Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (2009): The Review
Overview
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier tries to chart a new course for the iconic duo, but ends up feeling more like a turbulent detour than a triumphant return. Developed by High Impact Games rather than Naughty Dog, this spin-off entry attempts to blend traditional platforming with aerial combat and a new setting, but struggles to capture the magic, polish, and tone of the main trilogy. While there are glimmers of potential, especially in its flying mechanics, The Lost Frontier mostly feels like a rough draft of what a proper Jak sequel could’ve been.
Score: 5 out of 10
The Positives ✅
It’s been a long time since Jak and Daxter felt like an actual duo again, and The Lost Frontier at least understands that assignment. This isn’t Jak II angst or Jak III war drama, it’s a conscious pivot back to the simpler, sunnier Precursor’s Legacy days. No Dark Jak, more jumping, more puzzles, more “hey remember when this was just fun?” energy. That alone earns it some goodwill.
The new Eco-based abilities are a solid replacement for Dark Jak. Slowing time, throwing up shields, summoning pillars, and detonating glowing orbs all feel distinct and useful, especially when the game leans into puzzle-solving instead of combat. There are moments where you’re chaining abilities together, stopping to think, and suddenly realizing you’re smiling like it’s 2001 again. Those moments hit hard, in a good way.
Then there’s the dogfighting, which honestly surprised me. Flying the Hellcat starts off a bit sluggish, but once upgrades come into play, it becomes one of the most enjoyable parts of the game. The customization system is smart and flexible, letting you swap upgrades between planes instead of locking you into bad decisions. It encourages experimentation, and that freedom makes the whole system feel way more fun than it has any right to be.
Side quests also deserve some credit. They’re simple, sometimes repetitive, but they give the world a bit more structure and reward exploration. Scrap metal, Precursor orbs, goofy unlockables like big head mode, it’s all very on-brand Jak nonsense, and it works as motivation to poke around rather than beeline the main story.
It’s been a long time since Jak and Daxter felt like an actual duo again, and The Lost Frontier at least understands that assignment. This isn’t Jak II angst or Jak III war drama, it’s a conscious pivot back to the simpler, sunnier Precursor’s Legacy days. No Dark Jak, more jumping, more puzzles, more “hey remember when this was just fun?” energy. That alone earns it some goodwill.
The new Eco-based abilities are a solid replacement for Dark Jak. Slowing time, throwing up shields, summoning pillars, and detonating glowing orbs all feel distinct and useful, especially when the game leans into puzzle-solving instead of combat. There are moments where you’re chaining abilities together, stopping to think, and suddenly realizing you’re smiling like it’s 2001 again. Those moments hit hard, in a good way.
Then there’s the dogfighting, which honestly surprised me. Flying the Hellcat starts off a bit sluggish, but once upgrades come into play, it becomes one of the most enjoyable parts of the game. The customization system is smart and flexible, letting you swap upgrades between planes instead of locking you into bad decisions. It encourages experimentation, and that freedom makes the whole system feel way more fun than it has any right to be.
Side quests also deserve some credit. They’re simple, sometimes repetitive, but they give the world a bit more structure and reward exploration. Scrap metal, Precursor orbs, goofy unlockables like big head mode, it’s all very on-brand Jak nonsense, and it works as motivation to poke around rather than beeline the main story.
The Negatives ⚠️
Let’s get this out of the way: the camera is a disaster. The PSP’s lack of a second analog stick already made things rough, but the real crime is that the PS2 version does nothing to fix it. Instead of proper full camera control, you’re stuck with horizontal swings only. No vertical adjustment. No real freedom. Just vibes, and bad ones.
This leads to constant frustration. Jumps where you can’t see the landing. Ledges that appear at the last second. A camera that’s way too zoomed in when you desperately need spatial awareness. Combine that with the lack of lock-on or strafing, and combat turns into a panic-fueled sprint-and-shoot routine. It’s not challenging, it’s clumsy.
Pacing is another recurring issue, especially in dogfighting missions. The game has a bad habit of thinking “that was fun once” means “do it four more times.” The turret defense mission is the worst offender, dragging out a decent idea until it becomes a personal vendetta. By the time Daxter slips off a missile and forces a full reset, you’re no longer playing, you’re plotting revenge.
The final boss follows the same exhausting formula. Repetition without escalation. The first few cycles are fine, but eventually you’re just waiting for it to end. Eye rolls replace tension, and that’s never a good sign for a finale.
Story-wise, The Lost Frontier is… messy. Characters come and go, relationships feel undercooked, and important plot points barely register until the game suddenly decides they matter. It’s not offensively bad, but it’s unfocused and forgettable.
The Experience 🎮
Playing The Lost Frontier felt like constantly bouncing between nostalgia and annoyance. When the platforming clicked, I was fully back in that PS2-era headspace, thinking through puzzles, chaining abilities, and just enjoying how it felt to play. Those sections reminded me exactly why Jak and Daxter mattered in the first place.
Then the camera would ruin everything. One bad angle, one blind jump, one awkward combat encounter, and the illusion shattered. I wasn’t failing because I messed up, I was fighting the game’s limitations, and that’s never fun. It’s especially frustrating because the PS2 version could have been the definitive one, but instead it just carries over all the same problems.
The dogfighting kept me going longer than expected. Customizing planes, swapping upgrades, and pulling off slick aerial maneuvers felt genuinely satisfying. Even when missions overstayed their welcome, the core mechanics were strong enough that I didn’t dread hopping back into the cockpit, just maybe not for the fifth time in a row.
Dark Daxter, surprisingly, didn’t ruin my day. I still think he’s the weakest part of the game, but High Impact Games clearly put in work to clean him up. The sections are short, the puzzles mostly function, and while I laughed at some moments, I wasn’t actively angry like I expected to be.
By the end, I walked away feeling dissapointed. The Lost Frontier isn’t the triumphant comeback Jak and Daxter deserved, but it’s not the franchise-killing disaster some people paint it as either. It’s a flawed, uneven, sometimes frustrating game that still manages to capture flashes of that old magic. And honestly? Those flashes were enough to remind me why I missed these two in the first place.
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