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A jam submission

Sweet HellView game page

Sweet Hell is a short tough-as-nails MSX-inspired boss rush game
Submitted by Donitz — 9 minutes, 16 seconds before the deadline
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Sweet Hell's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
WINNERS#4n/an/a
SOUNDS / MUSIC#54.1364.136
ART / VISUALS#94.4554.455
BOSS DESIGN#173.8183.818
Overall#263.6973.697
FUN#483.5003.500
CONTROLS#733.3183.318
USE OF THEME#1192.9552.955

Ranked from 22 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Game's take on the theme
The game relates to the theme in two ways. You have a berzerk meter which increases your damage the lower your health gets, and the story is about replacing your brother who took your throne.

Did your team create the vast majority of art and music during the game jam?
All graphics assets (except for the font) were created during the jam. The music and most sound effects were from opengameart.org

Did your game use PlusMusic?
No

Did your game use Playroom?
No

Did your game use generative AI art?
No

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Comments

Viewing comments 26 to 7 of 26 · Next page · Last page
Submitted(+1)

Great game it's unbelievable how much work was put into it, it's really impressive for the done period of time! I'm really not a fan of the retro- retro game (more of a game from 90-ish), but even I got sucked into it! The quality is all over the top in all the details, even the annoying one's (air control and tough as nails bosses).

Super cool, love it!

(+1)

Hey there, I am trying to get other to re-submit their reviews for my game if possible...it was deleted and removed from the Jam on accident based on a technicality which was solved between the Jam Host and a particular asset used in the game...please if you have time, energy, and/or generosity to re-saved your ratings/reviews for the game. I am going through and re-saving yours given my browser kept your rating saved data on my end...but it looks like I lost all 73 reviews and ratings from my end....  :( best of luck to you in the Jam 

One of my Top 50 still in the Jam loved the retro feel of this 5/5! still great job and best of luck to you! thanks for reading if you get the chance before the jam ends....

Developer

Sorry about that. Re-rated.

Submitted(+2)

watchmojo top 10 scariest moments in games: number 4 - appearance of the bridge troll

Submitted(+1)

I really like this! How many bosses are there? I gave up on the lava wyrm, because the platforms are really punishing! Every platform in this game looks like they can be pass-through objects. So I guess we don't have to emulate every retro thing, especially the controls. Player could use some air control for precise landings and or attacks. So that way, when player makes a mistake, they blame themselves. Also a pause menu could be helpful, I died sometimes when something distracts me from the game. But other than that, I think this game is really special; bosses and stages work in tandem to make the fight more interesting and I love the nostalgic feel + easy to understand gameplay. This feels like a hidden gem that I'm glad I got to experience. Great work!

Submitted(+1)

just an incredible game, all the bosses were amazing and it feels very satisfying to beat, no idea how you were able to make this in only a month, definitely one of my favorite ones in this jam.

Submitted(+1)

Very cool aesthetic, nailed the retro vibes. Damn that was hard.

Submitted(+1)

This is a personal favorite in the jam. Good job, Donitzs! Among all the games, the level design is  one of the best here! I mean is challenging, smart use of the enviroment, you are such a talent. I also enjoyed reading the info page and the process of development. This is not just a good jam entry, but this works very well as a portafolio item. Congrats!

The music is good, but it can be better. If someday you need a hand with any musical endeavor, even trying to replicate the limitations of a particular sound engine, I would love to help! 

Wish you success in the jam!

Submitted (1 edit)

I loved your game. It was really difficult but I had a lot of fun. This game is really fun and it looks very good. I loved the boss designs and the art. This is such a great game. Good Job.


If you are interested, could you please play my game. I would really appreciate it.

Submitted(+1)

Unfortunately even I could only get till the baby kraken lol

Have to say that I love how committed you were to making an ultra-hard old-school game here. A player really needs to learn and analyse these boss patterns well to really stand a chance

Especially love how your bullets only cover a small length so you really have to go in close to damage an enemy. The first boss does teach you not to go too close though lol.

I think that some attacks may have been kinda unfair tbh, but as a whole, I'd say the bosses that I fought were designed very well.

And of course, it goes without saying that this game looks and sounds amazing. Really well done on this game

Submitted(+1)

Damn, I only made it to baby kraken before I gave up. Incredibly difficult but so stylish and authentic. You totally nailed the gamefeel, aesthetic, and difficulty of old-school action games.

I don’t have any feedback because every aspect of this design feels very intentional, which I really respect. I suppose I thought the vampire fight was curious, a lot of waiting around for an opening. I’m sure there’s some high-skill quick-kill strat where you hit the boss while they do their projectile volley but I couldn’t figure it out so I mostly just waited for bat form. Still very fun, might come back to this to see how much farther I can get.

The music and art were also perfect for what you were going for. Awesome work!

Developer

Thank you! There is indeed a quicker kill strat for the vampire by tricking it to teleport into a corner.

Submitted(+2)

Fuck you I beat it

The lengths that you went to emulate an unfair Amiga game were next level. Untelegraphed attacks, unresponsive jumps, platforms that can only kinda be jumped through, the works. This looks exactly like a game that would be featured on some AVGN vid from 2009, and I mean that both as a compliment and an insult.

(1 edit) (+1)

Ok. This game was AWESOME!  The visuals and sounds were outstanding! Really gave the retro feeling. However, the jump was a bit hard to get used to considering that you have to build up momentum to jump. The bosses were really great though. Overall, this is one of the best boss rush games I've played!

Submitted(+1)

Amazing entry!  You nailed the retro feel and made a very polished and fun, albeit hellishly difficult, game!  Congrats1

(+1)

Incredibly complete game with music, great retro colour scheme, and battle design! Defeating the bosses is like solving a puzzle, and figuring out the attack patterns is enjoyable. It's just super hard for me, I wish my skills were better to meet all the bosses, I'll try it again many times!

Submitted(+1)

I love the art style of this game, the ui system, the architecture arrangement in this game is well thought out and designed!!! Bosses have diverse and interesting fighting styles. The combat brings back memories of my childhood playing games like this. I love this game.

Submitted(+1)

You crushed the aesthetic

Submitted(+1)

The sound and visuals of the game are superb, and the overall atmosphere is great.

The controls were alright, but the jump was hard to get used to, and the different acceleration being applied while changing direction in the air, made it's use very restrictive, and led me to take a lot of damage.

An autofire would be appreciated on the attack, as well.

The bosses are difficult, and they give you very small windows of opportunity to damage them, so the "tough-as-nails" isn't just a marketing blurb in the description.

Otherwise, it's a really fun entry, and the MSX aesthetics come through, full force.

Developer(+1)

Thank you for the feedback! I agree the jump is a bit restrictive. It was modeled after the jump in La Mulana, in which jumping is a key mechanic in many puzzles. In this game it's mostly just a form of artificial difficulty by making the PC commit to a jump.

Submitted(+1)

Great art style, love the overall feel of the game.

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

The visual looks nice, and the music are nice too. The gameplay took me a while to get used to but boss design are really good. There are way more bosses than I thought and each of them have their unique attack pattern which is really cool. The difficulty is really nice, I like how all bosses feel challenging and fun.  

Anyways, cool game!

Viewing comments 26 to 7 of 26 · Next page · Last page