PLATFORM: PC | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (EARLY ACCESS)
In this supernatural reimagining of Davy Jones’ nautical exploits, Davy is a dismembered skull while Jones is the reanimated corpse of the body that Davy was formerly attached to. Set in a surreal Lovecraftian vision of the afterlife, the plot focuses on DJ’s quest to regain his power after death while also seeking revenge on the man who killed him, the notorious seafaring swine, Blackbeard.
The first thing you notice about Davy x Jones is its incredible art style – classically piratey but with an undead twist that makes the visuals really stand out. A tentacle slithers out of the handle of Jones’ gun to attach the weapon to the end of his arm, loot chests are metal shark heads whose mouths open to reveal their contents, and all manner of bony fish skeletons float around the place while you go about your business. While you’re trying to take it all in at the start of the game, you quickly bump into a bunch of undead pirates and it becomes immediately apparent that game’s combat is just as accomplished as its visuals. Similar to recent Doom games, Davy x Jones is a fast-paced FPS where staying on the move is often the key to victory. Jones wields a dagger in one hand and a gun in the other, both with special attacks that allow him to launch cannonballs and shockwaves to stun enemies before moving in for quick slashes to finish off his foes. Meanwhile, Davy can hook into enemies to close distance or drag them into striking range, useful both in combat and when traversing the environment, and there are around 15 unlockable upgrades to increase your abilities even further. There’s a bit of strategy involved too, with a pleasing variety of enemy types that force you to quickly figure out which ones need to be dealt with first, taking out stronger enemies that cause big damage from afar or taking down elite enemies that cause problems by buffing their fellow pirates’ abilities.
At the time of writing, DxJ is currently in Early Access, so what we see today is far from the developers’ final vision for the game. That said, this funny, frantic and chaotic first iteration is more than worth the asking price (less than a tenner!). There are four islands to explore, with additional content to be added in future updates. The game’s price will increase as more content is added, but as it stands right now there’s still plenty to sink your teeth into. If the quality of future updates matches what’s already available – and if the occasionally choppy framerate can be addressed – then DxJ may well become something very special indeed.
