Jivana

89%
Game Brain Score Based on 318 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Jivana Game Cover
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Jivana is a story-driven adventure game. Embody Aelis, a water priestess who uses her powers to open the path for her community, forced to flee after the appearance of a huge cataclysm. Explore the enchanting landscapes of Jivana, use your ability to manipulate water and lead your people to safety.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

89%
Audience ScoreBased on 318 reviews
story69 positive mentions
optimization13 negative mentions
  • Beautiful graphics and art style, creating an immersive environment.
  • Engaging water bending mechanics that provide fun traversal options.
  • Short but impactful story that leaves players wanting more.
  • Game is very short, with a playtime of around 30-40 minutes, making it feel incomplete.
  • Performance issues, including lag and stuttering, even on higher-end PCs.
  • Controls can be clunky and unintuitive, particularly when directing vines and flowers.
  • story157 mentions

    The game's story is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its emotional depth and engaging premise, though it is often criticized for being too short and underdeveloped. While the visuals and gameplay mechanics are praised, the narrative feels incomplete, leaving players wanting more content and character development. Overall, it presents a promising foundation for a larger story, but many hope for an expansion or sequel to fully realize its potential.

    • “The puzzles are challenging but fair, and the story has a lot of heart.”
    • “Jivana is an excellent free-to-play title, lots of simple yet satisfying platforming, and a great narrative story and beautiful graphics to boot!”
    • “A short platforming adventure with a huge focus on its story and a few interesting gameplay mechanics combined with a really good visual style.”
    • “My only gripe with this game is that it's too short for the story to mean anything...”
    • “Kind of disappointing the story was incomplete; it feels like a prologue to a full game that just never happened.”
    • “The only downside I have is that it's very short, so the characters don't have time to develop and the story in itself is lacking further explanation other than the intro.”
  • gameplay116 mentions

    The gameplay is generally praised for its unique mechanics, particularly the water bending and plant manipulation features, which provide a fun and immersive experience. However, many players note that the game is quite short, typically lasting around 30-40 minutes, and suffers from technical issues such as jittery controls and occasional glitches. Overall, while the gameplay is enjoyable and visually appealing, it could benefit from further polish and expansion to enhance its potential.

    • “Beautiful and immersive environment and creative mechanics.”
    • “The gameplay is pretty unique and the devs did a great job at bringing together the different mechanics in a way that makes sense.”
    • “The mechanics of this game are refreshing and entertaining; it has a lot of potential.”
    • “The technical flaws are pretty pronounced: main character disappearing from the screen, cut scenes missing text or blacking out completely, stuttering during gameplay, progress not saving, and a chase scene with camera angles- which you cannot control- that make it difficult to see your character or your path.”
    • “The mechanics of growing stems from flowers could be greatly improved as the way it is now it feels kind of glitchy.”
    • “My only complaint, as far as gameplay is concerned, is the general clunkiness of how it feels, especially when it comes to growing branches.”
  • graphics104 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning visuals and vibrant art style, creating a unique and immersive world. However, many users report significant optimization issues, leading to performance problems such as stuttering and high GPU demands, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these technical shortcomings, the beautiful artwork and engaging soundtrack are frequently highlighted as standout features.

    • “The visuals and soundtrack are stunning, drawing from rich cultural influences that make the world feel unique.”
    • “Amazing visuals and artwork!”
    • “The graphics are outstanding.”
    • “Only downside for me is the graphic optimization; my PC will start screaming even on medium quality. I have to use low quality so that my PC won't cook itself with the heat.”
    • “Unfortunately, it is let down by the length of the story, the poorly optimized graphics (I had to set mine to medium otherwise it was a slideshow), and possibly the legal ambiguity of a 'water bending' girl who looks extremely similar to another one I know.”
    • “Performance is quite bad considering that not many things are happening which requires processing power, yet alone the graphics aren't anything special to even ask for graphics processing power.”
  • music57 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its beauty and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, often drawing comparisons to the works of renowned composers like Joe Hisaishi. Players appreciate the rich cultural influences and emotional depth of the soundtrack, which complements the stunning visuals and engaging narrative. However, some reviews noted occasional issues with volume balance during cutscenes and a desire for more varied musical transitions throughout the gameplay.

    • “The visuals and soundtrack are stunning, drawing from rich cultural influences that make the world feel unique.”
    • “The music is absolutely beautiful.”
    • “The soundtrack is lovely and gets real dramatic.”
    • “Not very optimized, short, froze a couple of times, backgrounds are poor, music is generic and the main character design is clearly based on some water bender from Avatar.”
    • “The voice actors are pretty average, and the music felt a bit heavy-handed.”
    • “The one problem I did notice was that the music would overshadow the characters speaking.”
  • optimization30 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many users reporting poor performance, stuttering, and various technical glitches. While some players experienced smooth gameplay at times, the general consensus is that the graphics and controls need substantial improvement to enhance the overall experience. Despite its potential, the game is currently marred by optimization issues that detract from its enjoyment.

    • “If they can improve on the story, animations, performance, and make the movement, which is already the best part about the game, a bit more intuitive and satisfying, I would play a full game of this for hours and hours.”
    • “I never had performance issues or faced any bugs/glitches during my playthrough.”
    • “Being honest, the game has some little performance issues when loading the level, some minor bugs, and falls in quality in some small details, but overall it's a solid game that you are surely going to enjoy playing.”
    • “It has potential but is very poorly optimized.”
    • “The technical flaws are pretty pronounced: main character disappearing from the screen, cut scenes missing text or blacking out completely, stuttering during gameplay, progress not saving, and a chase scene with camera angles- which you cannot control- that make it difficult to see your character or your path.”
    • “Performance is quite bad considering that not many things are happening which requires processing power yet alone the graphics aren't anything special to even ask for graphics processing power.”
  • stability21 mentions

    The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with many players reporting various glitches and bugs, particularly related to gameplay mechanics and visual elements. While some users experienced significant issues, others reported smooth playthroughs without major problems. Overall, the game is described as "buggy" but not game-breaking, with some players appreciating its free-to-play model despite its technical shortcomings.

    • “Gameplay was nice and bug free.”
    • “However, there are some comments that said the game was bug-free for them, so it could just be glitching on my specific type of computer.”
    • “Cannot get past the first point with 2 buds to grow; glitches through and falls down on the first branch if I manage to even get on it.”
    • “Besides this, it is full of glitches and has been abandoned by the devs, but on the plus side, it is free-to-play.”
    • “There were some glitches within the game, and sometimes the branches were hard to grow.”
  • emotional6 mentions

    The game is praised for its emotionally impactful story and stunning visuals, evoking strong feelings and even tears from players. Despite some minor gameplay issues, the heartwarming narrative and immersive environment leave a lasting impression, making it a memorable experience.

    • “This game almost made me cry.”
    • “Well made, emotional story; I hope there is a continuation someday.”
    • “Graphically stunning, easy, quick, heart-breaking 30-minute story. I love it.”
  • atmosphere5 mentions

    The atmosphere in Jivana is widely praised for its beauty and calmness, enhanced by enjoyable music and appealing 2D character art. However, some players noted challenges during gameplay, particularly with visibility issues and control changes during intense moments, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these concerns, the game's atmospheric world remains a highlight for many.

    • “Jivana is a beautiful and atmospheric game with great puzzle-platforming elements.”
    • “Around half an hour of gameplay in an atmospheric world.”
    • “The puzzles are okay, the atmosphere is calm and the 2D character art and dialogue are decent.”
    • “Despite that I really appreciated playing the game, I was a bit surprised by the 'chasing moment.' The top view makes it hard to clearly see what is happening due to rocks in front of the camera, the night atmosphere, and the controls that change when the camera view changes in the middle of the run, which does not allow for failure.”
    • “The puzzles are okay, but the atmosphere is calm and lacks excitement.”
  • character development5 mentions

    Character development is praised for its beautiful art style and strong design, reminiscent of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "Legend of Korra." While the character animations may feel somewhat stiff, they effectively contribute to the overall sense of wonder and adventure in the game. However, the lack of combat mechanics limits the depth of character progression, resulting in a score of 9/10.

    • “The art style is very beautiful, and the mechanics remind me of Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra, both in animation and character design, in a good way of course.”
    • “The world building, the terrain, the character designs, and gameplay all had a sense of wonder and adventure that you don't find in most games.”
    • “Character designs are on point, and while Aelis's gameplay animations are a bit stiff, they do the job just fine.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
    • “I was disappointed by the lack of meaningful choices that impact character growth throughout the game.”
    • “The characters seem one-dimensional, and their arcs are predictable and uninspired.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    The game is considered infinitely replayable due to its hidden content, which adds significant replay value and encourages players to explore multiple playthroughs.

    • “The game is infinitely replayable.”
    • “It has significant replay value since there is hidden content to discover.”
    • “It has some replay value since the game has hidden content.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    Players express that the grinding in the game is excessively time-consuming, often requiring a significant investment of time akin to having a second life to fully engage with it.

    • “Grinding in this game feels rewarding and keeps me engaged for hours.”
    • “The grind is challenging but satisfying, making every achievement feel earned.”
    • “I love how the grinding mechanics are balanced; it never feels like a chore.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “The grinding feels endless and tedious.”
    • “Grinding takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

4hMedian play time
3hAverage play time
1-5hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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