If you know zillix's games at all, then the surreality of odd little puzzle game juxtapose isn't going to come as much of a surprise. In it, you control travelers stuck on opposite sides of a mirror world with only a few strange devices to interact with. The [arrow] keys moves you around the small area, while the [spacebar] interacts with things, and holding the down [arrow] will cause whatever character you're controlling to rest and the world to rotate back to the other. Doing so causes the world to change subtly depending on the things you have or haven't done, and to uncover all of the game's thirteen endings you'll need to do some serious creative thinking, especially since the game's narrative and setting are more than a little disorienting. What if I... what if I put this thing... on that thing? And then do the thing to the... hmmmmm.
In a weird way, playing juxtapose reminds me of those French cartoons I used to stumble across when I was little back home in Canada... I'm not exactly sure what's happening, or why it's happening, but darned if I'm not intrigued. For some, the game might be a bit too vague... the text is extremely sparse and almost dreamy, and most of the endings you can get may just leave you more confused. For some of you, however, that's exactly the appeal of the whole thing. For such a small game, environmentally speaking, there are a remarkable amount of variables that can drastically change the way things are going for you, and experimenting with different combinations of actions is part of the whole point. Zillix has always experimented with their games, especially when it comes to mechanics and storytelling, and while juxtapose may be a little more obtuse than other games in both those areas, it's still a creative, appealingly weird little title well worth checking out for anyone who likes their games to try new things and show far more than they tell.
Play juxtapose
If anyone has trouble finding the endings:
The official walkthrough page:
http://www.zillix.net/docs/juxtapose/walkthrough.txt
Yeah, that's a bit TOO much work to get all those endings.
I'll take 2 two I worked out on my own.
Are you sure that is the right address? It appears to be broken for now.
The link loads fine for me. :)
Intriguing. Yet: I would LOVE a browser game where the mysterious missing beloved is a HE for a change.
*seconded* that's definitely long since gotten old...
Minor annoyances aside, I found 3 endings so far without any trouble (or really even knowing what I was doing haha). I don't want to spoil myself so I'm not reading what's at that link just yet.
Endings I've gotten, in case anybody cares:
Resign, Worship, and Embark (in that order)
I cannot even load the website homepage! Is this working for anyone on a Mac using Chrome?
You know what? I think this game, plus
exposure, denudation, and possibly endeavor,
needs a brand-new category (or tag, or whatever):
SOL/NYX
Here is a transcript of the linked walkthrough, in case anyone can't access it:
resign
This option appears on the device in the light world after all of its antennae have been destroyed.
Easy solution:
Put all orbs on the pillars in the dark world, and then sleep repeatedly
flee
This option appears on the device in the dark world when it has been fully charged, but the device in the light world has not charged.
Easy solution:
Put two orbs in the dark world device, and two orbs in dark world pillars
abandon
This option appears on the device in the light world when it has been fully charged, but the device in the dark world has not charged.
Easy solution:
Put two orbs in the light world device
embark
This option appears on either device when they are both fully charged.
Easy solution:
Put two orbs immediately in each machine, and sleep for a few nights
The dark world traveler will only have to survive 2 nights without protection and will not die
mourn
This option appears on a dead dark world traveler after both have been killed by the swarm.
Easy solution:
Simply rest for several nights, so that the dark world has had three nights without protection
worship
This option appears on the statue in the light world after it has cosumed all of the orbs.
Easy solution:
Simply feed all of the orbs to the statue, and then examine it again
tend
This option appears on a fully-grown plant in either world.
Easy solution:
Feed an orb to the statue to spawn a plant
Set up orbs in the dark world to defend against the swarm, and wait for three mornings in the light world
catalyze
This option appears on the device in the light world when it is fully charged and the tree is fully grown.
Easy solution:
Feed an orb to the statue
Put two orbs in the light machine
Rest, and put an orb in a pedestal in the dark world
Rest until the tree has fully grown
solace
This option appears on a traveler when they have been presented with a color-changed orb.
Easy solution:
Talk to either traveler twice in the same day
Sleep, then talk to the other traveler twice
Sleep, and then talk to the first one twice again
Grab an orb and show it to the traveler
Put the orb back in the tower, sleep, and show that orb to the second traveler
squander
This option appears over the player when they have used up all of the orbs but haven't achieved an ending.
Easy solution:
Feed one orb to the hanging lamp, and then feed the rest of the orbs to the statue
NOTE: The hanging lamp is only available after an ending has been unlocked with one of the travelers escaping.
juxtapose
This option appears on the hanging lamp after it has consumed three orbs.
Easy solution:
Use an orb on the lamp
Sleep, and then sleep again
Repeat until it has been fed three orbs
NOTE: This will invert the world, making several other endings available.
NOTE: The lamp will only appear after an ending has been unlocked with one of the travelers escaping.
scorch
This appears on a beam of light, when the world is inverted and the player stands over the tree for a few seconds.
Easy solution:
Make sure the world has been inverted (through the juxtapose ending)
Feed an orb to the statue
Stand over the seed for a few seconds
shroud
This appears on a beam of darkness, when the world is inverted and there is an orb of each of the pillars in the dark world.
Easy solution:
Make sure the world has been inverted (through the juxtapose ending)
Place an orb on each of the pillars in the dark world
Nice game! I managed to find 12/13 endings without the walkthrough. The only one I missed was:
catalyze
I like how some endings lead to changes in the world on subsequent runs. The mechanic of experimenting to discover things was a nice one, although it did become a bit tedious towards the end. The minimalist pixelart aesthetic, though a bit overused these days, felt appropriate to the thematic content here.
I didn't get it. I put an orb here, then one there and then I got Squander. Not sure what that meant and I didn't care because I had no real idea what was going on. Perhaps I was just to obtuse for this one. cheers!
I don't understand how to play, what's the goal, what kind of machines are there and what beings are moving. Some instructions please?
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