JustAxe reminds me of an Adobe Flash game back in the Newgrounds/Kongregate days of yore. It is a short and simple platformer with the feel of that Flash fluidity and controls. Players who have never experienced these types of games will cringe at the sluggishness and game physics. It’s just not a good look for a console game coming out in 2024.
Enemies, for example, will follow little Martha (i.e., the player one controls) to the ends of a level with their aggressiveness. Martha has them so aggroed to the point where it will jump on each other and fall off traps and crevices just to get to her. When the enemies do attack Martha, it will push her off sometimes yards away that’s so unlike real-world physics. That is the Flash-game physics at work.
Navigating in JustAxe also falls into the Flash-game physics work. Martha runs, jumps, and attacks with her trusty axe as expected, but there’s just something about the controls that doesn’t feel as fluid as it’s supposed to be. For example, in one of the chase levels, falling down the spiky abyss should automatically send Martha over to the great beyond, but it doesn’t. In fact, she just bounces off the spiky hill and gets damaged for each bounce instead. Just little things like that makes it seem like this game is unpolished.
Luckily, JustAxe is a very short, three-hour slog that can be done in an afternoon. The story is barebones, but that’s expected for this type of game. It really is a game for those seeking to waste time during a long train or bus ride or a begrudging family dinner. It will at least take the focus off the real world to complete these semi-frustrating levels and enemies.
This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.
JustAxe
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6/106/10
