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https://housekeepinggames.itch.io/jimmy-and-the-pulsating-mass
I have never heard of Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass until I saw it in the list of highest-rated games in the ol' BLM itch.io bundle.
Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is a Japanese-style RPG made by a guy from Texas. It was very much influenced by SNES-era jRPGs, particularly Earthbound, Final Fantasy 5, and the Breath of Fire series, among others. It was also heavily influenced by Yume Nikki.
The game takes place in the dream of an eight-year-old boy. When an alien entity appears and threatens his family and the stability of the dream world itself, Jimmy sets out on an adventure to save his family and eradicate the threat of the Pulsating Mass. Along the way, Jimmy will have to work with his family, confront his own shortcomings, and brave the creeping nightmares of his subconscious.
If its 10/10 ratings are to be trusted, then why is this game so niche? It came out right around the same time as OMORI, so perhaps the market was too saturated with 'EarthBound clones' at the time? Anyway, I knew I had to check it out.
Absolutely, this is one of the most enjoyable games I've played this year. However, because it's been a bit since I've played it, my memories of it are starting to get mixed up with OMORI, so let's frame this as a comparison between the two (similar-ish) games. OMORI had a stronger art style, it's scary moments were scarier, and the characters were a bit more memorable, however its ending fell flat for me. Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is less of a horror game (though still has mild elements) and the artwork is a bit more basic (due to being developed by just one person). However, the game's ending absolutely shines in comparison. I may have been a but harsh on OMORI but I still think that it handled its topics poorly, whereas Jimmy has a much more thought-out message behind it.
My thoughts on OMORI originally
When it comes to gameplay, Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is a bit more challenging, while giving you an interesting ability to deal with encounters, namely the main character's "Empathetic" character trait which allows him to transform into some of the enemies he encounters. This is one example of the game's many metaphors, which I thought were pretty clever and used well throughout the game. (Also worth noting that I expected a game whose main character's defining trait is "empathy" to get preachy in a way, but I did not get this feeling from Jimmy. The 8 year old main characters interacts with some fairly problematic characters, but being a timid boy he doesn't confront them Lisa Simpson-style; the game respects your intelligence and lets you make your own judgements instead)
Anyway, a top-tier JRPG in my book, *9/10*, /deserves those 2 paragraphs of rambling in my opinion/, and probably some more on top of that to dive deeper into why it's actually good, but meh, I'm not a writer. Just keep this game in mind if you like EarthBound-y stuff.
As with most Windows games, I used Wine to play it on Linux, and I submitted an entry to the WineHQ App Database.
entry to the WineHQ App Database
The game was fully playable aside from maybe one segment. > Certain parts were laggy (one of the casino minigames is extremely difficult with lag).
gardenapple - 2022-10-09