There are plenty of games with climbing mechanics. The classic Tomb Raider games were probably the first 3D ones to really satisfy the description, but we’ve since had the Uncharted games and a few select others. However, games are rarely only about climbing. Enter Jusant (pronounced zhu-sahn), a game that’s quite literally almost exclusively about climbing. While the developers DONTNOD are known more for their narrative games, this is a rare example of one that’s mostly gameplay. It isn’t particularly long, but it has terrific climbing mechanics, strong art direction, and a fairly touching narrative that makes it well worth the climb overall.
When Jusant begins, the main character (referred to as MC in this writing) is shown arriving at the base of an enormous tower. Accompanying him is a small blue creature that the main character is taking on a journey to the top. There isn’t really much more to the plot than that, save for the ending. That isn’t to say that there isn’t a large amount of lore on offer. As you climb, you’ll come across many letters written either by a character named Bianca or various others. These are the game’s principal collectibles, but there are other things to find off the beaten path, such as cairns to place single stones atop or different pieces of art.
The climbing itself is simple. The left and right triggers (or mouse buttons) control the MC’s left and right arms. Press the left trigger, and the MC will hold on with his left hand. Let go, and so does he. Climbing is accomplished by alternating between the two triggers to move your way up, down, and to the sides. There is a stamina bar that depletes as you climb, but it can be refilled by holding down the left stick. You can also jump in a direction while climbing, but this burns off stamina. Run out of stamina, and your grip is no more.
But Jusant isn’t keen on allowing you to fall to your death. Before you begin climbing, the MC will attach a rope to the wall. If you fall, the rope will catch you. You’ll use the bumpers to raise and lower yourself using the rope, which allows you to rappel up and down surfaces. You can also run sideways while holding onto the rope to make tricky jumps. You can only climb via specific handholds, so don’t imagine something like Breath of the Wild, where you could simply climb most surfaces. You’re able to place a few points on the wall to attach your rope to as a sort of checkpoint.
“The climbing in Jusant mostly feels consistent, responsive, and satisfying.”
You can also jump a bit on the ground, but jumping is mostly used while climbing, as the player character can jump upward and then push off the wall for a second jump.
The climbing in Jusant mostly feels consistent, responsive, and satisfying. The systems are intuitive and quite clever, as getting around treacherous areas feels quite natural. There are six chapters in the game, with each occupying different biomes, which often have new gimmicks. The final two chapters are quite different from the previous ones, so DONTNOD has done a pretty fantastic job at keeping the game from getting repetitive despite the fact that you’re almost exclusively climbing. New mechanics also emerge as you progress, including small creatures with rocks on their backs that act as handholds and little firefly creatures that surround you and allow you to jump much, much higher.
In addition, pressing up on the D-pad will have your little blue friend let out an echo that will interact with two types of plants. One causes the plant to grow like a vine, which has handholds all along its length. The other creates handholds on a pattern on the wall you can climb. All of these mechanics combine to make for decently varied gameplay that always offers unique challenges. Speaking of challenge, Jusant isn’t a difficult game, but it can be fairly challenging at times, as some of its climbs can be demanding, as there are plenty of tricky jumps to be found.
“Sometimes it’s just nice to appreciate the beauty of the world while slowly making your way through it, and Jusant embodies this…”
However, there are some issues. The creatures with rocks on their backs make for really subpar handholds, as they slow to a crawl if you hang onto them for any length of time. This turns into a dull wait as you hold onto one until another becomes available, allowing you to swap between the two of them. But they’re not always going in the direction you want, and they can feel unreliable, so I grimace when they show themselves. Then there’s the second plant that creates handholds on the wall. These handholds would despawn very quickly some of the time. So quickly that I often felt like they were vanishing faster than intended.
Another complaint I can levy at Jusant is that the collision detection while walking is fairly poor. I often got stuck on terrain and would find myself pressing every button and moving the left stick in the hopes that the character would become dislodged. Also, while the visuals may be unique and aesthetically pleasing, they’re also quite basic. While I have no problem with this, the game is optimized poorly on PC, as I found myself struggling to get acceptable framerates without any upscaling. My 3090 sounded like it was about to take off. This game worked it so hard.
I very much enjoyed my time with Jusant, at least when it wasn’t irritating me with the above issues. But that typically wasn’t the case, plus the game’s finale is absolutely lovely, providing a heartfelt conclusion to a story I didn’t even know I cared about until it was over. Sometimes, it’s just nice to appreciate the beauty of the world while slowly making your way through it, and Jusant embodies this, at least when it works as intended.
