Overview – developed by the team of Blake Fix, Michael Allen K and Ackerman, with publishing handled by Fond Game and TheGamePublisher, Magnet Jack is a puzzle platformer with a focus on action. As the titular Magnet Jack, go on a polarizing adventure through the video game world, on a quest to punch the King of Taxes on his nose. This title is available exclusively on the Steam Platform, with a link to the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank TheGamePublisher for providing the copy of Magnet Jack that was used for the piece, via the Keymailer service. 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 off with the story. I will be covering the basic mechanics of the game, as there are many fun quirks and elements of the game that I think players should experience for themselves.
Story – Jack was a regular guy who worked at a video store, when one night he fell asleep on the job after staying up all night gaming. An old man came in, but all was not as it seemed. This old man was a Cyber Warlock and displeased with Jack sleeping on the job, he cast a spell on Jack. He cursed Jack and banished him to a different dimension, where he would live his life as a video game protagonist. But little did the warlock know, this was exactly what Jack wanted.
Some time later, Jack was living his best life in this new world as a videogame character. But then Jack heard the bad news, the King of Taxes has raised everyones taxes right through the roof. Jack is infuriated by this and will not stand for this, so he sets out on a mission to punch that nasty old king on the nose. However, pesky pocket dimensions full of puzzles keep getting in Jack’s way. But little did the King of Taxes know, this was exactly what Jack wanted.
Gameplay – Magnet Jack is a stage based puzzle platformer, with a focus on action and a unique gimmick that revolves around magnet polarity. When first starting the game, the player will find themselves in the starting world of Sythwave Island. This is a tutorial world where the player will learn how to control jack, the basic gameplay mechanics and get to grips with the game. This section plays out in a contained format, guiding the player to the boss.
This game uses an overworld system, similar to Super Mario Bros 3, with all of the stages laid out as blue and red blocks. Players can also encounter NPC characters by invading their homes, interacting with them and fleshing out the world. To reach the boss of a world, the player must clear a path to them by completing the stages. There are some branching paths that players can use, giving a choice to clear all stages, or skip some to get to other areas faster.
Within the stages themselves, the main objective is to get all the Orbz. To collect the Orbz the player must be the correct polarity, with Jack needing to be red to collect red, and blue to collect blue. To collect Orbz that don’t match Jack’s current color, the player must change polarity via energy streams. Using these streams will use up the limited energy at the top of the screen, if this runs out Jack will become Inert and be unable to clear the stage.
In the event that the player gets into a position where they are inert or unable to clear the stage, they can use the self-destruct button or jump into a pit. This will restart the stage, giving players another chance to pass the stage. If the player successfully collects all the Orbz, they will glow and the warp button must be mashed to clear the stage. The action stages will also have a timer on screen, with the best time recorded as a high score.
The stages vary in shape and size, with some being a single screen whereas others will be fairly long, moving either vertically or horizontally. Some stages will also wrap around, letting players leap off screen from one side and appear on the other. This system can make some of the more challenging stages a little easier, while also giving more options for players to experiment. Some of the stages are trial and error, but are satisfying when cleared.
As the player makes their way through the game, new stage mechanics and overworld gimmicks will be added. The later stage mechanics include slippery butter floors in breakfast world, floors that appear when moving and a bubble power that can clear obstacles. Then there are the overworld mechanics, which act as roadblocks for progression. These can be mini challenge stages and switches on the map, which must be cleared to progress.
There are boss battles in many of the worlds for players to challenge, with each of them having a unique gimmick for that battle. The first boss that players will encounter is mandatory, as it will open up the rest of the game. But after this, the battles become optional for the player, as there is a fairly non-linear approach to progression in general. This applies to the different worlds too, as they are interconnected, letting players move relatively freely between them.
The only hard lock on any progression is access to the final area of the game, which needs a target number of cleared stages to reach. This gives a solid target to reach, as there are more stages than the target number. Alongside the stage clear target, there are hidden Orbz for players to collect, as well as coins that are given for completing stages. These coins can be used in the Hat shop, giving Jack some rather dapper headwear for the adventure.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – this title has a fairly simple control lay out, which works well for the puzzle platform style, giving it a quick pick up and play feel. There is the option for keyboard inputs as well as traditional controllers, which both work very well. However, there is an unusual issue with the game, where the hotkeys for quitting the game and other basic systems are missing. This is unfortunate, but can be fixed in a patch at some point.
Difficulty – the challenge for this release comes from the variety of puzzles and game mechanics, which will really test the player. This is where a lot of the trial and error gameplay comes from, as the stages can be deceiving in their amount of challenge. Thankfully, there is no limit to the number of retries that can be used, but no checkpoints for players. If players are having a really tough time, they can pay 5 coins to skip a stage by putting a band-aid on it.
Presentation – visually, there is a retro look to the game, with sprite work and back grounds that try to evoke a feel of familiarity to them. This contrasts well with the surreal world design, bosses and general feel of the game. The performance for the most part is fairly solid, but it did freeze a lot on my hardware, which may be due to age. The sound rounds out experience well, with good music and unique themes for each of the overworld map areas.
Final Thoughts – I discovered this game via an email promoting upcoming releases from Keymailer, which caught my attention so I took the opportunity to check it out. My initial feelings were a little mixed, as I had some issues with getting the game to run, even though my hardware exceeds the minimum requirements. This may be due to the age of my hardware or compatibility issues with drivers, but after getting it going, it felt a lot better.
I enjoyed the retro style of platforming, the puzzles and the unique mechanics/gimmicks that were implemented. All of these elements come together to create a fun experience, although it feels like it needs a little polish to be optimized entirely. I can recommend this to players who enjoy puzzle platformers, but be warned that it relies on trial and error for a lot of the puzzles. There is also the potential for speedrunners to get a lot from this game too.
In the end, I give Magnet Jack a final score of 3.75/5. This is a fun and challenging puzzle platformer, offering a rather unique experience that allows it to stand out from the rest. The mix of gimmicks, silly humor and references add to the fun of the game, it just needs a little bit of polish for older systems. If you want to check the game out for yourself, a link to it will be below.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
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