Climbing puzzle
Jusant
Jusant tells the story of an abandoned tower at arm's length. Its climbing is at its best when a pause to recover strength becomes a chance to look around.
Reach with the other hand
With the standard controls, each hand has its own grip. A climbing sequence becomes a slow exchange between them. Reach, hold, release and make room for the next move. The task makes a stretch of apparently simple rock feel surprisingly specific. A lip under the left hand changes where the right hand can reach. Releasing both is an excellent way to appreciate the rope. The deliberate rhythm takes some getting used to, particularly after games where leaning towards a wall is enough to scale it.
Think about the way back down
A piton marks how far the rope will let the climber drop. It is also a point from which to consider a sideways move or a swing. Placing one before an uncertain crossing gives that short passage an intelligible beginning. Stamina puts a limit on improvising indefinitely, and a ledge with enough room to stand becomes a natural place to stop. From there you can trace the next section before committing your hands to it. That quiet bit of planning does much of the work usually given to a dramatic fall.
Where the water used to be
The tower has been lived in. Walkways and rooms tucked into the cliff make for absorbing little breaks between longer climbs. Trying to picture how people reached their homes gives the rock face a human scale. Letters provide more direct evidence for anyone inclined to linger. Ballast, the small creature travelling with the climber, can rouse plant life along the route. Watching something grow out of a patch of stone brings the missing water into the story long before the mystery needs an explanation.
The appeal of a side passage
Going up gives the adventure such a clear direction that detours stand out. A tunnel leading away from the obvious ascent feels especially intimate after a sunlit exterior wall. There is less room here for the kind of free roaming a whole mountain range might allow. Within that narrow territory, though, the changing light, the reach of a rope and one newly visible foothold can make an old movement feel unfamiliar again.
Field verdict
Place anchors
Jusant gives the hands a job and the eyes time to wander. A tower full of empty rooms makes a remarkably good reason to stop halfway up a wall.
- Travel here for
- For someone who enjoys taking a route apart one movement at a time.
- Before you go
- Alternating grips asks for patience, even on stretches that look straightforward.
In the field
Images courtesy of · DON’T NOD