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Back to the Roots's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Fun | #22 | 3.304 | 3.727 |
| Originality | #26 | 3.546 | 4.000 |
| Theme | #37 | 3.223 | 3.636 |
| Audio | #38 | 3.143 | 3.545 |
| Overall | #42 | 3.085 | 3.481 |
| Accessibility | #47 | 2.740 | 3.091 |
| Controls | #51 | 2.820 | 3.182 |
| Graphics | #61 | 2.820 | 3.182 |
Ranked from 11 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Godot Version
4.0
Wildcards Used
A fork in the road.
Game Description
A challenging jump 'n' stick journey.
How does your game tie into the theme?
A young oleander sets out to find a dream for her live.
Source(s)
N/A
Discord Username(s)
N/A
Participation Level (GWJ Only)
1
My game has an export for Linux, Windows, & Mac and/or is playable through HTML5
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Comments
Finally made it to the end! I agree that a few more respawn points would have made it less frustrating (at least during the jam), but the dialogue made me want to see it to the end.
I think a way to adjust mouse sensitivity would have made it a little more comfortable.
Seems like a super fun game, but it's maddeningly difficult on my laptop with a trackpad. I wish there were some alternative control scheme. (Or, you know, I could buy a mouse.)
One of my favorite entry for this jam!!
The game reminded me a lot of Celeste. If there was a death animation (like celeste) the game would be PERFECT for someone like me who likes difficulty!
The game has the potential to be a real buyable game. The mechanics are not unique, it reminds me of another game but I don't know which one. In any case, congratulations
I had a great time playing this game. It feels and looks incredibly polished. Fantastic Job!
I really liked the game. It comes all the way from existential dread to existential dread. Unfortunately, my mouse got stuck in the center when I had to choose a dream so I went with the cave plant (don't remember the name). I think it will take them some time to come up with a new dream looking at that lone start at the ceiling :)
This is the first game in this jam that's not about dreams as when you sleep but about dreams as life goals. The dialogues are very cool. Also, the music even though it sounds like generic audio stocks kind of music is very fitting.
Amazing job!
I'm so conflicted! I love the premise and the dialogue is well-written! But the game is frustrating as hell, haha. I still had fun with it, and I'm glad you've put checkpoints here and there. Your tutorial is very good! Clear and concise. Good entry!
The mechanic is really cool. I had my fun using it. Was tough game but I managed to get into the second dialog. Overall really cool entry for your first jam! Keep going!
Really impressive first jam!
For me it was too much dialog and too hard. Some more respawn points would have made it more fun, it was frustrating to respawn so far back.
I like how clean the controls are, and how satisfying it is to jump around and get stuck on walls and stuff. I'm no huge fan of spikes though (damaged from Metroidvania Month 19 jam where most games had them...).
Cute game and story. Really interested in following your (i hope) upcoming jams!
Good job!
Wonderful submission for your first GWJ!
I loved the art and the great background music! I enjoyed the very well-written dialogue in the beginning. I died several times unfortunately and there are many more games to rate and review so I will not be able to experience the ending for now.
I would say suggest adding keyboard support (just using left and right keys or something) because the mouse was a little cumbersome to use in my opinion.
Litle note from my side to not claim false praise. I did not make the music but only picked songs that seemed fitting. The original creators are listed in the license file. Yeah I know the game is challenging. Propably not the best thing for a jam but thanks for giving it a try anyways! I can’t really imagine how a keyboard control would work, since the different strengths are needed at some places. An alternative way of controling could be a Gamepad with joysticks though.
Interesting. I cannot seem to figure this out. It’s not clear to me how I could control the “strength” of the jump.
On a related note, it would be nice if we could skip the initial dialogue because the player has to sit through it whenever they want to replay the game.
When you drag the line gets longer based on how long you drag. This has an influence on your jump strength. Thinking about it do you use an hdpi monitor? Could be that this is broken with high resolutions.
If you want to replay it for the gameplay that is what timed mode is made fo. And in theory the game should save that you read the initial dialogue (or did you use the reset progress button?). But yes in generall skipping dialogues is a thing that I will propably add in a postjam version.
The triangle is always the same length no matter what happens for me. I am playing on a MacBook Pro.
Interesting. Timed mode is disabled for me. The “Reset Progress” button is also disabled for me. I think the game always assume I am starting with zero progress or something? I am launching the game from the itch app.
I guess there is some restriction regarding file saving on mac that I am unaware of. The game tries to save the config in the same directory were it is located and mac may be blocking that. I will look at it. But I am not certain if I can submit this as game breaking bug during the jam period.
Well the game still plays so it’s not a deal breaker I don’t think. Thanks for taking a look at my concerns and feedback!
What concerns me more is the jump strength issue xD Not quite sure if it is a bug or something related to window scaling. But if your mouse is very sensitive it may help to drag slowly in the opposite direction of the jump indicator. (It may take some time until you see the arrow getting smaller.)
I can't rate it because I didn't submit. But I want to leave feedback.
I was very moved by your game. Just finished. Pretty hard (:
I wish there was a death animation. But I'm sure it's because of the time restrictions of the jam.
I have some bug with endings. Mouse cursor sticking to the center. (played on win). And I do not understand how to open menu after the end without restarting the game.
Still, your work is very good. I wish you the best.
I like the length of the game. Nice level design. Cute dialogues, morals and thoughts.
I hope people will appreciate it despite the challenging levels (died 118 times btw).
Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad you enjoied it! I will propably make a postjam version to iron out some of the things you mentioned (for example it is not possible to return to the title screen without restarting). I thought I fixed the issue with mouse capturing. Which ending were you playing?
I think that was the second one.
The ending in the middle of choice menu because of mouse bug.
Oh I see. That is unfurtunate. Espacially as that ending is not unlocked in all cases. I will ask if I am allowed to submit a fix for it.