Daxter

About

Daxter is a platformer adventure where you play as the ottsel sidekick from Jak and Daxter. Released in 2006 for PlayStation Portable, it fills the gap between Jak II and Jak 3. You swing through Haven City squashing Metal Bugs with tools like a bug swatter and spray gun while solving puzzles and battling enemies. The story has Daxter, now a pest exterminator, reluctantly trying to rescue Jak after a two year separation. Gameplay mixes platforming challenges with gadget based combat and light exploration as you navigate crumbling ruins and industrial zones. What stands out is the series' trademark wit and chaotic energy. While exterminating bugs Daxter navigates detailed levels and quirky minigames gradually uncovering a plot involving Metal Heads and a traitor in Haven City. The game balances lighthearted moments with tense platforming challenges offering a fresh perspective on the Jak and Daxter universe. Though often overlooked fans praise its humor and creative level design even if the standalone story feels a bit rushed in spots.

Storyline

The game takes place in the final months of the 2-year gap presented in the opening of Jak II (and the aftermath of The Precursor Legacy), between the moment when Jak is taken prisoner by the Krimzon Guard and the time in which Daxter finally rescues him from the Krimzon Guard Fortress. The introduction shows Jak being captured while Daxter manages to escape. Almost two years later (having no luck rescuing Jak), Daxter has forgotten all about finding his friend. An old man named Osmo, whom Daxter meets, hires Daxter as an exterminator working in various parts of Haven City and occasionally its environs to exterminate bug-like Metal Heads referred to in-game as 'Metal Bugs'. During his adventures, Daxter meets a mysterious woman named Taryn, who, despite being less than impressed by Daxter's interest in her, occasionally helps him. After completing several missions for Osmo, Daxter sees Jak in a Prison Zoomer and attempts to chase after it. After being cornered by some Krimzon Guards (who had noticed Daxter's pursuit), Daxter is rescued by Osmo's son Ximon, who assists him with several more missions, including one to Baron Praxis' palace, where Daxter steals a map of the Fortress. In this prison, Jak is being held. After returning to the extermination shop, an arthropod sidekick that Daxter acquired earlier is killed by Kaeden, a bitter man who seemingly wants to steal Osmo's shop but, in actuality, is working for Kor, the Metal Head leader. When Daxter tries to stop Kaeden from escaping the shop, Kaeden suddenly blows up the shop with a bomb he placed in the shop earlier. Daxter and Osmo survive, and Daxter promises to stop Kaeden, but only after he rescues Jak. Daxter infiltrates the Fortress and finds Kaeden, who reveals himself as a giant Metal Bug. Daxter manages to defeat Kaeden, who tries to warn him that Kor is waiting outside for them. He then uses a hover platform to begin searching for Jak within the Fortress, leading into the opening cutscene from Jak II. After this, the game cuts to a point later in the timeline at Daxter's Naughty Ottsel Bar, where he recounts the story to Jak, Keira, Samos, Tess and Taryn.