Justin Wack And The Big Time Hack Preview: No Hot Tubs

Point and click adventures are my favourite, but Justin Wack And The Big Time Hack is one of those titles that have been sitting unfairly on my to-do list since the last festival.

If you also download and play as many demos during these festivals as I do, you’ll be familiar with the green ‘play’ button shifting to the blue ‘purchase’ one pretty swift. Some demos get pulled down the same day, others, maybe a day or two.

With this adventure title, it’s been available all this time, so like my Netflix My List’, it’s reserved to the benches, thinking I have all the time in the world. Justin Wack And The Big Time Hack is really on point (ha!) point and click.

Justin Wack And The Big Time Hack Preview

Unsurprisingly you play the lead character who is hopelessly in love with Julia – a playable character in the future, but she does make a cameo in the game. Justin is an IT geek (sorry), and during his break, he somehow manages to rip open a portal that takes him back to caveman times. Coincidentally, he enrols one on his party.

Much like the classic Zak McKraken and the Alien Mindbenders (reference for the month), you can switch between characters on the fly. Though, as a demo, and one that is acutely self-aware that it’s one, there’s no chance to send items back and forth in time, a la DOTT.

That said, you do get a fair bit of time to play with Justin (ooer!) and the caveman (if he has a name, I’ve not noted it down). As with any point and click, it’s a case of getting yourself out of one mess (robot jail) and into another.

Hearing Voices

Perhaps what put me off the demo the first time was the voice acting. It’s not bad, but there’s something a little too self-aware – as if some of the actors know they’re in a game. It’s hard to explain, but after playing this again, I was able to get into it.

Why is that? The comedy and timing in the game is on point – clearly, LucasArts fans, but also Warm Kitten know their onions in general. After that brief moment that I too was aware that I was playing a demo, I was soon knees deep in the narrative and genuinely disappointed when my time was up – Justin Wack And The Big Time Hack is excellent!

The immediate thing you’ll notice about the game is the visuals – these are exceptional, and the character designs and animations are brilliants. Justin plays the part, but the caveman, with his initial pixelated personal bits and then his Duck Amuck sequence where he’s outside, and the game has run out of funding… Well, this is one that any point and click adventurer should have on their wishlist – no questions asked.

Here’s some of the gameplay. It’s not the whole demo, as I had to record several sequences this past week.

Justin Wack And The Big Time Hack is planned for release in late 2021.