I don’t have a lot to say about Jusant. It’s a game about rock climbing. It’s set in a weird abandoned world, and your job is to climb it. I like games that heavily feature climbing, Assassin’s Creed games, Horizon games, past two Zeldas, all great, but this game is solely about climbing, and it owns.

The setting and presentation are a refreshing departure from the vast majority of DONTNOD’s previous titles that were basically the video game equivalent of a Young Adult Novel. It takes place in a fantasy setting of nomads (???) who left a small civilization (???) because… reasons??? It’s probably explained in the lore pickups that I skimmed, it doesn’t really matter, what matters is that you need to interact with some shrines and c l i m b.

To climb in the game you independently control your left and right hands with the triggers and guide where you’re going to reach with the sticks. Hold A and release to jump, tap again to double-jump. As you’re climbing you have four pitons you can plant into the wall to protect you from a fall, or to serve as a point you can swing from to run along the surface. You can also automagically climb or rappel on your rope… and that’s sort of it? It’s very straightforward climbing, and it becomes almost puzzle-like as you’re finding the viable route, planning out how you’re going to get point to point, how you’re going to manage stamina, maybe how you’re going to plant an anchor and swing, etc.

You also have a sweet little blob buddy with you called a Ballast, who lives in your backpack. He’s primarily used to make things grow with magic, things like plants that can provide handholds, plants you can ride as they grow up, etc. He also serves as a compass, and most importantly can be hugged.

Great game. Hard to recommend at retail price because it’s 4-5 hours tops and has minimal replayability, but it’s a perfect and incredibly easy strong recommendation via Game Pass. Wonderful way to fill a couple nights of gaming between larger titles.