Technical Information

Developer: Brainchild Design
Publisher: Brainchild Design
Release Date: 1998

Jump ‘n Bump is a super simple local multiplayer game, where your goal is just to kill other players as many times as possible.

The game was developed and published in the form of e-mailware, which means that when you received it, you were encouraged to respond to the developers telling them what you thought.
In Brazil, the game was distributed in collections of games on CD-ROMs, which were sold at newsstands.

Final Thoughts – Analyzing the Game as a Whole

Graphics and UI

The graphics are quite nice, made with pixel art. The scenery is well-made too.
The entire game has only 3 screens and they meet the game’s objective well.

The game’s HUD is very simple, with a death counter on the right side of the screen.
Before starting the game, the player appears on a screen where rabbits appear in a forest and some information about the game appears at the bottom of the screen.
The game is so simple that there was no need to create a menu before gameplay.

The game ends when you press the “Esc” key, and then displays each player’s overall score.

Soundtrack and Sound Effects

Cool and charismatic music breaks the objective of killing off in the game! hahaha

Gameplay

The game has two major flaws: the first is the absence of scenarios. The entire game takes place on a single scenario, which makes the gameplay extremely unpleasant after a short time.
The second problem is playability: you’ll have to divide the keyboard and mouse to play. This makes the game very uncomfortable to play.
The game could at least offer the option to configure each rabbit’s keys.

There is no time limit, the game ends when the player decides (i.e., when they press the “Esc” key), which makes them not very challenging.

There are some cheats that can be used during gameplay, but they don’t make the gameplay much more fun. Below are the cheats that can be used:

jetpack: Activates the jetpack for players.
pogostick: Players jump constantly.
lordoftheflies: Flies follow rabbits instead of dispersing.
bunniesinspace: Reduces gravity.
bloodisthickerthanwater: Turns water into blood.

Replayability and Game Retention

The game itself is extremely simple and, by today’s standards, it doesn’t work very well (especially because of the controls).
There are other games with the same vibe that offer many more character options, stages, and game modes.
Unfortunately, it’s not a game that has aged well, but for those who played it back in the day, it might bring some nostalgia or emotion (that was the case for me. I love the gameplay music! It was really nice to revisit it! hahaha).