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Torchlighter's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Gameplay | #33 | 3.765 | 3.765 |
| Overall | #48 | 3.853 | 3.853 |
| Innovation | #115 | 3.265 | 3.265 |
| Graphics | #147 | 3.471 | 3.471 |
| Theme interpretation | #196 | 3.059 | 3.059 |
| Audio | #198 | 2.912 | 2.912 |
Ranked from 34 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
GitHub repository URL
https://github.com/harlig/torchlighter
Game description
Torchlighter is a real-time deckbuilder in which you create a strong deck to extinguish the darkness.
Theme interpretation
Secret cards heavily influence your combats, allowing you to get a leg up on the darkness!
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Comments
This is a nice little deck builder. The art is nicely done - it's simple, but effectively portrays the "darkness" / "shadows" theme. Fun and satisfying. Nice job.
Not too hard to notice where the inspiration for this comes from. Sadly the cards here (for what I've seen of em at least) don't have enough variety to make it all that interesting. And I hit a complete wall few levels in where I just can't do anything no matter what I try. I just can't get enough mana fast enough to keep up with the constant onslaught of enemies. Not too fun getting absolutely stomped and slowly losing all your deck with nothing you can really do about it. And it's so dang slow too. Doesn't really inspire me to even keep trying.
It looked very nice and moody. Not a huge fan of the font though, it's not very readable and the tutorial having loads of texts for you to slog through without really getting to play yet made it feel even worse. It did a good enough job to teach the mechanics but it wasn't paced all that well and wasn't really interactive enough for my liking. It really would have been better if more integrated to the first level.
Well, after some time off from it starting to write this feedback, I went back and few more tries in managed to luck through the level with some luckier starting draws. Then proceeded to steamroll through the rest of the game with no issues.
So basically all the stat boost cards are pretty much a trap and not worth it at all unless you have a surplus of mana and in those cases you are already probably winning and have some secrets to spend your extra mana on instead. The dark ritualish mana gain card seemed to be the best one I saw by far.
Placing the cards seemed a bit pointless. Didn't see any reason why you really would play your cards on anywhere else besides the furthest along the track you can. Just made it clunkier to play and seemed like "we gotta do it like this because StS does it like this". Would need more deep mechanics of having more defensive front line defending the more fragile ranged units and casters but even then it would be just wrong or right with no real strategy involved.
The audio work was very much on the lights side but even though it was simple, it somehow didn't get too boring and irritating. In fact, it's still playing there on the background as I'm writing this. But sound effects were lacking a bit more. Having some more actual noises of combat and so on would have made it more interesting to follow. The game was mostly just about waiting for the next available cast while watching to fight go on so might as well make it more entertainable.
The fights should always start you with at least some mana. That initial wait every round start felt horrible. All at the same time where sometimes enemies were already half way down the track before you were even able to cast anything.
But yeah, all in all, it was pretty enjoyable ride. Would just need pacing improvements, less duplicate and boring cards and more interesting ones instead to make the gameplay deeper and less about just blindly waiting for your 2/2 grizzly to throw in the mix.
Good job! 👍
Thank you for the detailed feedback, I really appreciate it and will incorporate it in when my motivation comes back to polish the game up further!
This game was a whole heap of fun! Love the concept and the to-ing and fro-ing with the incoming enemies and strategising on what cards to play or hold. Great work!
Really fun deck builder style game. I sort of fell for the trap of growing my deck big which I think is a bit of a trap. Also the use of light and shapes is really strong and hides the minimalist animation really well. The whole game has a really strong grim vibe. The secret cards are kind of fun, high risk high reward. Sometimes it did feel like my runs were dependent on those. Also the tutorial is fantastic, so few games have them and a game this complicated needs on and that told me all I needed to know without belaboring the point. Really good interactive tutorial. Really enjoyable game.
The game looks beautiful
Keep going
As someone who isn't a huge fan of roguelike deckbuilders I can say that I liked the Secret cards mechanic and how powerful/limited they are. The Art is also great, I really liked that the torches casted shadows, it helped with the immersion.
Nice concept, well polished. I like the artwork and the way you guided me into the game. Well done.
Awesome! Really enjoyed the game, highly engaging. Graphics, mechanics are intuitive. The idea and realization of the game impressed. My favorite game of this jam, Thank you!
Amazing and fun game. The idea is great, graphics look great.
A very fun card game, i loved the idea, simple yet engaging
Really really creative and unique! I love the concept for this. Not sure I've ever played a real time card game like this, very cool!
The concept had me sold right away—this is a really fun game. The idea of gameplay centered around lighting torches is fantastic, and the variety of maps is rich enough to keep experimenting with different strategies and tricks engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed it—great work!
Fun real-time deckbuilder. The gameplay is engaging, and strategy keeps me hooked. I like graphics and art. I really liked the creative design of the creatures. It’s a great game!
Ambience is really earned and the gameplay is pretty polished. Maybe the secret cards mechanic is a little missed and could be a little risky, but it could make it more frustrating than intended.
Good job!
On my screen it kept glitching. I also couldn't play any of my cards. If those were fixed, I would probrobly love it!
Dang sorry that happened, you’re the first person I’ve heard this from! Would you please share what browser and browser version you tried playing on?
Expected to see a few deck builders this year because of Balatro. This one is pretty good, especially for the time you had. I wonder if maybe the deck thinning mechanic isn't too strong? I like to play light decks in this kind of game and this makes it really easy and rewards it immensely. If that's part of your intent I apologize. Fun game man!
Great deckbuilder! Very polished graphics and gameplay. Well done!
Fun game: I really liked the graphics and how the secrets theme was added. I finished with a deck of mostly mid-cost rangers. I thought it was very creative!
Critiques: I think thinning your deck and getting $50 at the end of a round is very strong! It could've used a hard mode, as well, maybe.
Fun game. Really liked the creative creature shape design you used. Gave each of different types of unit some character. Lighting effect looked great, as did the actual cards themselves.
For improvements, I'd suggest adding some way to counter clumps of ranged enemies. I found that if one side could get 3 ranged enemies up and running, it was game over for the other side. Maybe add an AOE creature/ability to counter this.
Overall, great submission. Well done!
I love this game. It is way too addictive and really fun to play. The visuals are minimalistic but it goes well with the gameplay. The sounds are also nicely supporting the whole vibe. The implementation of the theme in the form of secret cards is also very clever. Good job!