Do you remember summer camp? Do you remember the thrill of meeting new friends? The cranky cooks? The arts and crafts? The singing Sasquatch? No? Well, I sure do. Not because I’ve spent my childhood summers in some crypto-zoological musical camp, but because I’ve spent a couple of hours with Lucid Games’ first episode of their charming new adventure series: Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery.
Taking a cue from TellTale’s The Walking Dead releases, Jacob Jones’ adventures at camp are releasing in easy to swallow, bite sized episodes. The length of episode one was just long enough that I felt that I most definitely got my three dollars worth, but also short enough that it didn’t wear out its welcome. The story, also like The Walking Dead, plays out in typical adventure game fashion, with the bulk of the gameplay coming in the form of conversations and clicking on various items in the environment. The similarities to TellTale’s zombie apocalypse tale ends there, however, as Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery is a family friendly, whimsical tale of exploration and summer camp hijinks.
The game begins with the title character in the backseat of a car, on a ride to his destination…… well…. I guess the similarities to The Walking Dead aren’t done, are they? Anyway, Jacob Jones is on his way to summer camp, Camp Eagle Feather to be exact. He isn’t exactly excited about going, but his complaints fall on the deaf ears of his two parents. It would have been easy at this point for Jacob Jones to take on the role of a complaining brat that so many video game children tend to be, but the people at Lucid Games have done a great job of making Jacob a completely adorable and enjoyable character to spend your time with. Before you make it to camp though, your car makes a sudden stop to avoid a tree that has fallen into the road. You exit the car and attempt to clear the tree off the road and you are presented with the first of many puzzles that will make up the largest portion of your time with the game.
Much like the Professor Layton titles, every puzzle is presented to you with little explanation of how to solve it. For the first puzzle, the developers make good use of the Vita’s touchscreen as you flip the tree back and forth in an effort to get it in the right position to be shoved down a hole. This style of puzzle solving is indicative of the kinds of puzzles you will be working out through the entire game. Every puzzle will require plenty of critical thinking and even more trial and error. They also all require you to utilize the Vita’s unique capabilities, be it swiping the touch screen, tilting the device to move or look behind objects, and more. There are three separate levels of hints that you can purchase for each one, but I was able to figure out most of them without any help, and the feeling of accomplishment is much higher this way too. While all the puzzles are challenging, none of them are so difficult that I felt frustrated and I enjoyed all of them.
While puzzle solving is the meat and potatoes of the game, there are plenty of other aspects that stand out.
The story is well constructed and told in a way that makes the player excited for the next episode. What looks like a simple, kiddie style adventure is actually an intriguing mystery story of a suspicious summer camp and a talking Sasquatch in need of your help in finding his parents. As you unravel the levels of mystery, you will engage in several conversations with the various characters you come across. Besides your friend Bigfoot, you’ll also meet the likes of fellow campers, the strange and silly camp staff, and even a talking fox who treats the surrounding forest like an office. He even carries around a coffee mug and clipboard. All of these characters are written with hilarious perfection. The dialogue is filled with genuinely funny jokes and each and every character is fully voiced and acted to satisfying result.
I should also mention the art style, which looks as if it was ripped straight from the pages of your favorite childhood storybook. It’s probably a stretch to assume anyone would remember the video game based on Piglet’s Big Movie, but the art direction in that game is a great comparison to Jacob Jones. All of the environments look like they were constructed with fabric and cardboard and wouldn’t look out of place adorning the hallway of any random elementary school. It may sound strange, but everything about the aesthetic is completely charming and fits the tone perfectly.
The only complaints I would have are the same complaints that almost every touchscreen heavy titles bring upon themselves. Every once in a while I would find my finger accidentally touching the screen and completely messing up my progress in a puzzle and forcing me to restart the entire thing. Some of the puzzles and collectibles also require you to tilt the Vita system in all manner of directions which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it often required me to contort my wrists into some uncomfortable positions. This problem doesn’t crop up too often though, and most of the tilting mechanics are relegated to tracking down optional collectibles.
Small complaints aside, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Jacob Jones and the hilarious residents of Camp Eagle Feather. The writing is top-notch and the story is interesting enough that I eagerly anticipate his next outing in episode two. Three bucks well spent!
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