The Missing: J.J. Macfield And The Island Of Memories Reviews
The story starts out in a bit of a confusing manner, leaving you a bit disoriented as to what’s happening and why, but that seems to be by design...
Its platforming is clunky, its animations stiff, and you eventually tire of its repeating puzzles—but I'll remember J.J.'s story, and her inner struggles, for a very long time.
This heartfelt and poignant adventure offers thrilling moments centered on a strong core idea
The Missing is a dark, confronting puzzle-platformer that offers light at the end of the tunnel.
The Missing: J.J. and the Island of Memories, is a short, dark trip through the nightmare of youth; growing up, discovering yourself, and existing among a society that rarely understands. Sure to be a divisive title, there are those who will find The Missing overpriced and melodramatic, while others will be taken by its surrealist story of undying friendship, ironically becoming an indelible memory to those who dare to experience it.
The Missing is a good game with a unique mechanic (although I too remember Rebellion’s NeverDead) that houses a fantastic and touching story. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a game that will stay with you for years to come.
The Missing's clever innovations on the platforming genre are more than just gimmicks. They underline the game's deeply emotional core and create a uniquely affecting experience. Like any Swery game, you might run into some technical difficulties, but those are easy to overlook when the experience as a whole is so fully realized. The Missing is like a dream in every sense, but it's one that you won't forget after you wake up.
SWERY's latest work seems unusually derivative at times but the mix of disturbing atmosphere, surreal situations, and serious subject matter is still hugely engaging.
With its gruesome puzzles and serious subject matter, The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories isn’t for everyone, but behind the darkness lies a hopeful story and clever puzzle design.
This Missing is a heartfelt affirmation of identity expressed through emotional turbulence and macabre staging. Its performance as a puzzle-platformer—suspiciously slapdash and presumably exploitative—revels in instability, but finds resolution through a singular and concordant message. The Missing's pieces fit its puzzle, even if the player (and The Missing's protagonist) believe they won't.
It likely won't garner the longevity of something a kin to Deadly Premonition, but there's no denying Swery's fluency with a whole host of tones, on both gameplay and story — not to mention his ability in using the surreal to portray a real and hard-hitting theme of young love — shines through in a sufficient capacity, despite the numerous rough edges.
The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories is a dark, strange and utterly compelling journey.
The game should feel wrong or disjointed with the conflicting elements it includes, but it all creates a strange, poignant, and often beautiful whole.
The Missing is a compelling, interesting and unique horror-adventure
The game is rather short, lasting around five hours if you’re not trying to find all the collectibles, which may make its asking price of $30 at the time of writing seem rather steep. However, I would still highly recommend checking out this game. Even with the occasionally rough gameplay, the story and aesthetic here make The Missing something that absolutely should be experienced.
The Missing is a good puzzle platformer, with inspiring atmosphere. The puzzles are good, sometimes a bit too brainy.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Swery's brand of wonky mechanics underlined with impeccable writing and atmospherics proves just as effective in the 2D platformer field.
J.'s story while solving puzzles and crossing obstacles in ways I've rarely had to think about before. It's a game that touched me on a personal level and one I'll be thinking of for a long time to come.
The Missing: J.J Macfield And The Island Of Memories is a heartfelt yet dark emotional tale, wrapped in a side-scrolling puzzle-platformer. It has macabre overtones, especially considering you are required to lose your limbs and at times throw them to dislodge objects to advance. There is a sense of poetry in The Missing, tying together emotions of death and rebirth. It's quite an intense emotional personal tale, but outside of collecting donuts, there isn't much reason to play through a second time.