The Tarnishing of Juxtia
As the final creation of the Goddess, Juxtia, journey through the ruins of two divine kingdoms, overrun by the Tarnishing. Challenging combat, a hauntingly beautiful score, and a sinister narrative work in unison to make The Tarnishing of Juxtia an unforgettable 2D dark fantasy action RPG.
The Tarnishing of Juxtia is a action, rpg and souls-like game
developed by Actual Nerds
and published by Mastiff and Neverland Entertainment.
Released on July 26th 2022 is available only on Windows
in 9 languages: English, French, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese - Brazil, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.
It has received 551 reviews of which 377 were positive and 174 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.6 out of 10. 😐
The game is currently priced at 4.53€ on Steam and has a 80% discount.
The Steam community has classified The Tarnishing of Juxtia into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at The Tarnishing of Juxtia through various videos and screenshots.
Requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS *: Windows 7
- Processor: Intel i5
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT/ AMD Radeon HD 6450
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 1 GB available space
Reviews
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
The game has a solid foundation but why is it that so many souls-likes can't get their hitboxes and QoL in check even after more than a decades worth of souls games
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The Tarnishing of Juxtia is a metroidvania game that perfects the mechanics of a souls game into it. The games combat and lore is also pretty good. I recommend
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Review The Tarnishing of Juxtia is (arguably not) a MetroidVania, in which it strongly squeezes mechanics found in Souls games; mechanics that can feel dull to someone like me, but they can be appreciated if you adapt them to your playstyle. [*]The pixel art is really pretty and very well made. The ambience and atmosphere are great, and the backgrounds and world in general are visually very polished. [*]The combat (as mentioned) is clearly inspired by the Souls games; you have a stamina bar that is used when an attack or a doge roll is performed. I find this very restrictive and undesirable as a game mechanic, but it's easy to get used to it. [*]I love the RPG aspects; you can change your equipment and build your character the way you want. Additionally, you can also level up your attributes and upgrade your weapons. The player has a lot of agency and variety in what and how to use; it's meaningful as it changes the way you play the game, both visually and mechanically. [*]There are essentially three types of weapons: those that prioritize strength, those that emphasize dexterity, and those that balance both attributes. And they have different dynamics: Strength weapons such as Hammers or Greatswords (the best type in the game) have a lot of damage, but they are much slower than the other types. Dexterity weapons such as Daggers or Rapiers have great velocity, but they lack damage compared to others. And weapons such as the Longsword somewhat balance both attributes, having decent damage and decent velocity. [*]Furthermore, combat has this mechanic where each enemy has a defense bar (below HP), and once you deal enough damage, the bar is broken, leaving the enemy staggered. And once enough damage is done, another mechanic is triggered: Energy Rush. That is a temporary increase in mana and stamina regeneration. And also the use of Relics. [*]In addition to combat, we have three kinds of perks: Brands, Relics and Gifts. Brands are the magical element attacks (some are passive) that contribute to combat as the secondary mechanic, but I barely used them in my playthrough. Brands are given by an NPC that you encounter in certain rooms on the map. Relics function as an offensive bonus. The relics are gained after you defeat a boss. And all of them work in a similar fashion to the boss's attacks that you gained it from, so it's basically like Megaman , once you defeat the boss, you gain their power (sorta). Relics are activated once enough damage is dealt. Gifts are items found on the map that grant the player passive bonuses. Some of them are bland, but others have a great impact on how the combat works, and talking about that... [*]The game gets progressively easier; once you level up your stats, the damage given is notoriously great, and the gifts and the relics help you A LOT in combat; it's not quite punishing if you know what you're doing. This is not a negative point; I had fun in combat (which surprises me), but besides the bosses, it wasn't a massive challenge. [*]But one thing that made me flabbergasted was: You can't pause the game! It's an atrocious game design, like... what?! I'm playing a god damn video game, and when I pause the game, I expect it to respond accordingly to WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. I can't fathom who in the right mind would think this was a good choice; it's a flaw, a flawed game design that makes no sense whatsoever. And the stupid ideas don't stop there, because for some God-forsaken reason, if you decide to exit any menu, ANY MENU, you will get a drum sound effect sinalizing the exit... I am still baffled by this design choice. I do not understand how people couldn't think this could be annoying, and you know what? IT IS. [*]Other thing: I softlocked myself (kinda) after taking damage and disappearing in one room; I think I might have nocliped through the walls or ceiling. And my save could have been lost, but lucky for me, the room was filled with spikes, so I only lost the currency. Also, the game crashed in the final boss battle after I tried to use a particular Brand spell in it. [*]The plot is the same old tale: something is wrong about the world, and it's our duty to fix it. Nothing revolutionary, but I personally don't care as much about videogame plots; they rarely get my attention. [*]Let's talk about the elephant in the room: MetroidVania. The game is not ability-gated; you don't gain abilities to access other areas; the areas are gated by keys. In that manner, it is not a MetroidVania, but it has lots of other MetroidVania aspects, such as an interconnected world, a map, fast travel, secrets (hidden in fake walls, but that's the limit of exploration in this game), and non-linearity. So what's the assessment, is it or not? I think it is, but it doesn't feel like it. I felt more like I was playing a precision-action RPG 2D platformer than a MetroidVania. Conclusion: The Tarnishing of Juxtia is a visually appealing game, somewhat short, with lots of RPG mechanics that enrich the overall experience, and it surprisingly has a combat system that is not as bad as I thought it would be. But it is flawed with some perplexing design choices, and it's a MetroidVania that doesn't feel like a MetroidVania, even though I guess it is. I will leave this review as positive, but be warned: if you don't like bad game design choices or dislike the combat from Souls games, I do not recommend it, at least not at full price. With all of that, the score is: 5/10
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Tarnishing of Juxtia is a game with a blend of engaging mechanics and frustrating design choices, resulting in an experience that, while sometimes rewarding, can often be taxing. One of the game's major issues is its pacing, which is frequently interrupted by unskippable content. Story segments, which I found to be uninteresting and dialogue-heavy, along with the beginning intro, boss introductions, and various story events like activating monoliths or slowly walking to characters, disrupt the gameplay flow. These interruptions, particularly the mandatory four-second delay before skipping boss battle cutscenes, significantly hinder the smoothness of the gameplay. Despite these interruptions, the core combat system can be enjoyable. Many enemies have a visible poise meter that, when depleted, causes them to stagger, adding a strategic element to the combat as players dance around enemies and strike when they're vulnerable. The stamina system requires careful management, as running out of stamina leaves players unable to perform actions. To counterbalance this, the game introduces a frenzy meter that builds when striking enemies. Once filled, it significantly boosts stamina and mana regeneration, encouraging a more aggressive playstyle. However, this system has its drawbacks. Combat can feel frustrating when constantly running out of stamina, and the frenzy meter depletes upon taking damage, making it feel punishing, especially when using slower weapons or fighting fast-hitting enemies or groups of enemies. The variety of weapon types is a strong point, with each offering distinct yet simple movesets (one to two-hit combos), making them easy to understand. However, the game's difficulty might deter some players, particularly with the challenging first boss. Initially, the difficulty was frustrating, but it became more manageable after investing stat points into vitality. This revealed a significant flaw: the vitality stat is so crucial that investing in anything else before hitting the soft cap feels like a mistake. As new gifts and spells are unlocked, the game becomes somewhat easier, offering more options to handle encounters, though the difficulty feels front-loaded in this aspect. Equipment progression in Tarnishing of Juxtia is a missed opportunity. New gear found in subsequent areas is almost always superior to old gear, making previous upgrades feel redundant. This linear progression undermines the satisfaction of upgrading equipment, as new discoveries often outclass recent upgrades. Armor progression follows a similar pattern, where new pieces are just better than old pieces. However, the gifts a player can equip adds some variety to builds and gameplay by changing specific aspects of the game, such as increasing life at the cost of mana regeneration. Defensive mechanics are initially limited to the dodge roll, which can be problematic due to lingering or large enemy hitboxes. While more defensive tools like a timed block and backstep are introduced later, they should have been available earlier in the game to provide a more balanced defensive strategy from the start. The game’s linear progression is complemented by side paths that offer additional gifts, brands, and player upgrades. Missing these items doesn’t prevent game completion but can result in missing enhancements that could improve gameplay. The map could benefit from more detailed indicators to help players find missed items, although it does highlight unexplored areas. Visually, the game’s areas are distinct and varied, with some levels featuring unique challenges such as tight platforms or projectile dodging. However, many levels serve primarily as travel spaces without significant gameplay impact. Bosses and enemies offer a good variety of attack patterns, requiring players to learn and adapt. Although bosses have a lot of health, which can be daunting, they generally don’t feel unfair. However, the game does have notable issues that deserve criticism. The difficulty often stems from enemies having increasing armor and life, leading to bloated health bars if players fall below the damage threshold. Upgrade materials are sparse, making it difficult to maximize more than one weapon. Additionally, there is no respec system, so wasted stat points can force players to either grind or start over. These design flaws made the game increasingly frustrating, especially towards the end. I wanted to enjoy Tarnishing of Juxtia, but its bad design decisions ultimately wore me down. I hope the developers consider tweaking or revamping some of these systems in the future, as there are good moments in the game that could be built upon. Overall, Tarnishing of Juxtia is an above-average game with engaging combat but is marred by pacing issues and uninspired equipment progression. While it may not become a favorite, it provides a solid, if occasionally frustrating, experience for fans of the genre.
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Last Updates
| Steam data | 21 November 2024 06:16 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 23 December 2024 01:53 |
| Steam price | 23 December 2024 12:38 |
| Steam reviews | 22 December 2024 10:02 |
Online players
4
Developer
Actual Nerds
Publisher
Mastiff,
Neverland Entertainment
Release
26 Jul 2022
Platforms