JEF

About

"JEF" is a short, surreal 3rd-person indie adventure game where you play as an alien from Karzalinx with amnesia. Your planet has been taken over by a giant evil spa cult, and you must escape through a space-time ganglion to various alien colonies, aiming to reach Earth where aliens are righting human wrongs. The game focuses on experience over mechanics, and takes around 1-2 hours to complete all achievements. Despite its short length, it is resource-heavy.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 182 reviews

graphics10 positive mentions

optimization6 negative mentions

JEF offers a unique and surreal experience with bizarre visuals and a captivating narrative that explores themes of humanity and capitalism.
The game features a variety of gameplay elements, including minigames and exploration, making it an engaging adventure despite its short length.
Many players appreciate the artistic style and creativity of JEF, considering it a hidden gem that stands out in the indie game scene.

The game suffers from performance issues and poor optimization, making it difficult to play on lower-end systems and leading to frustrating experiences.
Some players found the storytelling and character development lacking, with messages feeling disjointed and not well integrated into the gameplay.
The camera controls can be problematic, causing motion sickness for some players and detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.

graphics
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
50%
12%
The graphics of "jef" are described as uniquely surreal and psychedelic, featuring bizarre visuals that create a distinct identity for the game. While not aiming for realism, the art style is praised for its captivating and thought-provoking designs, though players should be aware that it can be demanding on system performance even at lower settings. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's fun and challenging atmosphere.
- “★★★★★ jef is a surreal trip through a world of bizarre minigames and fabulous visuals with a marvelous soundtrack.”
- “The visuals of jef are gorgeously weird and trippy in their own right.”
- “It's absolutely no feat of realism or extreme graphical accuracy, but it's definitely a great looking game that will challenge your sense of what you're used to.”
- “I tried all 3 graphic settings as well and still had the same result.”
- “That said, make sure you're running it on a decent computer, as even on the lowest graphic settings it's been giving my laptop quite a challenge running the game.”
- “Let me rephrase myself in saying jef truly is a weird game with visuals that constantly confuse you every second of the way and the camera controls are equally 'lopsided' to throw you off in a fun and challenging way where the camera occasionally hits an object and bounces away from what you were trying to achieve.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
59%
14%
Gameplay reviews are mixed, with some praising its phenomenal fun and variety, while others criticize the mechanical elements, particularly the flight mechanics. The gameplay is generally straightforward, featuring a blend of minigame segments and simple controls that allow for an engaging experience despite some confusion. Overall, while the graphics are noted as flawless, the satisfaction derived from the mechanics varies among players.
- “Phenomenal gameplay.”
- “It has one of the best flight mechanics in any game I have played.”
- “Even if it was short, it was still amazing as the graphics are flawless, and the gameplay was very fun.”
- “It has one of the worst flight mechanics in any game I have played.”
- “The gameplay is pretty straightforward despite everything else being a seemingly messy confusion.”
- “There are some minigame-like segments here and there that require a bit of diverse gameplay.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
39%
17%
The music in the game is described as a surreal and eclectic mix that complements its bizarre visuals and gameplay, with some reviewers noting it as one of the weaker aspects yet still enjoyable. While the soundtrack is praised for its creativity and ability to match the game's whimsical tone, there is a desire for more original compositions in future installments. Overall, the music adds to the game's unique atmosphere, despite some calls for improvement.
- “★★★★★ jef is a surreal trip through a world of bizarre minigames and fabulous visuals with a marvelous soundtrack.”
- “The music is one of the weaker parts of the game, but not bad at all. I would love to see the dev make some new interesting songs for his next game, something that fits with the surreal style.”
- “On top of the odd visuals and dialogue, there is an equally surrealistic soundtrack.”
- “It's equally whacky and out of place and strange like the game itself, and it constantly throws you into different music styles and moods.”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
The game's story is described as immersive, surreal, and surprisingly cohesive, with entertaining elements and a variety of levels that enhance the experience. While some players idealize a version that omits the narrative for a more aimless exploration, the overall storytelling is satisfying and well-integrated. Despite some control issues, the narrative and scenery are recommended for full immersion.
- “Very immersive and satisfying storytelling.”
- “The story is surreal but cohesive and is all tied together in the end.”
- “Surprisingly cohesive story”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The game's optimization is notably poor and unpolished, which is somewhat expected given that it is one of the developer's early projects. While some players experienced significant performance issues, others reported playable frame rates, albeit at the cost of high resource consumption and occasional visual glitches. Overall, the lack of optimization detracts from the experience, despite the game's intriguing content.
- “Yes, there are a few quirks and things that could be optimized, like the game draining resources significantly and occasional visual mishaps. However, if you want a trippy and weird yet fun experience, Jef is definitely a game for you!”
- “I also saw performance being an issue for some players, but it didn't run poorly for me. I got a solid 30-45 frames per second at medium settings and 20-30 at high.”
- “Technically, it is clearly poorly optimized and a bit unpolished, but completely reasonable since it's one of Couillard's first games.”
- “I wanted to continue playing this game so badly, but unfortunately it is very unoptimized.”
- “Yes, there are a few quirks and things that could be optimized, like the game draining resources excessively, occasional visual mishaps showing up, and a big epilepsy warning on the tin wouldn't be amiss.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its clever satirization of capitalism and its relatable exploration of depression, often delivering laughs in unexpected ways. Reviewers appreciate the effective blend of social critique and comedic moments, highlighting the game's ability to be both thought-provoking and amusing.
- “I liked how it incorporated the critique of capitalism; it's an obvious satire but effective, and how it explored depression in a relatable and clever way, always oddly funny.”
- “Interesting and has some funny moments.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's atmosphere is described as surreal and captivating, enhanced by thought-provoking artwork that makes it a worthwhile experience. However, some players find that movement mechanics can be distracting, detracting from the overall immersion.
- “The surreal atmosphere paired with thought-provoking artwork makes this game an infinitely fascinating experience that's well worth the price of admission.”
- “The surreal atmosphere paired with thought-provoking artwork makes this game an infinitely fascinating experience that's well worth the price of admission.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players frequently express frustration with grinding in the game, noting that progress can come to a standstill due to unclear objectives and navigation issues, which disrupts the overall flow and momentum.
- “There are also some moments where the momentum of the game comes to a grinding halt as you're wondering what exactly you need to do next (what happened to the map?!).”

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