I just finished Jazzpunk, and found it as delightful. Yeah, it's also a baffling nightmare of a fever dream. But it was super charming the whole way through. I was instantly reminded of how I felt while playing Lego Island as a kid. I doubt the surrealist undertones were as intentional as they were in Jazzpunk, but Lego Island's atmosphere was almost as unrelentingly strange.

Both are also first person adventure games without traditional stories, acting mostly as open world sandboxes of one-off jokes, and requiring no actual effort from the player. How much, if any, inspiration do you think the developers took from Lego Island?

Haha I remember Drew playing Lego Island on one of the first UPFs. I guess I can see some similarities.

Huh, that is a pretty interesting comparison

If by no effort you mean that I constantly struggle to maintain that this game is a part of my/anyone's reality, then I completely agree with you.

Man, that's exactly what I was thinking while watching that quick look. Everything in both of those games is designed to have something strange happen upon interaction.

I've played about half of the game so far and it screams Lego Island. It's all the fast stupid movements the characters make and the sound effects that go along with it, combined with the small-yet-packed environments and bright colors. Those are the reasons it seems similar to me, at least.

Very yes.

I played a fair amount of Lego Island when I was younger, and now I'm even more interested in playing Jazzpunk at some point.

Man, i had the same exact thoughts when i was playing it, just like how everything just like gives you some sort of reaction trying to interact with it. Although Jazzpunk certainly lacks peoples limbs exploding off of them while they are talking.

Just hearing a comparison made between Jazzpunk and Lego Island makes me want Jazzpunk even more now.

Suddenly I want to spray a LEGO minifig with Eau De Pigeon and see LEGO birds carry his little LEGO head away.

No effort from the player? HA, I remember chasing Brick for almost an hour trying to get the cops to catch him….I was really bad.

I can see the resemblance, but Jazzpunk is a spiritual successor in absolutely every sense to Gravity Bone. It's a very direct substitution.

@coopdegra said:

One could say that Jazzpunk is a more sedate, grounded, and realistic version of Lego Island.

That's an interesting comparison. From what I've seen of Jazzpunk, it's a good bit more linear in its progression, and it's not as difficult. But then, they share a randomness and surreality that does fit. Lego Island actually had some games in it that were a little more than what appears to be in Jazzpunk; so, Lego Island was like Jazzpunk plus a minigame collection. Jazzpunk has a hand up on Lego Island with a consistency and more concerted effort to create a weird experience.

I loved Lego Island back in the day, and while I'd consider it more of a "game-ass game" than what Jazzpunk appears to be, I can absolutely see the comparison. It's a real credit to both games, as it's rare to be that weird, funny, and unique.