Jett has a phenomenal atmosphere in the intro. It’s effectively solemn leaving your life and loved ones, knowing that soon your planet is going to die out along with everyone on it.

I love all the worldbuilding of this mysterious and reverent civilization trying to hold onto their customs as they constantly grapple with the words of their deceased prophet and see how his visions converge and diverge from their new reality on the far shore. There is a lot to parse initially, but it’s not too bad once you understand the most important terms. The game also has a small glossary in the main menu if you get confused. I think the story starts a bit slow but gets interesting as you make your way to the mountain Tor. The more you engage with its narrative and lore, the more you’ll get out of it.

A major problem that I have with the dialogue is that since it’s in a foreign language, during tense combat and exploration moments it can be troublesome and overwhelming to read and fly around. They do have a chat log if you miss anything, but it’s clunky to keep going back to read the missed dialogue. It seems this was probably the biggest issue for people playing this game. It’s tough though because I found the use of the foreign language made their culture so much more immersive and believable.

The other complaint people had was the handholding. It’s a valid complaint but only really an issue initially. They do allow you to find the solution most of the time.

The first campaign is very linear and is a series of missions with some story moments back at your home base sprinkled in. I found the structure to be stifling when I wanted to explore and research this vast new world, but the second campaign completely made up for this.

In the free dlc, you are allowed to explore at your own pace, solving a series of BOTW-like environmental puzzles that culminate in a satisfying and thought-provoking conclusion. This is where you take everything you learned from the first campaign by researching and interacting with the flora and fauna and apply it to a more difficult puzzle-based experience. None were real head-scratchers (a good thing imo), but many require some trial and error. The most interesting story bits also take place during the second campaign and provide more backstory for the prophet and their dying home planet.

The music is the perfect accompaniment for the fluctuation in gameplay from the flow state you get into zipping around the peaks and valleys to the tense aerial dogfighting with a pack of griefers. The music isn’t just background noise and actually elevates the experience.

I learned to love the flight controls for your ship. It took some getting used to, but once I mastered it, it felt great to fly around pulling off perfectly timed jumps and keeping your boost maxed out. It’s so satisfying once you’ve learned the advanced techniques for making quick turns, angling your ship up and down to hit slopes better, using jumps and slides strategically to maximize how much boost you acquire, etc. It feels like snowboarding more than flying quite honestly, which makes sense given that one of the developers (Craig Adams) said it was inspired by SSX.

Here are some minor points I’d like to make: Jett uses haptic feedback effectively and has one of the best uses of adaptive triggers (controlling your engine from overheating). I think the first and second campaigns have some of the best title reveals I’ve ever seen. I got goosebumps during both. The seamless transition from the ship’s overhead perspective to ground level was very cool. Reminded me of GTA V. Also booting up your ship’s OS was an awesome visual. All the environments look so good and crisp.

I was completely immersed in this haunting and inspiring world and it will stick with me for a long time. It’s easily a masterpiece in my eyes.

Reviewed on Oct 08, 2023


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