The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories

The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories is a dark, strange and utterly compelling journey.

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"The MISSING: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories" is a puzzle-platformer game where players control J.J., a young girl who experiences supernatural events on a mysterious island. To advance, J.J. must mutilate herself in various ways to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles. The game explores themes of identity, sexuality, and the impact of societal expectations on individuals.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

90%

Audience ScoreBased on 580 reviews

story153 positive mentions

grinding23 negative mentions

The game features a unique and innovative dismemberment mechanic that ties into the puzzles and overall narrative.
The story is emotionally impactful, tackling themes of identity, self-acceptance, and the struggles faced by LGBTQ+ individuals.
The visuals and atmosphere are beautifully crafted, creating a haunting yet engaging experience.

The controls can be clunky and unresponsive at times, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
The pacing can feel slow due to lengthy animations and unskippable cutscenes, which can detract from the overall flow of the game.
Some puzzles may be too simplistic or trial-and-error based, which can lead to a sense of tedium.

story
549 mentions
28 % positive mentions
70 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The story of "The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories" is a deeply emotional and poignant exploration of themes such as identity, self-acceptance, and trauma, particularly from a transgender perspective. While the narrative is delivered through a mix of gameplay mechanics and text messages, it resonates strongly with players, often evoking powerful emotional responses. However, some reviewers noted that the gameplay can detract from the storytelling experience, with clunky controls and pacing issues that may hinder immersion in the otherwise compelling narrative.
- “The integration of the gameplay with the story elements is masterful, elevating both and putting you into that emotionally raw place of alienation, dysphoria, and self-hatred right there with the main character.”
- “A truly genuine and powerful story, told through mostly gameplay.”
- “The story is the main appeal of the game, telling a beautiful story about love, depression, and accepting yourself, with parts perfectly woven into the gameplay itself.”
- “As a game, the missing is pretty weak, and as a story, it's confusing at best and disorienting at worst.”
- “The story is the kind where it is told in a cryptic way and when you finally get it, it turns out to be actually pretty simple.”
- “The story simply happens in the most skeletal sense of the word: there's the spine of an interesting story, it just never gets fleshed out.”
gameplay
358 mentions
26 % positive mentions
65 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "The Missing" is characterized by its unique and often gruesome mechanics, where players must dismember their character to solve puzzles, creating a blend of horror and innovation. While the core mechanics are inventive and tied closely to the narrative, many players find the controls clunky and the gameplay occasionally tedious, leading to frustration during certain sections. Overall, the game is praised for its emotional storytelling and artistic presentation, but the gameplay experience can vary significantly, with some players enjoying the challenge while others feel it detracts from the overall experience.
- “The integration of the gameplay with the story elements is masterful, elevating both and putting you into that emotionally raw place of alienation, dysphoria, and self-hatred right there with the main character.”
- “The gameplay is inventive and makes you feel smart when you figure out the mechanics.”
- “The gameplay, visuals, and sound design are solid.”
- “The gameplay is not much better, either, with the difficulty ranging from easy to the point of boring, to brutally unforgiving and hard to understand, with no in-between.”
- “The gameplay itself can be fairly tedious and somewhat difficult at times, but that's more related to it not being my kind of style.”
- “The gameplay is slow and sometimes frustrating, but it's apparent that it's intentional and serves to reinforce the themes.”
emotional
90 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its heartfelt and powerful narrative, particularly in addressing themes of alienation, self-acceptance, and trauma. Many players report being deeply moved, with numerous mentions of crying during and after gameplay, highlighting the game's ability to resonate on a personal level. While some critiques point to gameplay flaws, the emotional storytelling and character development are consistently recognized as standout features that leave a lasting impact.
- “The integration of the gameplay with the story elements is masterful, elevating both and putting you into that emotionally raw place of alienation, dysphoria, and self-hatred right there with the main character.”
- “This game left me so emotionally raw.”
- “The dark subject matter—suicide attempts, self-harm, coming out, emotional trauma, and unaccepting peers and family—all of it is handled well and never comes off as misrepresented or cheaply done.”
graphics
83 mentions
36 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are characterized by a unique and striking art style that blends trippy and unsettling aesthetics, creating an immersive experience that resonates with players. While some reviews note that the visuals can be low-budget or simplistic, many appreciate the haunting beauty and emotional depth they contribute to the overall narrative. However, there are mentions of graphical issues and performance hiccups that detract from the experience, suggesting a mixed reception regarding the technical execution of the visuals.
- “The game's surreal landscapes, haunting soundtrack, and stunning visuals all serve to create a truly immersive experience that will stay with you long after you put down the controller.”
- “The art style is certainly unique.”
- “Its beautiful soundtrack, creepy Twin Peaks-esque dialogue, and gorgeously stylized visuals all make the presentation of said story hit even harder, with some gut-punch moments of twists and recontextualization.”
- “The graphics are low-budget and very Unity, but visually appealing and never had any hiccups.”
- “The graphics are pretty unappealing and the voice acting is pretty awful.”
- “Graphics are mid-tier, but it doesn't detract too much from the experience.”
music
52 mentions
38 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its haunting and immersive quality, effectively enhancing the emotional depth of the gameplay and narrative. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to weave seamlessly with the visuals and themes, creating a cohesive and memorable experience. While some note that the music can be minimalistic or discreet at times, the overall consensus is that it significantly contributes to the game's atmosphere and emotional impact.
- “The game's surreal landscapes, haunting soundtrack, and stunning visuals all serve to create a truly immersive experience that will stay with you long after you put down the controller.”
- “The way that the sounds and music blend with the events and dialogue makes it an incredible, beautiful, sad, meaningful experience.”
- “Its beautiful soundtrack, creepy Twin Peaks-esque dialogue, and gorgeously stylized visuals all make the presentation of said story hit even harder, with some gut-punch moments of twists and recontextualization.”
- “There are a couple of music tracks within this game which break the atmosphere.”
- “Music is no good most of the time.”
- “Sound/music for this game is pretty minimalistic, which is pretty understandable considering that the game relies on ambiance and silence for its puzzle areas.”
atmosphere
35 mentions
51 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its surreal, haunting, and dreamlike qualities, often drawing comparisons to works like Twin Peaks and Deadly Premonition. While some music tracks may disrupt the immersion, the overall aesthetic, visual style, and narrative contribute to a unique and compelling experience that resonates with players. Many reviews highlight the game's ability to evoke a range of emotions, from beauty to tension, making the atmosphere a standout feature despite some gameplay flaws.
- “The storytelling, the atmosphere, the way it all culminates in the end, it all comes together into a beautiful mess of a masterpiece.”
- “Somehow the atmosphere of this brings me back over and over again, into a unique, dreamlike head-space that nothing else provides.”
- “Absolutely amazing game with incredible atmosphere, an interesting story, and clever, disturbing, fun gameplay.”
- “There are a couple of music tracks within this game that break the atmosphere.”
- “Don't like the art style and the sick atmosphere.”
- “- a lonely and gloomy atmosphere well realized through visual style and level design, which complements the plot and message of the game well.”
grinding
23 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many puzzles feeling simple yet frustratingly time-consuming to execute. The gameplay often suffers from awkward controls and slow animations, leading to a lack of satisfaction and enjoyment, especially when players are forced to repeat sections they've already solved. While some appreciate the game's deeper themes, the overwhelming sentiment is that the tedious nature of the gameplay detracts significantly from the overall experience.
- “Once the novelty of each mechanic wears off, each level becomes tedious and repetitive, with nothing of substance to break the monotony.”
- “Much of the game suffers from a common puzzle-platformer problem of the puzzles being simple to figure out, but time-consuming or frustrating to execute, resulting in a really tedious experience.”
- “The main reason why I can't recommend this game: the gameplay is at worst frustrating/annoying and at best tedious.”
humor
20 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a blend of dark, wacky, and often unintentional comedy, with voice acting and dialogue that can turn serious moments into humorous ones. Players appreciate the clever and bittersweet mix of humor and drama, particularly through text conversations that feature hilarious exchanges and emotive stickers. However, the game's violent themes and the absurdity of its mechanics may not resonate with everyone, leading to a unique tonal balance that some find compelling while others see as conflicting.
- “Without spoiling anything, it's told mostly through text conversations which are often hilarious and feature stickers I needed immediately.”
- “It's bittersweet, mixing drama and humor in a very unique way.”
- “Part of that is thanks to the interludes on her cellphone, with some hilarious and insightful texts back and forth with the vibrant cast of characters behind her.”
stability
8 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some players report experiencing significant bugs and issues with keyboard controls that hinder gameplay, others have not encountered major problems and find the visual glitches minor. However, reliance on a controller is recommended to avoid frustrating physics interactions and progression-blocking glitches.
- “The controls on keyboard are awful and the game is buggy.”
- “Don't buy it if you don't have a controller; keyboard controls cause a lot of buggy physics interactions, including at least one that prevents progression.”
- “I also encountered some ridiculously stupid glitches, one where I had to 'bury' some body parts, but the game decided to fling one of the body parts into a different dimension just because the toes were sticking out of the platform when I decided to lift it.”
optimization
5 mentions
20 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews; while some users report solid performance on older hardware, others find it clunky and poorly optimized compared to other puzzle platformers, citing issues with controls and overall performance.
- “My old PC (Windows 7 / i5 / 8GB RAM / 1050 Ti) runs this game at 1440p with solid performance and a stable framerate, along with responsive keyboard and mouse controls.”
- “It just feels clunky and unoptimized in light of other puzzle platformers I've played.”
- “But its optimization is terrible.”
- “If the graphic subject matter doesn’t turn you away, then the rigid controls and poor performance might.”
replayability
5 mentions
40 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the well-crafted puzzles and character designs that encourage additional playthroughs, many criticize the short 4-6 hour story and lack of substantial replay value beyond collectibles. The high price point further complicates recommendations, as the limited content may deter potential players.
- “Not only are the puzzles hard, yet still fun and well-crafted, but the game is magnificent graphics-wise and has a ton of replay value in it.”
- “Also good character designs, decent enough voice acting, and has some replayability so you'll likely end up doing at least one more run through of the game.”
- “That said, it's far from perfect; the story only runs 4-6 hours long and there's no replay value beyond finishing off collectibles.”
- “£24/$30 for a janky, low-budget platformer that lasts 4-5 hours without any replay value makes this very hard to recommend even on sale, and I can't help but think many will have passed on this game because of that alone.”
- “The price is a bit much for a 5-6 hour experience and has little replay value due to how heavily story-based it is.”
character development
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Character development is noted for its strong designs and decent voice acting, contributing to a replayable experience. However, some players feel that certain character designs prioritize aesthetics over depth, which can detract from the overall development.
- “The character designs are impressive, complemented by decent voice acting, and the game offers enough replayability that you'll likely want to experience it at least one more time.”
- “The character development is engaging, allowing players to connect deeply with the characters and their journeys.”
- “This may have been intentional to her character design so people could use her more as an avatar than anything else, but it still kind of bugs me.”