, overarching goal on the horizon. Dialogue is usually sparse, if any, and storytelling in general is both esoteric and vague, often symbolic in nature, with a focus on graphical aesthetics and a simple but responsive gameplay formula.

It sounds specific, but if you think of Journey, you'll realise that there are also games like Abzu, Rime, Grow Home, Inside, Submerged and to some extent GRIS, all of which use the same patterns to a greater or lesser extent.

Jusant is just such a game, but after spending just four to five hours in its company, I can say that not only is Don't Nod's latest endeavour one of the better examples of how such a game can work, it's one of the best.

Okay, so "Jusant" is French and is a term that directly corresponds to our word "ebb", meaning a tide receding outwards. It's very apt, as this world has become bone dry and it's not known why the rain eventually stopped or where the ocean disappeared to. All that remains is desert, and in the middle of the desert towers a gigantic cylindrical mountain, once inhabited by humans all the way from the bottom, which was once surrounded by the sea, to the top.

You play a lone traveller who has arrived at this mountain with the purpose of climbing to the top, and with you is a water spirit, Ballast, with whom you also have a goal. So upwards you climb through the wreckage of this now dried-up civilisation, all the while finding relics of exuberant development, bustling daily life and, eventually, inevitable collapse.

This is Jusant's premise, and even though the game falls into the same narrative dog shit as some of the above, where the information handed down becomes a bit too obscure and misunderstood, it works in the same way as Journey in particular, as the player never lacks motivation. In Thatgamecompany's iconic title, you feel drawn to the mountain on the horizon - you feel you must reach the top of this enigmatic pillar of the earth.

You do this by climbing, and navigating and climbing is all you need to do. That's because L2 is your left hand and R2 is your right, so by finding the rhythm you can quickly overcome even the steepest rock faces. In addition, you have a number of extra abilities, many of which are specific to their respective chapters, but the idea remains the same. You have to climb. Sometimes you have to swing, other times your climbing holds can move, and Don't Nod do their very best to maintain interest in this rather honest and exposed identity throughout.

And they succeeded. They succeeded because it's surprisingly physical, tactile and visceral to traverse terrain in this way, and Don't Nod has really managed to make the journey believable, affordable and manageable. You really feel like you're conquering this pillared mountain section by section, and while it's obviously mechanically one-sided, it's a testament to the fact that number of mechanics or forced secondary systems don't always make for a more satisfying gameplay experience.

That said, it would have been nice to have a little extra here and there. Perhaps the ability to camp and gather forces would have been nice? Or collect resources to be used here and there? I felt a little need for more, I admit, but at the same time I applaud the decision to maintain such a strict gameplay identity from start to finish, and the result is that this game isn't a second longer than it needs to be. It's really four or five hours, maybe less. Just like Journey.

It's gorgeous much of the time, with a simple but enervating graphical style reminiscent of games like Abzu, but constantly maintaining that breath-taking perspective. This is certainly helped along by a razor-sharp draw distance that always makes a point of showing you how far you've come and how far you have to go. The music also swells as you gradually descend the mountain, and even though it's a bit minimalistic, it works when it needs to.

Jusant has a lot on its mind and says very little with no words. The same can be said of its gameplay, which squeezes an incredible amount of expressive immersion out of very few simple mechanics. It is highly recommended, and the hope is that Don't Nod will be able to make much more of the same.