Rating: 9/10

I always enjoy Jack King-Spooner stuff. I don't think I've given anything he has done less than a 9, so I'm a bit of a fanboy in that regard. I can't help it, I dig what the guy does, even if my sole criticism throughout the years has been that if he included a little bit of gameplay in some of his games they would be better. It's why I've been unable to give a 10 to anything (I've given some 9.5s); I just can't bring myself to give a "walking simulator" a 10, regardless of how good it is. It's probably my old school roots when games were gameplay first and foremost. You know what I mean by gameplay.

Anyway, there is more traditional gameplay here. Things like a platformer, a humorous "pie or anus" guessing game, etc. In that sense it's good that Jack has been incorporating more of that stuff, but strangely it's easiest the weakest part. The platforming game in particular is decent but lacks polish, the others are fine for what they are, but I can't help but feel like he called my bluff. Now that he has put this kind of thing in his games, I'm kind of left sitting here thinking that maybe he should have just stuck with what he is best at.

That's because the rest of the game is superb, as always. I don't know if there's a more creative indie dev out there. His talent in both the audio and visual components shine through each and every time and Dujanah is no different. As he often does, he has blended different styles together to create a surreal world that is bursting with character, weirdness and intelligence, while looking beautiful in a very offbeat way.

The music only adds to that and I always find myself wanting his soundtracks because the care and attention to detail that he puts in is astounding. While Dujanah may be random to the untrained eye and ear, he focused a lot on particular influences and stuck to a theme. It's just that he then throws in some odd and fucked up things.

There's always social commentary and humor, another trademark. It's always endearing meeting the people that inhabit his worlds because they either spew some form of propaganda/philosophical musing/political intrigue/art commentary or just make jokes. Dujanah is the work of someone with something to say and while it's not always the easiest to decipher, it's hugely rewarding.

So if you've never checked out a Jack King-Spooner game then you should do so. He embodies auteurism and reminds me a lot of the film director Harmony Korine (my personal fave) because of his willingness to just be him, regardless of what someone might think. So with that said, this might not be for everyone but I imagine if you're interested in indie games then you've probably seen your fair share of strange ones anyway. I don't think this is his best--that belongs to Beeswing and Sluggish Morss--but it's awesome.