In early 2022, I read about the making-of and, later that same month, played to completion the videogame Jett: The Far Shore. The game was by Superbrothers and Pine Scented and, as I had loved the previous game Swords and Sworcery, the idea of the new game by the same guy excited me. The so-so Metacritic rating and the difficult time that the creator had bringing his work to fruition didn’t deter me; I went all in and bought the game and had an okay time with it.
It was an intriguing game that reached for the stars but sputtered before reaching orbit. It had high aspirations but didn’t quite succeed due to the fiddly controls and poor way-pointing. I lost hours of time trying to figure out what to do. I don’t need hand holding but I like games that respect my time and I didn’t always feel this did.
I walked away from the game thinking that it had potential but this hadn’t been realised. I’d hoped that the ambiguous ending would be resolved in a later expansion but didn’t really hold out much hope. However, the team have released a new trailer for their expansion to the original game. Titled Jett: Given Time, the story follows three years from Mei’s cryosleep awakening.
This time she continues her journey without the help of the annoyingly chatty co-pilot Isao. Happily, this game seems to be a more open-form affair and will hopefully lead to more moments of wonder where discovery is more organic. I look forward to it when it releases in early 2023!
LINK- Jett: The Far Shore- Videogames As Art
LINK- The Far Shore- Book Review
LINK- Blood, Sweat and Pixels- Book Review
LINK- The Offworld Collection- Book Review
LINK- Uncharted 4- Video Games As Art
LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East
LINK- Natives: Race and Class in the Ruin of Empire- Book Review