Magnet Jack is a new puzzle-action-platformer game developed by Blake Fix and Micheal Allen Ackerman.
This was a fun one to review. Magnet Jack is at first sight a puzzle game. The starting objective is to pick up orbs which match your polarity, detailed by your character being either red or blue. You can change your polarity by jumping through various things, but only have a limited number of charges to do so, and the puzzle comes from figuring out how to pick up all the orbs with the charges you have.
So far, so good. That in itself is a fun mechanic, and I enjoyed the early levels figuring out how to do things in the right order to collect everything. The developers however, have decided to go wild with this one. Every few levels, the game just introduces new mechanics and gameplay.
One level you’re slipping around in butter. One level you are doing an endless runner inside a whale. Another level has you falling down a long drop avoiding obstacles. Another has you skateboarding, or playing more traditional style platformers. You never really know what’s going to happen next.
And that is where this game shines. Most indie developers try and play it safe, master a single mechanic and make a solid game around that. Not so with Magnet Jack. They have decided to just be as creative as they can, not worry about making a game around one mechanic, and just do whatever feels fun for that level. It’s really cool, and makes me think of the old days of indie developers where they felt free to try whatever they wanted. It’s a call-back to that time.
The graphics and music are neat too. They can sometimes be a little incongruous, with the pixel aesthetics of the main character not always marrying up exactly with the somewhat more detailed bosses, but I think that actually works in the games favour given everything it is going for. The game also has a somewhat sarcastic sense of comedy, which whilst won’t appeal to all, is never really front and centre. It’s more in the background, in signs you pass or characters you meet. The game doesn’t force you to do any of this though, and you can just carry on to the levels if you want.
In terms of content, the game is jam-packed. There are loads of different worlds with loads of different stages, and too many different mechanics to mention in one review. Honestly, if you like playing a game where you never really know what will be next, you should give this one a try. It’s currently only available on PC, but it feels like a game that would be great to play on the Steam Deck, and it would be a top Switch game if it ever got a console release.
Overall, I really like Magnet Jack. I am always in favour of games with lots of creativity that don’t stick to a script. If you want to play a fun game, and you’re into things that are a bit more inventive, I think you should give it a try.
Magnet Jack will be available on Steam on the 7th December. Key supplied by Keymailer.
