Jump the Track Proves Visual Novels And Pachinko Can Make a Funny Combo

By Wallace Truesdale | July 18, 2025 | 4:20pm

Video Games Features Jump the Track

Jump the Track Proves Visual Novels And Pachinko Can Make a Funny Combo

Pachinko and visual novels are not two things that come together often. One is an addictive arcade game turned into a gambling sensation across the world, while the other has become a space for some of the most thoughtful and well-written stories across any medium. Despite their differences, development cooperative Seed by Seed’s Jump the Track brings the two together for what makes a frequently hilarious combination not just in its written content, but also its pachinko construction.

One of Jump the Track’s strengths is that it wastes little time in displaying its absurdity. This is made clear at the start when the protagonist Sam accidentally burns his employer’s daughter’s teddy bear alive inside a drying machine. But it’s not his fault: he got distracted knitting scarves for his side gig. Afraid of what his billionaire boss Pierre Le Bat might do to him, this mishap catalyzes a wild night where Sam attempts to replace the teddy bear by trying to win a stacked lottery competition, where the grand prize is another teddy bear. As Sam, you’ll meet a cast of characters who will aid his foolish quest, and navigate conversations by unlocking dialogue options through pachinko games.

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Much of the game’s comedy works because of its approach. It grounds itself with real-world parallels, like the stressful gig economy, ruthless billionaires, and communities supporting each other underneath unfair systems, while cranking up the story’s pacing and characters’ personalities. Despite the night starting with a laundry mishap that leads to what’s essentially a class revolution, it’s not a very jarring transition. It resembles old cartoons and animated comedy movies, where the fast-paced “everything changes now” nature feels in service of getting laughs rather than rushing the story. This is helped by the fact this game is sincere in its character depictions, ensuring that their funnier quirks and moments—like constantly using a wrong word that’s so close to the right one, whipping out a 3D printer that makes kebabs, or hypnotizing people—are supported by unique and genuine insights into the system they’re all struggling under.

Additionally, Jump the Track cleverly ensures its pachinko boards aren’t left out of the joke. In a nutshell, they present themselves as outright ridiculous at times. Sometimes that means the blocks and orbs you aim for are shaped into a heart or a spiral, other times they’re constructed to reflect how absolutely screwed Sam is in a given predicament. The pachinko bits can be so stacked against you that, truly, all you can do is laugh when you see them. These games not only act as a good way to break up reading without diverging from the story, but also stay in line with the larger theme of how, when it comes to matters like gambling, risky business, and upward economic mobility, the house won before you even sat at the table.

Not every joke lands, and the story veers into How To Be Down With The Cause 101 territory that can get a bit heavy-handed in spots, but it never loses its overall humor. By ensuring its comedic beats aren’t relegated to just the story or the pachinko games, Jump the Track manages to deliver a heartfelt adventure that remains mostly funny over a few hours.

Wallace Truesdale is a writer who loves games and much of what they come into contact with. He’s written for Unwinnable, Stop Caring, PopMatters, and more. When he’s not ruining himself with sweets, you can find him blogging at Exalclaw, or hanging out on Bluesky and Twitch.