A short summary + review of one of my favorite games ever
With a name like JAZZPUNK you might think this is a gritty, cyberpunk type of videogame, the kind you’d see 8-hour-long playthroughs of on Youtube. If this is the case I recommend you stop reading further and go buy the game (it’s 15 dollars or so) to experience it yourself.
Unless you can't afford it which I completely understand. Times are rough and 15 bucks is a considerable amount for a lot of people. Still you should check out a walkthrough or let's play or somethingOkay, you done? Goodie.
Jazzpunk is a 2014 alternate-universe cold-war puzzle-ish-and-other-words-with-hyphens comedy game developed by Necrophone games and published by [AS] Games, about… many things. The basic run-down is that Polyblank (that’s you) is hired/shipped to a spy agency; there he’s assigned multiple espionage missions in different locations ranging from The Soviet Consulate to an island resort.
I absolutely adore Jazzpunk, and I always have. My first exposure to it was when I watched a Youtube playthrough of it back in 2015, and from then on it’s always stuck to my mind like some kind of parasite. There’s just something so special about it, but I can’t figure out what. Yes, the writing is good, the jokes are funny, the setting is beautiful, the style is striking… but it feels like there’s a secret ingredient that makes Jazzpunk so memorable, so rich despite its short playtime.
It’s impossible to forget about Jazzpunk. Everything about this game’s visuals ooze style and boldness to an almost ridiculous degree. Pitch black streets flooded with neon city lights, a grimy conveyor belt sushi place, bright sunny days and calm golden hour parks… Every location is filled with the smallest details. If you’re playing Jazzpunk, you better click on everything you see. The entire game being set in an alternate Cold War scenario also just tickles me pink. I’m a sucker for good spy flicks, humor and cyber-tech elements from yesteryear. Not to mention the film noir influences! Just look at what site you’re on, bub!!
DLC: Flavour Nexus
(YES, THERE'S DLC!)
Flavor Nexus is a DLC level for Jazzpunk released in 2017. It's a way shorter experience (which means my thoughts on it are equally brief) but with the same amount of love and detail put into the main game. Who doesn’t love a supermarket stocked with the oddest foods and non-foods you can imagine?
Your only task in this DLC is to buy some smelling salts. Of course, this means you can finish the level in 5 minutes, but you'd be missing out on things like awakening a mummy, helping out a bee, watching an informational video on meals for children, a monster truck fight with Psycho Maniac and a variety of fruit aisle gags.
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