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Caverse's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Enjoyment | #113 | 4.120 | 4.120 |
| Presentation | #298 | 4.287 | 4.287 |
| Overall | #354 | 3.966 | 3.966 |
| Creativity | #1749 | 3.491 | 3.491 |
Ranked from 108 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
In all RPGs we play as warriors, magicians, etc. to fight evil monsters. In this game we play as these monsters, trying our best to defeat the warrior.
Did your team create the vast majority of the art during the 48 hours?
Yes
We created the vast majority of the art during the game jam
Did your team create the vast majority of the music during the 48 hours?
Yes
We created the vast majority of the music during the game jam
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Comments
Cool game! Like the graphics! Wanted more action!
Thank you!
I personally believe, this is the right length for game jam submission, sorry if it was too short for you...
Still glad that you liked it!
It's too easy to softlock yourself :( unless im doing something wrong. Other than that great game with great presentation
Thank you!
That is somewhat part of the experience: You learn about monsters, as well as knight's moves as you play. Even if you end up in an unwinnable state, you still can learn something valueable from that experience: maybe you learn that some monsters can perform better against certain moves, while other moves can heavily counter them. In short, you're not doing anything wrong, it's just literally part of game's design.
There were some things I could probably do to balance the game out a bit more, so softlocking doesn't occur as often... But this is game jam we're talking about, there's only so much I could do...
I hope you understand, and I'm glad that you still liked the game!
Sorry if i sounded rough. I really enjoyed the game just found it frustrating to lose my progression. And the polish level and game feel is quite amazing for a jam game.
Don't worry about it, I see what you mean!
What matters in the end is that you enjoyed the game overall!
And again, thank you for playing!
This game was really hard, but also very fun! Loved the music and the art, and the game felt really polished! I ended up beating almost the entire game with the zombie and three bats, aside from the last level that forced me to purchase a fifth slot.
Thank you!
I'm happy that you enjoyed the game! Also, good job on completing it!
Very well done, polished game! I couldn't completely fit this to the theme of the jam though.
I mean, the role of the player is reversed. When you would normally control the warrior, who defeats monsters and explores dungeons and stuff, you now instead control monsters to prevent the warrior from doing exactly that. I think that does fit the theme of the jam, although it isn't exactly enough, as pointed out by someone else below, to be completely honest.
But still, thank you for playing my game!
This game is pretty fun, but you can't get to day 15 unless you get VERY specific setups.
I still like the different monsters and the different knight moves.
Thanks for feedback!
Yeah, this game can get very tight with what you can do, especially in the middle game and day 15...
Gladd that you liked the game nonetheless!
Wow! One of the best entries I've played yet. Really good. Should be a game boy game. Slimes and Zombies made it to level 15. Great design.
Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed this game so much!
I played for way too long. I won though.
Good job! And thank you for playing!
Really cool game! This had me playing for a long time.
Thanks!
Glad that you enjoyed the game!
Nice game! It’s really polished and feels quite complete! The aesthetic is impressive, great job!
Thank you!
Dang this game is addictive. I love the music and the aesthetic with the tiny pixel monsters.
Okay I had to play it again so I could beat it
Thank you!
This game is addictive indeed, heh
I am thoroughly impressed by how smart the hero's AI is. No matter what configuration of monsters I tried to use, the hero completely dismantled my team, oftentimes with just 1 HP left!
Normally, I'd be frustrated toward difficult games, but this one just left me awed more than anything. Fantastic game!
Thank you!
Yeah, hero's AI is pretty smart, although it does use a bit of a brute-forced method of making decisions, since there's likely not enough time in a game jam to make more sophisticated AI...
Glad that you enjoyed the game, despite its difficulty!
Challenging and pretty well balanced, with barely attainable goal. The variability in monster types and the abilities the hero game made me want to replay it to completion. The aesthetic was spot on too. It may me determined to beat the game. Well done!!
Thank you!
I'm happy that you enjoyed the game!
Oh and I forgot to comment: you must have had an impressive algorithm in place to determine how the hero destroy our foes. It seemed you purposefully allowed the hero attack sub-optimally in order to leave the hero with 1 hp left (if possible). You built in a lure to make me go "juuust one more time!". That AI raises this higher
It wasn't exactly intended at first, heh. But that definitely seems to add to experience!
Edit: Placing my Review Summary at the top for convenience
==============
Review Summary
==============
CAVERSE
[ + + + + + ] :: ENJOYMENT
[ + + + + - ] :: CREATIVITY
[ + + + + + ] :: PRESENTATION
Final Review
--
Caverse is an undeniably addictive strategy game hidden under the hood of a turn-based RPG. You must take the role of dungeon enemies who fight against a warrior! You must manage your resources carefully, and arrange your team strategically to succeed in driving them out!
==============
Detailed Review
==============
This is my rubric:
--
[ + - - - - ] 1 - Missing
[ + + - - - ] 2 - Somewhat Present
[ + + + - - ] 3 - Present
[ + + + + - ] 4 - Well Done
[ + + + + + ] 5 - Outstanding
--
[ + + + + + ] :: ENJOYMENT
I don't want to be writing this review, I want to play the game more!
This was my winning team
..but I'm still so hyped about winning that I want to write the review before I let my enthusiasm go stale. Slavaxt, I applaud you for making the first game of GMTK 2023 that I genuinely see myself playing over and over again! I give you 5 stars for creating such an intricate and rewarding experience! The resource management is everything in this game. I had to restart several times to get past level 7. By then I'd figured out that I need to save my meat
for someone specialuntil after a failed a combat. This allowed me to have enough resources in each successive round. I think the only suggestion I could offer is providing a button to reset your purchases in a given round; but I'm not entirely sure if that would improve the experience.. It would save me from having to reset so many times though!Excellent game! I hated that I had to reset so much, but winning was a rewarding experience!
P.S. Nice work adding the "Good Job" star to the menu screen to show that I had won.
[ + + + + - ] :: CREATIVITY
I wanted to just put 5 stars down the board because of how much I enjoyed the game, but after careful consideration I determined that while it is a creative game, simply reversing the role between the hero and the enemies isn't quite enough to stand out; creatively speaking. It was actually one of the ideas our team had during our brainstorming session; you just happened to do a kick-@$$ job of it!
I measure creativity by how memorable or unique an idea is. I generally use Super Mario Bros as a reference: Plumber eats vegetation to grow big and shoot fireballs to fight turtles and save a princess. You have to admit that it's a pretty off-the-wall concept.
If you had created more of a narrative it would offer more room to be creative. Instead of monsters maybe you have computer chips fighting a hacker (for example). Perhaps the hero is pest-control and you are the bugs trying to exterminate him. Just throwing ideas out there.
Nevertheless, you did a phenomenal job taking your idea and making it into a well-rounded game.
Edit: By my own rule, you did a good job with the concept. There is narrative present, it's just subtle. There's still rome for more, but you've done a masterful job with the overall idea.
[ + + + + + ] :: PRESENTATION
I loved how every element had sound effects; and that every context had a music track. It probably escapes a lot of people's notice, but I really appreciated it. They would notice if those elements WEREN'T there. I also loved how you simplified your scope by having a single frame change for each state. You also put a lot of work into each of the hero's attacks having a unique animation!
I was on the fence about giving you 4 stars, but in the end, I think those hero abilities is what won me over. I'm afraid that adding too much more flair would only serve to distract from the overall experience.
Impressive work!
Furthermore, you've made Game of the Day on my Threads app :)
Woah, that is incredibly comprehensive review, and I greatly thank you for making one!
You raise a lot of good points, especially in Creative paragraph. A better narrative would definitely help, but I've ultimately decided to opt for gameplay as top priority when making this game. Still, you're right, that something more unique could be done there.
I'm really happy that you enjoyed the game so much and I'm pleasantly surprised to be in the Game of the Day! Thank you for all that!
You made the right choice, I think. Gameplay is the most important aspect of a game. If you had 5-star gameplay and 1-star everything else, I'd still keep playing it for the 5-star gameplay.
I think enhancing creativity is something that can be done now that you've established good gameplay. I mean, how many times has Pokemon reused the exact same gameplay in different creative contexts? (rhetorical question)
I'm confirming my reviews. I decided to up creativity to 4 stars. The creativity you demonstrated is great! I'll add an edit to my review with more insight.
Really fun game! After the first few days, I wasn't too into it but I decided to keep playing once I got some more monsters and that's when it got really good! I got the zombie and then never spent more meat and he was awesome! Great music, art, and idea! Maybe it was because of my op zombie but I thought the middle of the game was harder than the end.
Thank you!
Yeah, the middle game and day 15 are often the hardest points in the game... This game would definitely benefit from balance tweaking (especially with zombie thing)
Glad that you enjoyed the game after all!
The strategy, the fun, the drama!!! I'm seriously appalled at how good this is for a game jam! Well done.
Thank you for such kind words!
I love this gamed and will play it again! a good strategie game i really liked it!
Thank you!
I'm happy that you liked the game!
loved this!
Thanks!
Beautiful game, love what you've made! Excellent submission :)
Thanks!
Its pretty funny, love the art!
Thank you!
So good, I love it! reminds me a little bit of Super Auto Pets for obvious reasons but I like that instead of being a symmetrical board the enemy is that singular "hero." there's a lot of really cool design space here, definetly looking forward to playing more if you plan on continue working on it!
Thank you! Glad that you loved the game!
Yeah, I didn't even realize, how similar it would be to SAP, before I got working on the idea... Probably shows, how brilliant the system in that game is, despite its simplicity.
And given how much positive feedback I've recieved so far, even though I cannot promise much, continuing to work on this game or even turning this into a full game is a possibility I may actually consider!