JoY

About

Joy is a unique 2D horror game that blends unsettling mini-games with chilling cutscenes. What begins as an innocent experience quickly turns sinister, drawing you into a dark, unpredictable journey filled with unexpected scares. Immerse yourself in an atmosphere of tension and suspense that keeps you on edge from start to finish. Are you ready to face the fear and discover the hidden terrors with…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

69%

Audience ScoreBased on 32 reviews

graphics4 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The game features excellent visuals with a distinct color scheme and character design that creates a unique identity.
The sound and music enhance the atmosphere, contributing to an engaging experience.
The concept of mini-games with a horror element is interesting and offers some replayability, especially with multiple endings.

Gameplay suffers from a lack of explanation and guidance, leaving players confused about objectives and mechanics.
The mini-games are often described as excessively difficult and unforgiving, leading to frustration among players.
There are significant issues with game mechanics, including unreliable controls and a lack of mid-game checkpoints, which detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
65%
21%
Gameplay has received mixed to negative feedback, with players criticizing its lack of clarity and engaging mechanics. The game features maze-like navigation with one-hit kill mechanics and low-effort jumpscares that disrupt flow, leading to frustration. While some mechanics involve mouse control to manage enemies and traps, the overall experience is marred by poor execution and insufficient guidance.
- “Nothing about any of the mechanics are even shown to the player on what exactly the storyline is and what we're even supposed to do.”
- “Imagine one of those mazes in which you have to follow the path without touching the borders, now add what I guess is a time limit which you can refill by grabbing balls Pac-Man style, now add 'everything is 1 hit KO' mechanics, now add low effort jumpscares in the mix and you've got it. (By the way, these jumpscares stop the gameplay to break whatever flow you may have achieved, but really stalling for you to get out of the refund window is what that is.)”
- “There is another mechanic by which you use the mouse to keep enemies at bay or stop some traps by hovering your mouse over them. Your sprite moves, the screen moves, so you need to move the mouse to keep it on that which you want to stop or keep at bay.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the excellent visuals, cute simplistic design, and appealing art style. However, some players feel that while the aesthetics are strong, the overall gameplay experience is hindered by poor execution in other areas.
- “This game, as a positive, nails every single thing right with its aesthetics!”
- “Really loved the simplistic graphics; they are super cute.”
- “Also, lovely art style.”
- “5/10 - mid; excellent visuals but actual gameplay suffers greatly”
- “There's two solid points to the game in my opinion: the artwork is quite neat and is what got me to try the game in the first place, but I think the idea is fine, just terrible execution on the mini games.”
- “5/10 - mid; excellent visuals but actual gameplay suffers greatly”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The reviews indicate a significant lack of clarity regarding the storyline, with players expressing confusion about the narrative and objectives, suggesting that the game fails to effectively communicate its story elements.
- “Nothing about any of the mechanics are even shown to the player on what exactly the storyline is and what we're even supposed to do.”
- “Story?”
- “Nothing about any of the mechanics are even shown to the player on what exactly the storyline is and what we're even supposed to do.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The music in the game enhances the overall atmosphere, contributing positively to the visual experience. However, players note a lack of comprehensive audio settings, limiting adjustments to only music volume, fullscreen, and v-sync.
- “Visually, this game looks great, and the sound/music really adds to the atmosphere of the game.”
- “There are also no thorough settings within the game to actually change anything other than the music volume, fullscreen, and v-sync... it's kind of a mess.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to repetitive mini-games and an overwhelming sense of monotony, despite some enjoyable moments like the ending's russian roulette. While not deemed unfair, the excessive grinding detracts from the overall experience.
- “The ending itself was fun (Russian roulette), but it did start to get tedious as the gun seemed to have a magical barrel with a seemingly endless supply of bullets.”
- “Largely, I wouldn't call it unfair, although there are some seriously tedious mini-games.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the humor in the game to be unexpectedly entertaining, often leading to uncontrollable laughter even in frustrating situations. The absurdity of the gameplay transforms potential rage into amusement, creating a unique and enjoyable experience.
- “At one point, I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face, and it wasn’t for good reasons.”
- “(Hehe, see what I did there?) Instead of getting enraged as I would normally feel from dying again and again, I found myself laughing at the absolute insanity that it throws you into.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game showcases a strong sense of identity through its unique character design, which enhances the overall experience and contributes positively to character development.
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its impressive visuals and immersive sound design, which together create a captivating experience for players.
- “Visually, this game looks great, and the sound/music really adds to the atmosphere of the game.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers moderate replayability, primarily for players interested in achieving both endings and completing all mini-games, despite its overall short duration.
- “It's a short experience that has some replayability value if you're looking to get both endings and complete all mini-games.”
- “It's a short experience that has some replayability value to it if you're looking to get both endings and complete all mini games.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized for its reliance on cheap jumpscares and frustrating mechanics that disrupt gameplay flow, leading to a sense of annoyance rather than genuine fear or engagement. Players feel that the design choices detract from the overall experience, making it difficult to connect emotionally with the game.

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JoY
$2.99
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JoY

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