JUMP KING QUEST

I don't like rage games. I'm not really into platformers. If you told me that I was going to like the sequel* to Jump King, I would have said you were crazy. Jump King Quest is just really, really good. I gave it a try because of the directional inputs ala fighting games, and the game gripped me from start to finish. There was platforming, sure, It wasn't super easy platforming, and at times could be rather punishing. But the maps, the exploration, engaging with enemies and building a character and using different (and very unique!) weapons just all felt so good. The combat especially had me gripped - the boss fights all felt unique, and all three of the weapons I chose to use on my first playthrough were important from the moment I got them to the moment I finished the game. Nothing excited me more than finding a boss door, finding a roaming boss, or exploring a new area with interesting combat encounters. I even started to come around to the platforming - it was never too tough, and there was something very satisfying about engaging with a better sense of control over my character. There's some bad - the game crashed more than a handful of times, and while the end screen said I played 11 sessions, I think a good 4 or 5 of those were relaunching the game after a crash. At least the autosave is VERY often - one time I crashed mid-jump, only to load back in and have my character still midair. There was also one very specific section of the game that combined long range enemies with an obnoxious climb... and while that's meant to be annoying, I really didn't enjoy the one specific section near the end of the game because it felt like once I killed the annoying enemy I HAD to finish the platforming section in the same session, even if I was frustrated, because if I did not the enemy would respawn. I also wish there was some "spin all" button for smithing. It's novel at first but then just takes time pressing "interact" over and over and over. But I beat those sections, and the game as well. The last few bosses were super fun to fight, and I caught myself thinking about my second playthrough before my first was even over. It's just a great game, and way deeper than it appears on the surface. Weapons are carefully crafted with combos and ranges, the game has a parry, the stat system is unique and more interesting imo than if you had access to them all, and since all of the above exists, it means that exploring and finding a new weapon actually feels valuable. The game is so inexpensive, too. If you're hesitant, just give it a shot. It's definitely worth a climb.

The game start fun, but after some while it just gets WAAAAAY to hard with the bosses. So hard where you don't die from them, but make 1 mistake and fall from the arena and have to jump back for 5-10 minutes just to get tossed away again a moment later. Absolutely not fun, do not buy it.

Good game. Even better with friends. Somehow gets you to laugh at the same jokes for hours on-end, can't help but laugh at yourself and your friends when you make repeating mistakes in this game together.