Jak and Daxter’s first outing has some of the most surprisingly dynamic gameplay I’ve come across in a plat-former. From the incredibly fun level design, to well crafted combat- the experience consistently amazes.

The mini games are a blast, the vehicle levels give you the good kind of pit in your stomach, the platforming is exciting, and the collectathon of it all is anything but exhausting… and god that’s refreshing.

There’s some genuinely funny moments in the writing, which was a nice surprise considering I wasn’t expecting this to cater much to me in that regard. Plus I really began to warm up to the art style the more I played.

Some of the platforming in the back half can get a bit frustrating with the randomly fixed cameras and slightly unresponsive timing mechanics… it would’ve also been nice to earn new combat moves along the way. But it was often a more rewarding experience than it was a frustrating one. The biggest compliments I can throw its way, are that it was a total blast from start to finish. I didn’t want to stop playing. And if that isn’t enough, the replay value on this game is also ridiculous. I’d totally pick this up again and play it all the way through.

Thankfully there are more entries in the series! Can’t wait for Jak II to see where the story goes.