Jazzpunk Review
Played on PC
Developed by Necrophone Games
Released 7th February 2014
Jazzpunk is as weird as a game can get. Originally planned to be serious with moments of comedic relief, developers Luis Hernandez and Jess Brouse loved the nonsensical comedy so much that they established humour as the prevalent tone for the rest of the game. An onslaught of modern media references was used to fuel this surreal retro-futuristic rendition of the 1950s and its bizarre events.
Story
The story of Jazzpunk is comedically wacky and confusing and so, so strange, but it all equates to such a loveable experience. The story follows Polyblank, a mute protagonist who goes on nonsensical espionage missions, ranging from infiltrating a Soviet consulate to cross-dressing at a Hawaiian-inspired resort to exchange briefcases with the game's antagonist (I wish I was making this up). As wild as this game is, it has an undeniable charm to it which I really appreciate. Additionally, every level was brimming with side stories that contained the same bizarrity. Rematch a wrestler who you've fought many years ago, help an organisation smuggle pigeons, or my favourite: enter the pizza dimension through a videogame. My only nitpick for its narrative is that I couldn't follow the story very easily as there was a large disconnection between levels.
Gameplay
The gameplay prioritises showcasing its gags and ludicrous adventure in the form of something like a walking simulator, rather than in a puzzle-solving nature, which I initially expected going into this game. Its controls and features in gameplay are incredibly simplistic, with only an interact button and some movement. Yet this simplicity still offers a variety of tasks to do in this crazy world. You could play virtual tennis against an egotistical rich villain or ruin the health rating for a sushi bar by killing a cowboy. Yes, you read that correctly. Even when it's packed with activities, the game's short duration acts as a failsafe in case you become bored after playing its Quake-inspired FPS (First-Person Shooter), "Wedding Cake" for an indefinite amount of time. Other than the main objectives which occasionally lose their sense of direction, this gameplay is enjoyable, to say the least.
Characters
There isn't a wide range of or large emphasis on characters, so I'll keep it short. Every single one of them succeeds in being distinctive: such as the Director and his hilarious dialogue and contrasting, menacing voice. There's almost a guilty pleasure that crops up from interacting with these characters as they are all so oddly amusing. Who knew that a 30-second appearance from a robot butler could be so entertaining?
Atmosphere
The atmosphere focuses more on its niche charisma to attract the attention of many players, and it somewhat works for me. The soundtrack is relatively mixed. It's a nice collection of tribal and jazz mixes and neo-punk soundtracks, however, neither were appealing enough in my opinion since they lacked a memorable rhythm that I could leave this game with. The visuals are a clean, cartoony aesthetic that I appreciated. It's chockful of unique character designs of robots, spies and other abnormal characters. The complaint I have with this animated feel is that everything stands out like big, bold words in an essay. And I mean everything. It does make for some greatly designed areas, but it also creates some eyesores as there are way too many things fighting to catch your attention.
Story - 8/10
Gameplay - 8/10
Characters - 8/10
Atmosphere - 6.5/10
Good
A one-of-a-kind comedy adventure that just happened to be my cup of tea, especially with its world and its plentiful activities, but not in its visual or audible design.
