Jusant mini-review: Dontnod’s loftiest adventure | Kaser Focus

2023 has undoubtedly been a year of big games — beautiful games, ambitious games, games with so much depth and complexity that they can keep players satisfied for months. However, not every game needs to be that: Sometimes a game just needs to do one thing perfectly, or offer a short-but-enjoyable experience in order to be memorable. Jusant, Don’t Nod’s new mountain-climbing adventure game, does both, so I thought I’d give it a little mini-look for this week’s column.

In Jusant, you play as a small, unnamed protagonist who climbs — climbs pretty much anything. The game’s environments are comprised of sheer cliff faces dotted with climbing holds, which the protagonist clambers up with dexterity that would make an Assassin’s Creed hero blush. The game’s mechanics are brilliant in their simplicity — you use two buttons to control the protagonists arms (shoulder buttons on the controller; mouse buttons on the PC) and hold and release them to hold and release their grip. It gives movement this fluidity I haven’t felt in a game in a long time.