Overview – developed by Manning Media and published by Eastasiasoft, Go Go Jump!!! is a challenging action platformer where players will take on single screen challenges against the Jump Masters. As Dylan the Dog, go on an adventure to collect the Jump Master badges, jumping and dodging a variety of hazards on your way to your goal. This title is available for all console platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Go Go Jump!!! that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story.
Story – Dylan the Dog has a passion for jumping, but sadly his father passed away suddenly. He was a famous jump master when he was younger, travelling the world with his best friend Levi. Levi has been training Dylan to carry on his father’s legacy, becoming the best Jump Master the world has ever seen. In his fathers will, Dylan has been tasked with collecting all of the jump master badges. However, if he fails, his estate will go to his dad’s half-sister Sally who is obsessed with money.
Gameplay – this title is a survival platformer, where the player must move left, right and jump to avoid hazards and obstacles. The game is split into several modes for the game, with the main focus being the Story mode. In this narrative filled section, the player must challenge the 8 Jump Masters to get their badges with unique themes in each challenge. In the home island, the player can talk to Levi and select their challenge, with a backstory available for each of the masters.
The 8 challenges are distinct from each other, with each of them having a unique theme. These include a mob boss Rat girl, a penguin king obsessed with gaming and a lizard priestess in a fire temple. Each of these challenges is set in a closed arena, with their own themed design, stage elements and entertaining cutscenes. The penguin king lives near a glacier, with the mob boss using a shipping yard, which allows for a variety of different obstacles to be used.
The Jump Master challenges are split into three phases, with the number of hazards and attacks they use increasing as the phrases progress. Dylan has a single life and will be knocked out if they take any damage, sending them back to the start of the current phase. The player can retry endlessly if they are hit, which lessens the stress of failing the current phase. When all three phases have been completed, a victory scene will play out and the player will be awarded a badge.
When the main stages have been cleared, there will be a cutscene that plays out between Levi, Dylan and Sally with some comedic touches. Characters from the cleared stage will be added to the island home, including a Rat that will say some interesting things. The Jump Master challenges can be taken on in any order the player wishes, with different difficulty levels for each. When all eight stages have been cleared, the player can challenge Sally in a climactic battle.
Outside of the Story mode, there are four additional modes that players can enjoy. There is the challenge mode, offering 90 unique challenges with different options for each of the Jump Master challengers. These challenges range from simply surviving random attacks, to specific attacks with increasing speed to the action. There are also adventure logs that can be heard, featuring Dylan’s father recounting his adventures to his son.
Then we have the Boss Rush, which challenges the player to beat all of the Jump Masters one after another. The player has limited lives for this mode, with a game over when all of the lives are lost. There are checkpoints for this mode, which does ease some of the tension that players will face. Last we have the survival mode, which has a simple objective, survive the attacks of the Jump Masters for as long as possible. Players can select the Jump Master they want to battle.
All of the Masters can use their full move set, unleashing every obstacle and attack they can to try and take the player out. Each time the player successfully dodges the Master, a point is added to their score and the highest score will be kept as a record. Sadly there is a pretty significant bug with this mode, as the Jump Master Karla is invisible. This makes her survival challenge completely unplayable, as she is one of the few Masters that actively attacks the player.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the control method for this release is incredibly simple. You have left and right movement with the thumbstick/Dpad, with a jump button on the X button. The other face buttons are used for menu elements and interactions, but they have little else to do with actual gameplay. This makes for an experience that is incredibly easy to pick up and digest, letting players of all skill levels jump into it and get into the survival action.
Difficulty – this game is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to the difficulty. In the Story Mode, the different stages have difficulty levels attached to them going from one to three stars. However, these difficulty ratings can be deceiving, as some of the challenges can be much tougher than the rating may say. The bonus challenges and boss rush are tough too, but all of the difficulty is down to practice and memorization, so these challenges can be overcome with some patience.
Presentation – there is a very distinct visual style to this game, with the art style using a mix of flat cartoon sprites and cell shaded 3D environments. This adds to the game experience, making it feel unique and stand out among other games in the indie space. The music is pretty well done, with some fun tracks that add to the unique themes for each of the characters, there is also a full voice over, which is performed well and adds to the comedy of the cutscenes.
Final Thoughts – when I first saw this game I was intrigued by it, with the distinct visuals and relatively unique gameplay premise. So when the opportunity to cover it presented itself, I leapt at the opportunity to check it out and I wasn’t disappointed. This title is fun and very tough, but can be beaten with enough time and effort. However, it is not perfect and has some flaws to it, like the bug with the invisible Karla in Survival mode and some sound bugs here and there.
With that being said though, there are a lot of positives for this title. The amount of playable content through the Story, Challenge, Survival and Boss Rush modes can keep players engaged for hours on end. There is a lot of comedy for this title, with jokes, references and even some fourth wall breaks for players to enjoy. I can easily recommend this game to everyone, it is a fun title that can be enjoyed by all despite its faults and is perfect for those looking for a challenge.
In the end, I give Go Go Jump!!! a final score of 3.5/5. This is an entertaining title, with a lot of content on offer for a modest price and the distinct visual styling of the game. It isn’t a perfect game, but the positives far outweigh the negatives for this release. if you want to check it out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 