Jump King is the kind of game that’s made for YouTubers and their audience. It revels in the challenge it presents much in the same way as QWOP and Bennet Foddys Getting Over It. Jump King’s design seems focused on infuriate players and getting them to scream at their TV.
Of course, highly skilled individuals have made it to the top in under five minutes, but after several hours of play I only saw the third region, or about nine screens.
No Pain, No Gain
The concept of Jump King is an interesting one. The player has one goal and that’s to get to the top and rescue the babe. Think Mario, but instead of a series of different levels that cover a multitude of themes, it’s one constant tower. All the king has at his disposal is his ability to jump and move left to right. Holding jump changes the height and distance but everything here is down to timing and a hell of a lot of estimating until familiarity sets in.
Here’s the kicker though. With every misjudgement, there’s a high likelihood of plummeting several floors or in the worst case scenarios ending up right back at the beginning. There are no checkpoints here and only a great deal of skill and patience will see the king getting to the top. Jump King demands absolute precision at all times and it only gets tougher the higher you get. Platforms get smaller, gaps get wider and higher and it starts to throw a lot more hazards at you such as ice and wind.
It’s guaranteed that everyone who touches this will go through a wild array of emotions – from “hey this is pretty cool”, to “why do you hate me”, taking a quick swing by confidence and quickly back to irritation. But it’s weird – with every failure, every punishing drop, the determination to do better next time is overpowering. On my part this was likely stubbornness and a refusal to beaten by something that appears so simple at face value. Another part is trying to prove the sarcastic old man at the bottom wrong.
Robes of Silk and Gold
It’s a decent looking game with a lovely pixel art aesthetic. The Jump King himself is well animated and the game’s environments are well detailed. But there isn’t an awful lot going on, visually.
Environments do change as you climb the tower and you’ll traverse a forest, some sewers, a castle and snowy mountaintops among others on your journey.
It’s just all a bit static and the same can be said for the sound design. There are no bells and whistles here, just simple jumping swooshes and crunchy landing thumps. We should probably be grateful that there isn’t any actual music because it’s the sort of game that would probably have the same song on loop and it would start to drive people insane.
King for a Day
The life of the game is also very subjective. For most, the challenge to get to the top will likely be too much and many will give up before they’ve seen beyond the first few screens. The main tower can be completed in under five minutes but it takes many hours of practise to get anywhere near that. Checkpoints would certainly make things more accessible but the game would lose some of its charm. For the more dedicated player, once the babe has been saved there are additional levels to try that are even more difficult.
A Crowning Glory?
It’s a difficult game to recommend because only certain kinds of masochist will enjoy the gameplay loop. There’s enough of a hook to keep players coming back and the elation that comes with overcoming a difficult section is satisfying.
However, constantly failing to make any significant progress will be enough to see most people stop playing. For the small group of players who revel in this kind of challenge and wear these games as a badge of honour it’s definitely worth picking up. Will I personally ever see the top? Who knows, but it’s definitely something worth trying.