The Missing: JJ MacField and the Island of Memories - who you are

Variant art of the Missing, showing JJ on the right and Emily on the left with the titular Island of Memories in the background. All credit to White Owl Inc.

I’ve played a lot of games in my free time. I’ve played a large variety of games too: RPG, FPS, action, horror, platformer, rhythm games, I’ve experienced a lot of what the medium has to offer.

I won’t spoil The Missing for you, it’s a game you need to play and experience yourself. The Missing is a 2D platforming game developed by White Owl Inc. and headed up by Suehiro Hidetaka or SWERY65.

I’ll be writing about another one of Swery’s games later on - Deadly Premonition - but that’s an article for another time. I suppose my point here is that I’ve played quite a few different games, loved a few too, and not a single one of them compares to The Missing. It isn’t the most lavish looking or best acted game, nor is it the deepest or most replayable in the traditional sense. But regardless of all that, it is in my opinion one of the most valuable games I’ve ever had the honor of experiencing.

This game is special, and it’ll forever hold a place in my heart. I’ll be doing this post in sessions, playing the game for a chunk, writing more, etc. I’ve played this game four times already, and it’s intrinsically tied to me in many personal ways.

From the main character JJ to her appearance to F.K. her plush friend and even to Emily her girlfriend, everything about The Missing and the game’s central location have this endearing but horrifying quality to them. You’ll see JJ traveling through waste dumps, a campsite, a cozy old diner, a bowling alley and plenty of other locales as she looks for her partner and tries to find out what happened during their trip.

JJ’s adventure, the things she encounters, all of it is a lasting memory and I can’t recommend grabbing The Missing enough.