Not only are giant axes fun to throw, but you can also teleport to them, making for some wild platforming challenges in Jack Axe.
Jack Axe finds you blessed with the power of an enchanted axe. Well, you and a few friends. This special axe can be thrown in any direction should enemies or shrubbery be giving you guff, making it a handy tool for dealing with dangers. Still, its combat abilities are only a part of its powers, as you can also throw this axe into a wall (or just into the air) and teleport over to where it is. It’s a pretty useful power to have considering someone has littered spikes over much of Jack’s world.
These axe powers will be put to grueling tests throughout the game, and we got just the tiniest taste of that at BitSummit. Passages lined with spikes would push you to leap through narrow spaces, hurling your axe to the next available spot so you could teleport there before finding yourself impaled. Not only this, but some lethal traps would be activated depending on how many times your threw your axe, requiring you to take special care as you slipped through these dangerous places.
These powers and challenges made for an enjoyable platformer, but it was Jack Axe‘s multiplayer that made it all come together so well. Having four people working away at jumping challenges often made things much easier, as only one of you would need to clear a room for it to be completed. Your buddies would simply come to life in the next area when you made it there. Also, if a friend died, their axe would remain in the room, able to cut down obstacles as the dead player guided it.
Platformers can often become exceedingly frustrating as they get harder and harder, but the multiplayer element in this one turned it into laughs and fun. As we each died several times, the others would be left to try as we cheered each other on. If something required complex steps, some players could try to navigate them while others waited in a safe spot or waited by an exit to make sure we kept our item pickups. It let us play around with tasks based on our skill levels, and we all felt involved in the play.
This sense of togetherness made Jack Axe a blast to play. Having a team working together, helping each other, and goading ourselves on made for a fun experience when other platformers might fall into frustration. The game was very hard, but playing it together made it into one of the best experiences we had at BitSummit 7 Spirits.
Jack Axe is projected to release in September 2019. In the meantime, you can add it to your Steam Wishlist and join the publisher’s Discord.
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