Tech

This weird Jamiroquai game takes you right back to the '90s

by Jesse Locke

Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity” video is a stone cold late ’90s classic that somehow still looks futuristic.

The four-minute masterpiece features the British acid-funk (yes, that was a thing) band’s fuzzy hatted singer Jay Kay strutting through a fluorescent room as the walls and furniture move on a stationary floor like an IKEA acid trip. These seamless optical illusions were enough to take home multiple titles from the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, and the song would later win a Grammy for Best Pop Performance. Director Jonathan Glazer’s other credits include videos for Blur, Massive Attack, and Radiohead, as well as the equally stylish films Sexy Beast and Under the Skin.

Now, Tokyo’s Buncho Games have created a trippy time waster welcoming players to slip-slide into Jay Kay’s shoes. Improving on the simplicity of their previous effort Head Sword Ninja, the goal of the plainly named Jamiroquai Game is to avoid being run over by black leather couches. The chiptune cover version of the song is a nice touch, but the bone-crunching sound effects are pretty jarring. Jamiroquai Game is free but Windows-only (for now). Watch a clip along with the original video below.