Eurojank

About

Eurojank or Euro Jank is a classification and slang term for video games developed in Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe, that is most commonly defined as a game focused on gameplay depth and complexity of interactions rather than presentation and optimization, often due to budget limitations. The Gothic and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video game series are popular examples within the classification. Eurojank games developed in Slavic countries are sometimes referred to as Slavjank.

History

While the exact origin of the term "Eurojank" is unknown, the word is a portmanteau of "European" and "jank," which is a slang word for an item that is of poor quality or malfunctions.

The word has been used to describe a specific type of game developed by Eastern European companies that are defined by being focused on gameplay depth and features rather than quality-of-life elements such as presentation and optimization. The best-known examples of Eurojank are the Gothic series, the Risen series and the ELEX series, all developed by the German company Piranha Bytes, the ARMA series, the Mount & Blade series, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, Metro 2033 (2010) and The Witcher (2007).

On May 7th, 2012, Neogaf user StoppedInTracks created^[1] a thread titled "What exactly is "Euro jank" anyway?" asking for a proper definition of the term. In the thread, multiple users provided their interpretations of the term, including definitions by OP StoppedInTracks^[2] and user BrokenEchelon^[3] (shown below, left and right).

The term was popularized in 2016 by Patrick "Pat" Boivin of Super Best Friends Play when he spoke about it in detail during episode 135 "This is the Only One I'm Ever F**king Doing" of Super Best Friendcast podcast^[4] (starts at 2:01:00), which aired on March 7th, 2016. In the episode, Pat and other hosts talk about what defines a Eurojank game, bringing up examples such as the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, The Witcher (2007), Two Worlds and Two Worlds II, Gothic, Metro 2033 (2010) and Hitman: Codename 47.

Oh you don't know about Eurojank? Woolie, have you ever played any of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games? You've ever played the first Witcher? […] You know how It all just feels like it's trying to be AAA, but it falls short? […] You can totally tell if you're playing a game from Eastern Europe.

The episode helped popularize the term among Super Best Friends Play audience,^[5][6] and later in the gaming community in general.^[8][9]

Notable Examples

Gothic Series and Other Pyranha Bytes Games

The Gothic series, developed by Essen-based German developer Pyranha Bytes, were some of the earliest games considered Eurojank to achieve significant renown. The RPG series started with Gothic, released in 2001, and are known for their complex system of character and environment interactivity while lacking in optimization, and for their "janky" controls.

In addition to the Gothic series, released between 2001 and 2006, Pyranha Bytes also developed the Risen and ELEX series, both of which are also generally considered Eurojank.

The Witcher

The first game in The Witcher series, released by CD Projekt Red in 2007, is one the most commercially successful games considered Eurojank, with over 50 million copies sold worldwide by May 2020.^[7] The first game in the series, praised as deep and immersive, is known for its poor voice acting, limited number of animations and same NPC models used for multiple characters.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series

The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, which consists of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007), S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky (2008) and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (2010), developed by Ukrainian game developer GSC Game World, are known for their gameplay depth, game design and complex system of interactions between in-game factions and NPCs. The games series, particularly S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, had multiple bugs and lacked optimization upon release. Together with Metro 2033 and other games developed in Slavic countries, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series are sometimes called "Slavjank."

In Popular Culture

SsethTzeentach Reviews

YouTuber SsethTzeentach has reviewed numerous games considered Eurojank, including reviews of Mount & Blade, Gothic II, ELEX, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, Highfleet and other games (examples shown below).

Cyberpunk 2077 Release

The term saw an increase in use in December 2020 in discussions related to Cyberpunk 2077, an ambitious but severely unoptimized video game developed by Polish developer CD Project Red (example tweets shown below).

Search Interest

External References