Joyspring

About

Joyspring is a single player casual platformer game with a violence theme. It was developed by Studio Heart Engine and was released on August 16, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Ascend the peak in search of the Joyspring. Explore every cavern and cave, crevasse and chasm. Hear the wind sing. Keep dashing and find the spring. And when you return, return smiling.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 85 reviews

gameplay10 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game features beautiful visuals and a charming aesthetic that enhances the overall experience.
The unique gameplay mechanics, such as the ability to switch layers, add depth and challenge to the platforming experience.
It's a free game that offers a fun and challenging experience for fans of the platformer genre, with a rewarding sense of accomplishment after completing levels.

The controls are clunky and inconsistent, particularly with wall jumping and the mapping of action buttons, leading to frustrating gameplay.
The game suffers from performance issues, including lag spikes and unresponsive controls, which can hinder the overall experience.
Some levels are poorly designed, with narrow pathways and spikes that create unfair difficulty spikes, detracting from the enjoyment of the game.

gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
60%
9%
The gameplay of the game features innovative mechanics and impressive visuals, but suffers from inconsistencies and a lack of polish, leading to frustration for players. While some mechanics, like the float and wall-jumping, show potential, they can feel janky and difficult to master, detracting from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, the game offers a visually appealing platforming experience with a mix of familiar and unique elements, though it could benefit from clearer instructions and more refined controls.
- “Managing different layers is a nice new gameplay feature.”
- “All rooms are quite readable, which I found impressive for such a convoluted mechanic in terms of visibility.”
- “In general, this game is a pretty nice looking platforming game with all the gameplay mechanics you would expect from a game of the genre, but with a few extra ideas added to the formula to make it a little bit more interesting.”
- “The float mechanic is kind of difficult to manage.”
- “The jumping from the wall mechanic was very inconsistent on controller, or maybe I was doing it wrong the entire time.”
- “I'll be blunt; to me, the primary mechanic of the game is more annoying than fun.”
music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
40%
15%
The music in the game is generally praised for its soothing and chill qualities, enhancing the overall aesthetic and gameplay experience. However, some players feel it lacks variation, leading to moments of boredom, and a few even opted to play their own music instead. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated, it is not the primary highlight of the game, which is more recognized for its visuals and challenging mechanics.
- “It's a quick play, has lovely, chill music along with beautiful backdrops, and well it's free.”
- “The landscapes in the background, together with the feel of the soundtrack, re-inject some serenity after the gameplay has you tearing your hair out.”
- “The soundtrack is really really great, the story is well thought, and the mechanics in the game are innovative compared to other free platformer games.”
- “The music sounded like the playhouse area of Paper Mario, or it was created in a simple 16-bit program.”
- “I wish the music, although soothing, had more variation to it; at times I often felt bored due to the lack of immersion. I think that if it had more exciting music and sound design, it would improve the experience.”
- “It even got to the point where I would play my own music over the game rather than the music that came with it.”
story
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
42%
16%
The story of the game revolves around a young character's quest to find a mystical spring that can restore joy to a world lacking happiness. While some players appreciate the themes of perseverance and the emotional depth, others find the narrative underdeveloped and easy to overlook amidst challenging gameplay. Overall, the story is seen as a beautiful backdrop that enhances the experience, despite some critiques regarding its simplicity and pacing.
- “It's a beautiful story about perseverance, and joy being something worth fighting for.”
- “The soundtrack is really great, the story is well thought out, and the mechanics in the game are innovative compared to other free platformer games.”
- “A 2D puzzle-like platformer with a twist and an interesting story, a simple yet captivating art style accompanied by soothing music, hard and frustrating at times, but when you manage to pass a level you feel joy as the weight of failing over and over lifts from your shoulders.”
- “As for the story, I have no idea what the character's name even is or why they're looking for a 'mystical spring.'”
- “The story in general went nowhere, and was 'deep' for the sake of sounding like there was a message.”
- “Also, the plot (however much there is of it) is honestly boring and easy to overlook.”
graphics
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
43%
19%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful art style and aesthetic appeal, while others criticize the quality of pixel art and lack of polish. Some players appreciate the visuals and music, noting that they enhance the overall experience, but others feel that design flaws detract from gameplay. Overall, the graphics are seen as a strong point, but inconsistencies in execution and gameplay mechanics leave room for improvement.
- “I love the visuals, music, overall gameplay/mechanics (more on that later), and message behind it.”
- “The game has a beautiful art style, great story, and awesome music but the platforming is super difficult but not always in a great way.”
- “I really like the overall aesthetic and music selection.”
- “This features really godawful pixel crap 'art' instead of real graphics.”
- “It's hard to say if this was because the developer didn't have the skill to create 3D visuals, or couldn't afford to hire someone who does, but it also doesn't matter.”
- “Games like Terraria and Stardew Valley succeeded despite the bad graphics, not because of them.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been criticized for poor performance, with users reporting significant lag and rendering issues that detract from the overall experience. Many feel that a greater focus on optimization and streamlined gameplay could have improved the game's quality significantly.
- “Performance was lackluster half the time because I figure the game is rendering the entire screen at once, so some screens were unbearable.”
- “If the game was more focused on optimizations and simple gameplay like the game it's obviously trying to follow, I would love to play that game instead of this passion project with no clear goals.”
- “Optimized like absolute shit though.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features impressive graphics and a cool soundtrack, but users report occasional bugs that affect stability. Despite these issues, many believe that with future patches, the game has the potential to improve significantly. Overall, it is considered to be in a good state currently.
- “The game has a cool soundtrack and graphics, but it's definitely buggy at times. With some patchwork, I think it could be great, but for now, it's just pretty good.”