The MISSING: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories ranks as one of the most spiteful purchases I’ve ever made.
Granted, I’d been leaning toward a purchase for a good while. Some strong reviews and recommendations offered a push, and when I started watching video footage -- only to shut it off for fear of spoilers, a rarity for me -- I knew I had to get it eventually. Sooner rather than later. The big boot came from Call of Duty, of all things. As someone who’s sworn off the franchise (after doing my time, lest you think I’m a hypocrite), I’m still more than a little butthurt over the fact that the latest installment has made a huge amount of money again.
So consider this impulse/non-impulse buy a middle finger to the lurching behemoth on the horizon. Fortunately, I lucked out with my one-fingered salute -- because even without the smugness brimming from my one-man protest, the game’s pretty good.
Ah, I love it when trailers spoil almost everything for me.
The setup here is simple. You play as the titular JJ, who’s on a getaway camping trip with her (presumably) girlfriend Emily. Despite spending a tender moment under the stars together, things go awry as JJ finds Emily under attack by a hideous monster. And so begins a search and rescue mission to find the missing Emily, even if it means running afoul of all sorts of bizarre creatures, traps, and moose-headed Vitruvian men as she explores the Island of Memories.
That’s, like, three title drops in one go. Someone give me a medal.
Since I haven’t finished the game, I suspect that there’s more to this story than a setup that wouldn’t be out of place in Super Mario Bros. Too many ambiguities, too many unanswered questions, too many noteworthy details; I’m playing the game, but it feels like I’m being played in turn. The most important factor, of course, is the gameplay. It’s a deliberately-paced puzzle platformer, but the key to solving various puzzles is to grievously harm JJ -- to the point where she’ll lose limbs. At best.
For reasons yet unknown, JJ seems to have gained the miraculous ability to survive fatal injuries. As long as her head doesn’t take critical damage, she’s fine. No need to fear blood loss, a broken neck, or even being set on fire; in fact, she can even survive as a rolling head, despite her other limbs’ potential disintegration. Lucky for you (and her), she’s got the secondary ability to regenerate her body to a normal state -- a healing factor that’d make Wolverine jealous, I bet. Hold a button for a second or two, and JJ will gladly put herself back together, no worse for wear.
You’ve got no choice but to break your body. JJ doesn’t have much in the way of special abilities beyond that, so if you need to hit a distant object? Purposefully step into barbed wire, then throw one of your arms. Can’t fit into a tight space? Downsize until you’re nothing but a head, then roll on through. Need to get past a wall of twisting vines? Use a lantern and grass to set yourself on fire, then run over to the vines and tap a button. Easy.
The puzzles aren’t too strenuous, based on what I’ve encountered thus far. Some will take more effort than others to clear, though; there have been a couple of times where I’ve gotten stuck, so I took a break and came back later -- and solved the puzzle, having refreshed my soul. Given that JJ can only break down if there’s some external force, The Missing is all about being mindful of and manipulating (or being manipulated by) the environment. Mind your positioning, find key items in an area,plan out your ideal route, et cetera, et cetera. This is no Kobayashi Maru.
The game is out on pretty much everything, though I’m playing the Switch version. While this may not be true of the others, my version of the game does have some minor technical issues -- a few drops in framerate here or there being the big one. From what I’ve heard, you’re also better off not using handheld mode if you can possibly help it. I haven’t tried it myself, but based on my gameplay thus far it’s easy to see why: go handheld, and some crucial items would be much harder to see, even with the helpful yellow outline/highlights attached to most.
Still, I’m not too worried about the specs, and you shouldn’t be either. What’s really going to make or break The Missing is how much substance it has when all’s said and done. Is the mutilation mechanic the real deal, or just a dumb gimmick to get eyes on the game? Will its story ultimately prove it has a cohesive point and powerful themes, or just a random assortment of things and topics? On the latter front, it’s possible (not probable, but possible) that everything in the game is too surface-level to really get into it. Or, alternatively, it’ll throw many things at you and never bother to develop them, especially some core aspects rife for exploration.
And on that note? I had concerns about the length of the game going in -- whether I’d be able to beat it in a sitting and then go back to doing whatever. I’d heard six hours from a source or two, but it’s been a few days and sessions since I started The Missing, and I only learned about some new areas by embedding the trailer above. So I guess the length is a moot point. Probably; I tend to play games at a methodical pace, and said pace grinds to a halt in the face of some rudimentary puzzles.
But let me go ahead and do a little runback, because it’ll help segue into my main point. It doesn’t matter how long the game is, because:
1) The alternative is a game that drags on forever for the sake of dragging on
2) Even if it IS short, it means you can get a satisfying conclusion to the mystery that much faster
3) There’s plenty of motivation to keep going, from the core gameplay to the little tidbits along the way
4) Being a short game didn’t stop Metal Gear Rising from being the sickest
I don’t know what’s going on in The Missing, but I want to find out. As one should; if I didn’t care, I’d say that I wasted 30 dollars and would caution anyone else from doing the same. Really, though, this is about more than just the mystery. The visual style is striking, to say the least -- simplistic art design that still manages to leave an impression. Some of the black negative space at the start really goes a long way, for example.
And the atmosphere? Really impressive work on display; the game is bereft of monsters and enemy encounters for huge swaths of time (barring some events and creepy spider-babies that act as traps), but it’s impossible to progress without feeling a sense of dread. Fear. It’s as if you always have to look over your shoulder, fretting over what’s behind you as you press onward. And when you’re actually chased by an enemy? I’ll tell you what happened with me: given that JJ has no offensive powers, my immediate reaction was “oh, screw this noise!” and I ran as fast and as hard and as soon as I could in the other direction. It didn’t help because I botched a jump and got slaughtered, but there was an attempt, at least.
There are two things in particular I really like about this game. First off, the donuts. They’re the collectibles you can grab and hoard as you proceed through the game, though sometimes you’ll ave to put in some serious legwork to reach them -- whether it’s just a floating sugar ring in the open, or a mass of them tucked inside a goofy baker mascot. I missed a couple already, so if you’re looking for replay value? There it is. Get the donuts, get bonuses -- unlocking concept art, music (so says the main menu, at least), and cheats (!).
Crucially, the more donuts you get, the more text messages you unlock. My guess is that exploring the Island of Memories revives lapsed conversations between JJ and the people in her personal life. No matter the cause, the effect is appreciable. Not only does it let you learn more about JJ and her inner circle (such as it is), but it’s also something of a tension-breaker when you need it. Imagine reading about some guy begging you to check out his YouTube channel after you’ve just finished sewing your body back together following a run-in with some murderous owls.
The real winner here is JJ, though. She doesn’t get a lot of chances to talk thanks to her being alone throughout most of the game; still, those text messages help her character shine through and give you a decent picture of who you’re dealing with (unless it all turns out to be a huge ploy by the devs, which I’m not ruling out). She’s tagged as the reliable one by others, and I’m inclined to agree. Honestly, I’d say she’s even the Leonardo of the group -- straight-laced and serious, though not unwilling to joke around with her friends. She’s a pillar of support when things go wrong, and a model for others to try and follow.
That’s what she’s like on the outside, at least. Now, I may be off the mark here, but I can’t shake the feeling that JJ isn’t exactly happy in her skin. Her mom has gone a LONG way towards meddling and molding her daughter into the ideal scion, and JJ’s resentment is overflowing with each new text. Emily serves as a respite -- a confidant, of sorts, and one of the few people she’s actually willing to drop her guard down for. With that said, I get the sense that JJ by default has some sort of defenses up; she’s friendly enough, but there’s always this feeling of distance and estrangement when dealing with others. Even Emily’s not safe from JJ’s walls, given that the leading lady is reluctant -- or even afraid -- to get intimate on their big trip alone. Maybe Mama Macfield has done some serious damage along the way.
Also? I don’t want to be that guy, but I’m just gonna go ahead and be that guy: JJ is a ridiculously attractive character, as proven by her concept art (minus the art that shows her enduring gruesome injuries). Then again, she is a blonde, and thus in a strike zone I’m progressively acknowledging.
TOO LATE
As a final note? There’s one other element that proves The Missing is a good game. While it’s true that JJ has the power to regenerate from nearly any physical trauma, it’s still a trauma she’s forced to endure in the first place. By extension, she doesn’t have the defenses or resistance needed to shrug off what should be lethal blows -- so setting her on fire hurts as much as, well, being set on fire.
What I noticed -- if only by chance -- is that JJ actually has a reaction in her animations. You have to toss her into some buzz saws in order to complete one section of the map, and you can stand on a conveyor belt leading you to one if you wish. If you look closely, though, right before JJ gets bladed, she’ll actually cringe and cower in fear, knowing what’s coming even if she can run it back. What kind of toll is this repeated bodily harm going to take on her? Will it change the dynamics of her relationship with Emily? Why does she even have that power?
What’s going on in this game?
I don’t know, but I plan to find out.
See you next time. Until then…I know it’s a multiplatform release, but Sakurai, can we get JJ Macfield confirmed for Smash?
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