Jett: The Far Shore was a game I didn't expect to set down as quickly as I did nor am I particularly happy with myself for doing so. However, as Game of the Year has been rolling out and some voices I really trust - primarily the boys over at Nextlander - have begun discussing this game in detail I suspect I've experienced the best this game has to offer already.
There is a calming atmosphere to this game that's couched in just enough casual dread that is immediately quite appealing. You feel alone in a way games aren't always confident attempting to portray, but that loneliness is short-lived and as your touring party increases it's not hard to sense how elated you'd feel given the same situation and stakes to have a few more friends by your side.
In fact, much of this game's first hour is so striking in mood and tone that it's a real shame how quickly it all falls apart, especially because that falling apart is largely thanks to the game this game asks you to play. Piloting the jet itself isn't exactly cumbersome - it's no Mako - but the international collaboration between Pine Scented Software and Superbrothers is so desperate to design around this jet that they keep dropping new gameplay mechanics on you and none of them feel all that interesting.
I get the impression that at some point during development they couldn't find an engaging way to make the very act of exploring an alien planet in pursuit of a new human home world feel sufficiently antagonistic, and so they fill the world with actual antagonists and gameplay systems that distract from that truly otherworldy feeling the early bits of the game give you.
I was also really enjoying the folksy sort of way these characters were written as well as the made up language they use - it's not often that voice actors given gibberish to read can evoke emotions beyond the comical and absurd, but Miguel Araujo and his team did an excellent job creating an evocative, almost spiritual tone from this cast of characters.
Again, I think this game opens about as strongly as any game ever could and given whatever sale price feels appropriate I wouldn't necessarily recommend against giving JETT a fair shake. Just know that a lot of people seem to have reached the same conclusion as I have about as quickly as I did: in search of a game to tell their story in, this international collaboration unfortunately drives a lot of players away.
There is a calming atmosphere to this game that's couched in just enough casual dread that is immediately quite appealing. You feel alone in a way games aren't always confident attempting to portray, but that loneliness is short-lived and as your touring party increases it's not hard to sense how elated you'd feel given the same situation and stakes to have a few more friends by your side.
In fact, much of this game's first hour is so striking in mood and tone that it's a real shame how quickly it all falls apart, especially because that falling apart is largely thanks to the game this game asks you to play. Piloting the jet itself isn't exactly cumbersome - it's no Mako - but the international collaboration between Pine Scented Software and Superbrothers is so desperate to design around this jet that they keep dropping new gameplay mechanics on you and none of them feel all that interesting.
I get the impression that at some point during development they couldn't find an engaging way to make the very act of exploring an alien planet in pursuit of a new human home world feel sufficiently antagonistic, and so they fill the world with actual antagonists and gameplay systems that distract from that truly otherworldy feeling the early bits of the game give you.
I was also really enjoying the folksy sort of way these characters were written as well as the made up language they use - it's not often that voice actors given gibberish to read can evoke emotions beyond the comical and absurd, but Miguel Araujo and his team did an excellent job creating an evocative, almost spiritual tone from this cast of characters.
Again, I think this game opens about as strongly as any game ever could and given whatever sale price feels appropriate I wouldn't necessarily recommend against giving JETT a fair shake. Just know that a lot of people seem to have reached the same conclusion as I have about as quickly as I did: in search of a game to tell their story in, this international collaboration unfortunately drives a lot of players away.