Around every Steam sale, I check through my library and give an hour or two to a forgotten game from years past, just so I can mark it off the backlog and get interested in the new things. That was my plan going into Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass.
After about 58 hours, I've 100% completed Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass.
When a narrative tries to tell an adult story through a child's perspective or, in this case, a child's dream, there's a risk of being a little condescending. Overexplaining a story and exposing a need to reveal the "truth" of the story, rather than staying within the realm of magic. And if I gave you the broad strokes plot of Jimmy, I think the game could come off as a little emotionally manipulative. But what works about Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is how fully it commits to its presentation and execution. It never strays from the idea that even if the things we see aren't "real", it matters to Jimmy and so it carries emotional weight. When it slowly unpacks the layers of all its characters, it shows their flaws without any judgement or criticism coloring its storytelling. Jimmy's brother Buck is a bully and a jerk and you get to see plenty of instances of how Buck's abuse shapes Jimmy's idea of self-worth. Yet, you also see Buck at his most vulnerable. Its buried deep within hidden dungeons, but you get to see these little moments of brotherly love that Jimmy treasures. It doesn't shy away from how Jimmy's family have failed him or themselves, but it asks you to feel the same empathy for them that Jimmy feels for his family.
As an indie rpg, its also just jampacked with content. There's two or three hidden dungeons for all five of the continents you explore in Jimmy's mindscape. Each dungeons reflects one of Jimmy's fears, from strangers to heights or even complicated math problems. There's minigames and bonus sidequests and hidden little storylines everywhere. And exploring these dungeons and games rewards you, either with better weapons and gear or new information about Jimmy and his struggles. Its one of the most ambitious indie games I've ever seen and its delighted in sharing everything it can with you. I despise playing rpgs on my keyboard and I couldn't put this game down for a whole week. A masterpiece of storytelling and gaming.
~Mid-game spoiler rambling:~
The moment the true brilliance of the game really shines is in the Blood March area, a continent themed around various horror movies and Jimmy's forgotten toys. One of your party members is the creepy, clingy Jonathan Bear. He encourages Jimmy to leave his family, he's spiteful to minor obstacles, and he's obsessive and terrifying. Jimmy, in his only really malevolent act as a silent protagonist, shoves Jonathon into a furnace to finally get rid of him.
And Jonathon's voice speaks out of the furnace.
"Do you think it would be that easy to forget? I'll NEVER let you forget. What your greedy little hands did to get me. The lies you told to hold onto me. You'll never forget."
And the true horror of how a young kid's silly selfish decision has become a burning, agonizing guilt in his chest just expands into this devastating level about childhood products and how we cling to them or outgrow them. This game is masterful.
After about 58 hours, I've 100% completed Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass.
When a narrative tries to tell an adult story through a child's perspective or, in this case, a child's dream, there's a risk of being a little condescending. Overexplaining a story and exposing a need to reveal the "truth" of the story, rather than staying within the realm of magic. And if I gave you the broad strokes plot of Jimmy, I think the game could come off as a little emotionally manipulative. But what works about Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is how fully it commits to its presentation and execution. It never strays from the idea that even if the things we see aren't "real", it matters to Jimmy and so it carries emotional weight. When it slowly unpacks the layers of all its characters, it shows their flaws without any judgement or criticism coloring its storytelling. Jimmy's brother Buck is a bully and a jerk and you get to see plenty of instances of how Buck's abuse shapes Jimmy's idea of self-worth. Yet, you also see Buck at his most vulnerable. Its buried deep within hidden dungeons, but you get to see these little moments of brotherly love that Jimmy treasures. It doesn't shy away from how Jimmy's family have failed him or themselves, but it asks you to feel the same empathy for them that Jimmy feels for his family.
As an indie rpg, its also just jampacked with content. There's two or three hidden dungeons for all five of the continents you explore in Jimmy's mindscape. Each dungeons reflects one of Jimmy's fears, from strangers to heights or even complicated math problems. There's minigames and bonus sidequests and hidden little storylines everywhere. And exploring these dungeons and games rewards you, either with better weapons and gear or new information about Jimmy and his struggles. Its one of the most ambitious indie games I've ever seen and its delighted in sharing everything it can with you. I despise playing rpgs on my keyboard and I couldn't put this game down for a whole week. A masterpiece of storytelling and gaming.
~Mid-game spoiler rambling:~
The moment the true brilliance of the game really shines is in the Blood March area, a continent themed around various horror movies and Jimmy's forgotten toys. One of your party members is the creepy, clingy Jonathan Bear. He encourages Jimmy to leave his family, he's spiteful to minor obstacles, and he's obsessive and terrifying. Jimmy, in his only really malevolent act as a silent protagonist, shoves Jonathon into a furnace to finally get rid of him.
And Jonathon's voice speaks out of the furnace.
"Do you think it would be that easy to forget? I'll NEVER let you forget. What your greedy little hands did to get me. The lies you told to hold onto me. You'll never forget."
And the true horror of how a young kid's silly selfish decision has become a burning, agonizing guilt in his chest just expands into this devastating level about childhood products and how we cling to them or outgrow them. This game is masterful.