Bigmode Game Jam 2025

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A jam submission

Critical Mass : Power OverloadView game page

A fast-paced, ultra-satisfying and rewarding pinball-inspired hack ‘n’ slash and bullet hell set in the atomic realm

Submitted by Kiapigeon (@KDT_off) — 1 hour, 23 minutes before the deadline

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Critical Mass : Power Overload's itch.io page

Results

Criteria	Rank	Score*	Raw Score
Presentation	#30	4.524	4.524
Fun	#35	4.095	4.095
Theme	#46	4.190	4.190
Originality	#62	4.238	4.238

Ranked from 21 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How does your game represent "Power"?
ֺ
🎇 The atomic power is at the same time what makes you strong and your life. Everything in the game revolves around it.

🔋 And as it goes down in the time, you also have to not run out of power.

💪 The game also delivers a thrilling sense of power to the player as it is really dynamic and rewarding.

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Comments

Viewing comments 22 to 3 of 22 · Next page · Last page

slogbaitSubmitted25 days ago(+1)

This is definitely a game that gets more exciting the further you get with the wider enemy varieties. Like some of the games I've played this jam, I do wish there was something somewhere that gave me an indication of where offscreen enemies may be so it's easier for me to anticipate off screen projectiles and, in the case of this game, easily hunt down and remove the final enemies of the wave.

Trying to avoid attack patterns with the minimal controls and trying to back enemies into corners to wipe them out was a lot of fun. The parrying ability actually worked perfectly within the setting and was a much welcome reprieve in situations where enemy attack patterns overlapped in a way that just isn't possible to avoid gracefully.

Aesthetically this game is absolutely beautiful, and the sound design was really solid from what I could hear. GG!!

Submitted

KiapigeonDeveloper25 days ago(+1)

Actually, I had planned to add a mini-map to the game that would display the remaining electrons, enemies, walls, and projectiles, precisely for the reasons you mentioned. But due to a lack of time, I had to scrap this feature, as I found the game was still relatively playable without it and that more important elements were missing... And thanks for the kind words! ❤

Chimp PeenSubmitted25 days ago(+1)

Had a lot of fun with this! Very POWERful, loved feeling myself improve over time. Great job! :)

Submitted

NoNumbersGamesSubmitted26 days ago(+1)

Awesome game! Beautiful lighting, distinctive style, fun, plays smoothly, has settings for visual effects. Easy to get into and just have fun.

This is best game I played so far, thank you for making it!

Submitted

Atlanta 2173: Flowers vs Robot Spiders - BIGMODE2025

KoenfuPandaSubmitted26 days ago(+1)

Really good and well-made. My only issues would be things that can be chalked up to lack of skill-knowledge, such as not knowing what to expect from enemies, if they're immune or not etc.

Love how levels are presented in this top-down perspective grid, with pillars rising up from the ground.
Obviously the presentation is top-notch.

Simply impressive and amazing.

Submitted

Biggies Big Bounce

poltergasmSubmitted26 days ago(+1)

It's criminal this only has 15 votes to date. Absolutely incredible game. Everything felt so satisfying, and the movement was done very well. I appreciate the inclusion of spacebar to propel forwards - I found that much easier than the mouse button.
Seriously, well done and thank you for the game.

Submitted

EsfratchSubmitted27 days ago(+1)

its been a while since i played a shoot em up game, that had a lot of things going on, it was really exciting! really cool, and the movement was fluid ^^

Submitted

Inside the Dr3am's power

BattlenautSubmitted27 days ago(+1)

Now this is a slick-type game! Had a blast! (Just needs some music!)

Submitted

FarlySubmitted28 days ago(+1)

God the movement of this game is so good. So very well refined. Fantastic job!

Submitted

ChrisPisSubmitted28 days ago(+1)

Damn I love what you did with the visuals. From the particle effects to how the levels shape themselves and rise from the floor, it's perfect! Gameplay is also alotta fun, just knocking enemies into walls pinball style. Only thing it's missing is music, but aside from that, excellent work!

Submitted

SuperMegaPowerGolf3D

KiapigeonDeveloper28 days ago (1 edit)

If only I had time ⏱... I was planning to create a banger breakcore soundtrack changing according to your atomic power 😔. Maybe in future versions, if I find the determination for it. Anyway, thank you! ❤

MagnaRemoraSubmitted29 days ago(+1)

Visually great game, love the neon effects, its a shame that there wasn't music since it would've elevated the gameplay even further since the gameplay was already fun, I did think the sound effects were good too!
Well done :D

Submitted

Bots n' Batteries

tapesclubSubmitted29 days ago(+1)

this is sick! really nice work. i like the mechanic, the simplicity really pushes you to fly around the level as fast as possible, which is a lot of fun. feels really complete too, nice job!

Submitted

devthedragonSubmitted29 days ago(+1)

I think this has the highest level of polish of any of the games I've played so far in this jam. The visuals are wonderful and electric. The sounds effects are straight out of pinball in the best way. All in all, just a great experience.

Submitted

kallichSubmitted29 days ago(+1)

Beautiful polish, I love the way the levels are drawn in.

Submitted

BartticusSubmitted29 days ago(+1)

I love games with weird movement systems, this is great!

Submitted

Throwing Things at the Light Switch Simulator

UDRSubmitted29 days ago(+1)

Insanely polished game for just one week, I could see this being released to steam in its current state! more people need to play this!

Submitted

pottedSubmitted30 days ago(+1)

I had a blast with this one! Moving around smashing into enemies had the perfect oomph to it. The laser noise did scare the shit out of me though. Waiting for level 4.

Submitted

Speed The Movie: The Game

KiapigeonDeveloper30 days ago

Wow you really got to the laser guys? GG! 👏

SalvoriteSubmitted30 days ago(+1)

Really satisfying game play! Ping-ponging between enemies and the walls never gets old. I really like this one!

Submitted

Static Crash GameJam Version

maxlaurenceSubmitted30 days ago(+1)

Unbelievably polished and satisfying gameplay. What more could you want! I have no notes. I especially loved the sound effects.

Submitted

KiapigeonDeveloper30 days ago

Yeah, I realized that I never paid enough attention to sound design compared to how much it contributes to the overall game feel. So this time, I tried to focus on sound effects before the music.

Glad to hear this approach paid off!

soopaWeyum1234Submitted30 days ago(+1)

Reminded me of pinball, and the gameplay was very satisfying. Loved the visuals too.

Submitted

Technician Terry

guunnoSubmitted31 days ago(+1)

There was 100% a rewarding feeling whenever I killed an enemy, but at times the gameplay felt a little slow, and I had no clue what was going on. You went overboard on the visuals for sure, but in a sort of good way. Sometimes it was a little too much but other times it also made the game feel awesome.

One small thing is that the best strategy I found was just spam clicking everywhere, and then just getting enemies by chance. It works wayyy too well and I feel like it sucks all the fun out of the game since you just kind of stop thinking, although chaining enemies like how you suggested in the beginning (tutorial thing?) could be a bit frustrating so just spamming everywhere was also a bit of a solution to that.

Submitted

Ridiculous Racing!

KiapigeonDeveloper30 days ago(+1)

If the gameplay felt a bit slow, that's normal. What’s not normal, however, is that I forgot to explain the basic mechanics in the tutorial 😐: more power (electrons and protons) and more combo (damage dealt is limited by damage received) result in more speed, which can also be increased through bouncing or spam-clicking. I probably should have made this clearer—especially since the idea that being heavier makes you faster is, I admit, quite counterintuitive🤔.

The game balance is also, of course, far from perfect. But in fact, the spam-clicking strategy was intentional. However, I only fully realized it while working on levels 2 and 3, which explains the large number of projectiles, enemies capable of dodging, and many other ways to punish spam-clicking in these areas. That said, in level 1 and part of level 2, brute forcing works far too well, and I couldn't find a way to limit it without making the early game too punishing🤦…

Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad to hear that the feeling of power is at least present😹. This will definitely be useful if I ever find the motivation to revisit the game—or for future projects! 👍

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