The Tarnishing of Juxtia
- July 26, 2022
- Actual Nerds
- 5h median play time
Get on SteamIn "The Tarnishing of Juxtia," a Souls-inspired 2D action RPG, players engage in challenging combat with an Energy Rush system, battling corrupt saints, ancient war machines, and more across 15 unique environments. The game features a hauntingly beautiful score, a variety of equipment and abilities, and daunting bosses in a dark fantasy world.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The pixel art and visual design are stunning, creating a beautiful and immersive world.
- The combat system encourages aggressive play, rewarding players for landing combos and managing resources effectively.
- Boss fights are well-designed and challenging, providing a satisfying experience when defeated.
- The combat feels clunky and unresponsive at times, with issues like slow attack animations and limited dodge invincibility frames.
- The game is overly linear and lacks the exploration and ability-gating typical of metroidvania games, leading to a less engaging experience.
- Weapon balance is problematic, with certain weapons being significantly more effective than others, making the upgrade system feel redundant.
- gameplay81 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of *The Tarnishing of Juxtia* blends metroidvania exploration with souls-like mechanics, offering a mix of engaging combat and frustrating design choices. While players appreciate the variety in weapon styles and the rewarding combat system, many criticize the clunky dodging mechanics and interruptions that disrupt gameplay flow. Overall, the game presents a challenging experience with beautiful visuals, but it may require adaptation to its unique mechanics and pacing.
“The Tarnishing of Juxtia is a metroidvania game that perfects the mechanics of a souls game into it.”
“The player has a lot of agency and variety in what and how to use; it's meaningful as it changes the way you play the game, both visually and mechanically.”
“The combat features a bit of a difference in the genre though and that is that getting combos gives power and restoration properties, this encourages a more aggressive gameplay style compared to other games of its type, and it works pretty well.”
“Story segments, which I found to be uninteresting and dialogue-heavy, along with the beginning intro, boss introductions, and various story events like activating monoliths or slowly walking to characters, disrupt the gameplay flow.”
“The dodging mechanic in this game is one of the worst I've dealt with in a 2D sidescroller; it covers a short distance and has such a small iframe that you end up taking damage before or after the dodge nine times out of ten.”
“The gameplay is clunky.”
- story57 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story in this game is generally viewed as standard and predictable, often following familiar tropes of the genre, such as a hero tasked with saving a corrupted world. While some players appreciate the lore and character interactions, many find the narrative unengaging and poorly conveyed, with dialogue-heavy segments disrupting gameplay flow. Overall, the story is considered serviceable but lacks depth and originality, leaving players wanting more from the narrative experience.
“The game itself stuns with an amazing pixel-art style, great visuals, and a really nice story to follow.”
“Each zone has its place in this story and contributed to the world-building, which I enjoyed a lot.”
“The story is very good; the graphic quality, the animations, the music, the RPG elements... everything has been beautifully created.”
“The story is mediocre, nothing more really to say about it.”
“The story is alright and I see what the developers wanted to do with it, but they failed at conveying the story.”
“The plot is what you would expect, but it gets sort of spiced up by you meeting very interesting characters.”
- graphics37 mentions
- 49 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning 32-bit pixel art style, atmospheric visuals, and well-animated characters. Reviewers highlight the beautiful locations and unique settings that enhance the overall experience, creating a memorable and immersive atmosphere. While some suggest that the aesthetics could benefit from additional charm, the general consensus is that the visuals are a standout feature of the game.
“Beautiful pixel graphics, beautiful locations, atmospheric music, good sounds, varied and interesting enemies, pleasant controls.”
“The game's pixel art visuals combined with ambient lighting made for some beautiful vistas, many of which I captured in screenshots.”
“The art style is really well done, the 2D pixel style is nice to look at with unique settings and well-designed characters.”
“It is very basic and could have more charm from the general aesthetics and art style of the game.”
“This game is sooo amazing, but please can you add the ability to change the graphics settings.”
“The visuals are good, the audio is mediocre.”
- music33 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its quality and ability to enhance the atmosphere, particularly during boss fights. However, several players noted a significant lack of music in most areas, which detracts from the overall experience despite the soundtrack being described as beautiful and well-produced. Overall, while the music contributes positively when present, its scarcity is a notable drawback.
“The standouts are really the boss fights though, every single one I felt was very fun and unique with music that puts you in the rhythm of the fight's pace.”
“The pixel art and the music are the best thing about the game and you can't deny that.”
“The aesthetics, music, backgrounds, enemy design and animation are all absolutely fantastic, and definitely worthy of praise.”
“The game is not without its flaws; however, the biggest one being the lack of music in most places, which is a real shame as the soundtrack is really good when it does play (during bosses and some arenas).”
“The lacking parts in this game include the music and the often bugs, though the bugs are not severe but they still exist, and the music is quite mild for a game like this. Other than that, sometimes the game gets a little bit clunky and that almost ruins the fun.”
“The environments are bland, with no background music except for bosses.”
- atmosphere11 mentions
- 82 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful pixel graphics, atmospheric music, and immersive world design, creating a visually polished and engaging experience. Players appreciate the combination of challenging gameplay and a haunting ambiance that enhances exploration and combat. However, some note a decline in story and atmosphere quality as the game progresses, despite the overall strong artistic presentation.
“The ambience and atmosphere are great, and the backgrounds and world in general are visually very polished.”
“It has a great atmosphere, great music, gorgeous pixel art, and an alright battle system.”
“Combat feels soulsy (albeit without any shield play) with tight dodge timings and punish windows; it has the atmosphere of a dying world corrupted by proud gods, and the world is a blast to explore, finding new enemies and loot along the way.”
“The atmosphere is suitably depressing.”
“It has the atmosphere of a dying world corrupted by proud gods.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players note that grinding for levels can simplify boss fights, but it detracts from the challenge, as true success relies on learning boss patterns and adapting strategies. Additionally, some games, particularly in the metroidvania genre, require extensive farming for upgrade materials, which can be frustrating compared to other titles.
“Straight up grinding for levels and then DPS-rushing them feels like the best solution, which does not make for a good boss fight challenge.”
“No item boost and other buffs, this game has the most miserable upgrade materials farming I have ever experienced compared to others.”
“Be prepared for some grinding.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is highly praised for its optimization, consistently delivering excellent performance with a solid 60fps at 1080p, fast loading times, and no reported issues such as screen tearing or frame drops. Overall, players have experienced a smooth and responsive gameplay experience.
“Performance was great with steady frames throughout and fast loading times.”
“I've had absolutely zero performance issues, screen tears, fps drops, unresponsive inputs, etc. The game works well and seems fairly well optimized.”
“Performance: excellent (solid 60fps at 1080p).”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players found the humor in the game to be enjoyable and entertaining, particularly appreciating moments of unexpected fun, such as easily defeating the final boss. Overall, the comedic elements contributed positively to their gaming experience.
“It was hilariously fun when it went in my favor, which was more often than not, so overall I really enjoyed it.”
“It was funny to instantly kill the last boss.”
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The character development system is classless, allowing for flexible progression, while the overall presentation, including art, sound, and music, is highly praised, with early character designs receiving particular acclaim.
“The art, sound, and music are all top-notch; even some of the early character designs are really cool.”
“The character development system is classless.”
“I found the character progression to be shallow and uninspired.”
“The lack of meaningful choices in character development left me feeling disconnected from my character.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game exhibits occasional glitches and input recognition issues, impacting its overall stability. While the mechanics are generally sound, these stability concerns can detract from the user experience.
“Mechanically, the game is okay, although it glitches from time to time and occasionally ignores inputs.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
“I've experienced numerous bugs that disrupt gameplay, leading to a frustrating experience.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized, as players feel it lacks tension and excitement during combat, leading to a sense of frustration rather than engagement. Navigation and backtracking are described as tedious, further detracting from the overall emotional experience.
