Jazzpunk Cinematic Playthrough
0Secret agent Polyblank is the most successful agent the world has ever seen, so of course the agency has mission after mission for him. Step into his shoes for a couple of hours and show the world the meaning of the word espionage!
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00:00 - Intro
03:48 - The Soviet Consulate
30:01 - Ikayaki Alley
51:06 - The Expedition
52:40 - Kai Tak Resort
1:18:12 - The Wetworks
1:22:04 - Bachelor Pad
1:55:23 - Epilogue
REVIEW: 3/5
I'd say Jazzpunk perfectly encompasses the age-old saying, "It's about the journey, not the destination." It's got a very loose plot hook that can be described as, "classic secret agent movie vibes", but you'll find that your time spent with Polyblank is very far from classic.
Each level begins with you getting a mission briefing from the director, which only lasts about a minute before you're thrust into the level. Once inside, you'll soon realize that the brief you received was only the tiniest bit relevant to what you're to do, and you'll find that there are dozens of odd jobs and events to litter your path. So many of these tasks and NPCs are just off-the-wall bonkers and left a lasting impression on me.
The key to Jazzpunk is in the humor for me. I'd say it rides a very fine line however, because you could accurately classify a lot of the jokes as the "lol so random" type that seemed to be all the rage back when rage comics were all the rage. That would be an oversimplification by far, but it's along that line. I think that Jazzpunk just has a little bit more thought put into the jokes however, and it makes the humor a strong point for me. For example, at one point I had gathered pigeon pheromones for a weapon of sorts and begun spraying people, expecting them to be grossed out or something along those lines. But nope, they just got snatched by a flock of pigeons, never to be seen again.
A major theme that drew me into Jazzpunk was subversion of expectations. For instance, I'd say it's a spy game, but there's not a single point in the story where you're tailing someone, expected to off someone, do a high-speed chase sequence, etc. You just bumble from place to place until you stumble onto the right path and find yourself having to sabotage some poor Texan's sushi and steal his organs. Or you stumble into a china shop, equipped with a flyswatter, and upon leaving, realize you've still got it. Once you start slapping people with it, (as one does), you'll see that some of them were flies in disguise, and they take off.
Even after playing it a second time, I could see myself playing Jazzpunk again. It's such a short game, and from my leisurely playthroughs I continued to come across things I hadn't seen before. There's a lot to discover, all wrapped in a neat, colorful little package.