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Upstream's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Artistic | #20 | 4.036 | 4.036 |
| Overall | #25 | 3.329 | 3.329 |
| Design | #25 | 3.286 | 3.286 |
| Gameplay | #26 | 3.214 | 3.214 |
| Technical | #29 | 3.214 | 3.214 |
| Theme | #44 | 2.893 | 2.893 |
Ranked from 28 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
Ooh, nice and small game! Really nice job showing progress after each death, it was actually motivating to try again and again, until I won. :D
Winning this felt good. 🤠
Nice that you showed the progress on the death screen gave you that idea that you can make it a bit more . Good job
Some very nice art!
Nice art and sound. Liked the paper feel of the background when you were in the shop or when the map how far you got was showing.
So this is why a Magicarp turns into a Gyrados!
Great game & visuals, I liked the take on the theme as well. A great entry :)
Nice retelling of the story of the little carp who could (become a dragon). Nice soothing gameplay and over all style. well done!
It was well made. I liked the animations and the art as well. Maybe you could make the animations faster as the game speeds up. It felt a little floaty at times.
Love the visuals and restrained celshading, it ran really well in the browser for me. It has an addictive loop of dying/upgrading7dying that keeps the player going.
I gotta say, the philosophy of this game bothers me a bit. This is a Koi that tries to avoid ridicule, by trying to perform better than everyone else, and in order to pull that off it needs to keep up its motivation. And what is their main purpose of facing those challenges? To get money. To grind enough money to enable you to grind even more money. They say they want to avoid the "shame demon", so they go out every day to get money so they can buy an advantage over everyone else and get a little further the next time, but to no real end. Grinding wealth in order to reach your goal becomes your goal, you work to earn money so you can keep working to earn even more money so you can work even more.
It's kind of fucked up.
Oh you're right I didn't think of it that way. The thought process was that since the legend its based on is about not giving up, the health bar should be motivation. I was gonna make the currency for upgrades something abstract like believing in yourself or something but my partner said "Koins" and I couldn't resist the pun lol.
I don't think its about trying to avoid ridicule though. The fish wants to get to the top of the river despite the ridicule. It's never implied that they're trying to prove themselves to anyone. The demons are literal demons from Japanese/Chinese myth. I think they're meant to represent people mocking you when you try to achieve the "impossible". And the grind isn't endless, the game does have an end and you can win. Still, I get how your interpretation makes sense, and yeah it is kinda fucked up :/
You're right, I think it was the death/fail screen that confused me a bit on the story; "succumbed to the demon's mockery".
Using "motivation" as health is a good choice, it makes total sense, and that was the only reason I reacted to the "koin" part as that works as the players motivation and in dissonance with the rest of the game. Not so much criticism as an observation.
I like the idea of like Sisyphus rolling the rock up the hill, maintaining your motivation despite constant pushbacks and regressions, and doing so by improving your perception of yourself (adjectives or properties like "self-worth", "pride", "humility", "introspection", "empathy" etc.)
Has a really enjoyable, smooth feel to the swimming movement
Completed it first go with no upgrades so it obviously controls well and feels nice. However... the design in this game is best in class! The graphics, the feel, the story is just... I'm speechless. I love it!
I mean easily a design 5-star for Koins alone :D I loved frog shoppe, the art style and music was super relaxing, and I made it out with minimal powerups so it didn't feel like a slog. Definitely a game I could come back to!
good entry, i like the menu and that you actually see the progression :-)
the tail movement is a bit unpredictable, you should limit your hitbox a bit so that it is more forgiving on the koi's and.
and you collect koins?? awesome!! :-D
Strong entry, and i really enjoyed the upgrades system where there's not just more hp but also movement upgrades and additional spawning items you can unlock like the shades.
The artstyle is beautiful both the 3D gameplay segments and the illustrations on the menus you've nailed the japanese style here, and that music loop completes the package . Also have to point out that it's really clever to have used the whole Koi becomes dragon myth fot the evolution theme ^^
If i had to nitpick i only encountered 2 small issues, sometimes once you've dodged an obstacle the time your animation gets back to idle your tail can still hit things and damage you after you passed it, and a tiny bit more visibility for what's ahead could be nice.
Other than these, it's all good, the game is fun, and i like that considering the theme you based it on you didn't made it endless and have the actual goal of reaching the top of the stream, plus i really liked the little detail of the map showing you how far you went each attempt.
Good job and well done :)
Love the game idea. Super fun - great start!