Junk Jack Review

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Junk Jack brings a more natural and exciting perspective than other survival based games in recent years that have propelled the genre to which it has become these days. Among these, the three most known titles that expanded the base formula of the survival genre on the personal computer were Terraria, Starbound, and Don’t Starve. Among all of these comes Junk Jack which offers more simplicity in crafting and makes crafting an easy and accessible experience.

No longer are we restricted to an enclosed environment with highly populated trees, nor a messy inventory system that has depreciated the survival genre as a whole, but provides us with a better and easier solution. Enemy variation is stronger in Junk Jack because of its prominence of quality enemies over quantity. All resources are unique and fit well within its elapsed farm-centric theme that provides resources such as wood, stone, coal, bamboo, spider webs to create string, and natural meat from farm-based animals such as chickens, pigs, and cows.

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One of the largest caveats that dissuade the niche survival audience is one flaw primarily allocated towards every survival game in existence. This one fallacy happens to be the belief that complexity in the survival genre is far better than oversimplification when crafting is the main feature that has separated this genre among others. However, who really wants to have to spend the first couple of hours of gameplay getting acquainted and mastering only the first crafting mechanics of the game while simultaneously having to remember your inventory count numbers and placement? I surely never wanted to keep track on my own. Junk Jack solves this erroneous error by only making immediately available what you are able to use from the materials you have been gathering. The graphics more so underscore the Minecraft and Terraria inspiration. Junk Jack was originally a free port that made its way over to the personal computer market, yet the quality of its graphics remain on the same level as both Minecraft and Terraria with beautiful sprites, accented torches, and enhancing layers of an underground tunnel ready to be dug through.

The presentation is interesting but not boring. All tools and some materials can be placed on the hot bar. This way, in mid-battle, we will not have to worry about being overwhelmed by enemies, nor other enemies that move more sporadically such as one that can bud from one organism into three separate organisms. This type usually scatters out floating from right to left by surprising you, and are the ones you will be most vulnerable towards. Junk Jack has an intriguing name which seems to light up its presentation elements because resources are made out of natural household resources you normally would find in real life. It is an applied setting that complements the hardships of rural life.

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Furthermore, I think Junk Jack has more potential than other games in its genre because of its limited building potential, a simple to understand user interface, and many hours of enjoyment. I am sure you are limited on what you can build in the early on stages, but you should be able to build more areas to camp before venturing out to attacking more enemies.

While Minecraft is about building houses, Junk Jack is all about the variety in gameplay combined with new resources introduced into an adaptable and suitable farm-based life. If Stardew Valley was more of a survival game, it would resemble more elements of Junk Jack that does the job well.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary PC code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.

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