Jazzpunk

Quirky humor and an abundance of outrageous antics keep things buoyant through much of the short but flawed journey. Jazzpunk is an enthusiastic attempt to answer the question of just how much weirdness you can possibly cram into a few hours of gaming. In that endeavor, at least, it's a great achievement.

Not loving Jazzpunk is as difficult as classifying it. Few games are this confidently weird, and even fewer manage to pull off anything even resembling humour. If you’re looking to laugh a lot, and maybe even think about stuff just a little bit, give it a play.

Good for a quick laugh, but not much more than that. If you value an evening's entertainment over having a significant chunk of your spare time eaten up, Jazzpunk is for...

And one day I just clicked on it and I've never stopped being confused and amazed at it. It's a spectacle, a gonzo dream where I am sure, quite sure, I met Hunter S Thompson three times. Or was it three Hunter S Thompsons? Who can be sure? Who can really be sure of anything these days? Don't make me give a score. Don't make me give a sc--

It's more than enough time to be submerged in JazzPunk's style of humor, and the poor production values ensured I was ready for air by the time credits roll. Play it for the novelty and the rapid-fire assault of jokes, but don't be surprised if most of them miss the mark.

That Jazzpunk so frequently caused me to laugh is a sign that it's a great comedy. That, days later, I'm still desperately fighting the urge to blurt out its best moments is a sign that it's a remarkable, unique and lasting one too.

Jazzpunk doesn't aspire to be an excellent shooter or platformer. Instead, it aspires to and succeeds in having a great conversation with the player.

If you're not the type of person who likes to roam around miniature sandboxes and locate every single hidden secret, Jazzpunk may not be for you. But for everyone else, you'll revel in the ability to play a completely missable game of Fruit Ninja with Jim Sterling.