Jazzpunk

{Jazzpunk} is funny. Sometimes it's laugh-out-loud hilarious. There's more nods here than at a rock concert, and more homage than you could shake a Monty Python-shaped hand-stick at. Ostensibly it's a parody about Cold War espionage, but in actuality its gaze takes in video games as a whole. Its aim might be scattershot, but for the most part it's on target with every shot it fires.

While Jazzpunk fits comfortably under the banner of "game", primarily it's a comedy that'd ideally be classified next to films such as Airplane! and Naked Gun. Much of the game is experienced rather than actively participated in, and many of the activities are just breadcrumbs to follow as you charge headlong into the next punchline. The reason why Jazzpunk succeeds is simple; this doesn't stop it being entertaining. There's a couple of hours of solid enjoyment to be had from playing through this story campaign.

The story plays out from a first-person perspective, and on two levels. One level pokes fun at espionage, tickling the funny bone of Bond fans and the like, while the other casts its beady eye on the world of technology and gaming. The spy jokes are worn firmly on the sleeve and become apparent immediately, while a litany of tech gags and one-liners bubble under the surface, acting as a comedic sub-plot to the game's main narrative arc.

The player assumes the role of Polyblank, an agent who gets his orders from the M-like character called The Director. We're sent on a handful of missions with Cold War paranoia veined through every facet of their construction. Their completion sometimes requires a little bit of head-scratching, but the puzzles that stand between you and completion are wafer-thin at best. The real joy comes from exploration and investigation.

It's through foraging in every corner of the game that Jazzpunk's true quality reveals itself. There's mini-games lurking in unexpected places. Characters hover, waiting to reveal jokes and puns to those that seek them out. The distance between start and finish is short, but the depth of the content is surprisingly deep, so much so that to get the full experience you will likely want to tackle a second run (though perhaps a repeat play would be best experienced way off in the future - long enough for all the jokes to return to a state close to freshness).

On top of the multitude of one-liners, there's several mini-games that'll have you chuckling away as you play through them. One notable example is Wedding Qake, a first-person shooter that (literally) marries id's classic with a world of nuptials and cake. Popping champagne bottles at close range will take out an opponent with one pop, whereas the coveted pink cake will spray out a flurry of life-ending projectiles. It's a fun distraction, and one that can be revisited once the credits have rolled via the the main menu.

There's more, but we'll not spoil them for you here, because they're best served fresh, as are most of the characters that you'll meet along the way. We'll err on the side of caution and tell you as little as we can get away with, because Jazzpunk's main pleasure comes from finding these little quirks by yourself.

The visual stylings of the game only enforce the narrative elements outlined above. Clunky characters with thick black outlines float around the different environments; digital spaces that themselves are aesthetically styled around the themes laid down as part of the game's conceptual foundations. Technology sits under the surface of every joke and character; the game plays out in some kind of robo-filled alternate take on the world as it was fifty years ago. From the opening credits to the game's conclusion, there's a cohesive style that holds it all together.

Audio only further cements Jazzpunk's credentials. There's a weird distortion effect applied to nearly all of the voice work that gives it a gravely, distinctive style, and the dialogue between the characters is funny and - most importantly - well delivered throughout. The soundtrack is evocative of the era that's being heavily parodied; it fits like a glove and accentuates the mood appropriately.

However, it's not a flawless gem, but perhaps rather a diamond in the rough. While there was plenty to admire in the writing and the delivery of its many punchlines, some jokes still fell flat as a pancake. Of course that's an entirely subjective assessment, and most of the gags hit home, so that's more of an observation than a criticism. If you liked the subtlety of {The Stanley Parable}, or even the more brash but equally parody-riddled narrative through-line found in {Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon}, it's likely that you'll enjoy this.

For the most part, {Jazzpunk} has more than its fair share of funny. Whereas a point and click will quite often bring comedy to the table as standard, and while Necrophone's game bears many of the hallmarks of a typical adventure game, there's not enough meat to the puzzles to really throw it into the same bracket. Instead it stands alone, a first-person comedy adventure that fires gags instead of bullets, that rewards the player for thorough exploration rather than skill and ability. It's a series of well delivered jokes, puns and silly gags. Homage and parody are present in equal measure, and this mix of ingredients has been thrown together in just the right quantity to make a well rounded end product. While it won't win any awards for innovation, conceptually it's a very good game; deliberate, honed, and well worth further investigation.