And Sweeney is an outspoken corporate activist—whether you agree with him or not, and no matter how you judge his sincerity and personal incentives—against platform gatekeepers like Apple and Google, who many feel leverage their positions unfairly.
So all that means Jill of the Jungle would be interesting even if it wasn’t fun, simply because it was the last game Sweeney (who was originally a programmer) personally designed.
Unreal, the 1998 breakthrough game that arguably made Epic Games’ current industry prominence possible, was designed by then-up-and-comer Cliff Bleszinski; Sweeney only worked on it as a programmer, though, of course, engineering was arguably just as big a part of that game’s success as its design.
Jill of the Jungle is a marvel of technical polish and what game designers call “juice”—all the little extra touches that add up to make a game feel great and seem extra—for its time. But it’s also a beautifully designed platformer, with amazingly creative levels.
I don’t always agree with Sweeney’s opinionated stances in the industry, and while many independent game developers champion him as a hero for standing up to the big platforms, I don’t trust his long-term ambitions any more than I do Apple’s. But playing Jill of the Jungle, it’s abundantly clear why he’s been as successful as he is.
There simply aren’t many people in the games industry who can claim equal mastery of engineering and business acumen, and those who have both are often pretty successful. But Jill of the Jungle‘s refined and clever game design also proves that Sweeney understands the creative dimension, too. There are even fewer people who have all three of those skills.
The game is worth a spin just for fun and nostalgia, even if you don’t care about its historical relevance. Maybe I have nostalgia glasses on, but I think it has aged quite well.
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