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Symbiosis's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Graphics | #11 | 4.357 | 4.357 |
| Theme | #15 | 4.071 | 4.071 |
| Audio | #30 | 3.571 | 3.571 |
| Overall | #49 | 3.311 | 3.311 |
| Originality | #69 | 3.250 | 3.250 |
| Accessibilty | #71 | 2.750 | 2.750 |
| Fun | #81 | 2.929 | 2.929 |
| Controls | #130 | 2.250 | 2.250 |
Ranked from 28 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Godot Version
4.3
Wildcards Used
Exchange
Game Description
A Narrative 2D platformer game where you morph and rediscover who you were meant to be.
How does your game tie into the theme?
During the gameplay, player has the ability to perform a "metamorphosis" which turns them into a different species with special abilities
Source(s)
N/A
Discord Username(s)
blulio, real71f, hhektor, silverfrok47_43497
Participation Level (GWJ Only)
1
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Comments
Hey sorry I can’t make a third stream session. Receiving my new PC parts earlier than expected fucked up my schedule.
Notes while playing:
Looks really good. Cool intro with the 3D effect. Pretty unique art style.
Can’t jump with space it’s doing a weird thing instead. Checking gamepage, wtf why use physical Z as jump, are you also French? Pick physical W so it’s W for US-based layout and Z for French. And anyway I like jump to be space, but I can’t remap it. For next time check Maaack’s Game Template (yes he is a regular of GWJ) for this kind of thing, or make your own reusable one.
I got attacked by an enemy I didn’t kill during the dialogue thing at the end of the level.
Cool double jump, now I can ignore the combat that wasn’t particularly fun, and now is unnecessary. Got a feeling of sudden freedom based on both of these aspects. Maybe if attacking a charging enemy interrupted them it would be better 🤔
Controls pretty good. I suck at platformers. I would appreciate some helps like coyote time and some lenience. But that’s a design choice and impacts difficulty. See Dead Cells as the best example I have of good platforming controls. The lead designer gave a conference about it in my school, maybe he has some stuff online.
Checkpoints plz I don’t have time for a jam game. At least life refill here and there, but progress save would be best. It’s a 2d platformer, there’s probably a ton of already-made code and tools to implement all this. Didn’t finish the game, got an unexpected jump headbutt from one of the guys on the upper part of the level. That killed me twice in the same spot after an otherwise long walk in the park and didn’t feel like trying again.
Gameplay not very original, but the inclusion of the theme in acquiring new abilities is pretty good. Though the concept of upgrades in itself is not super original for a metroidvania. But you know, nowadays anything has already been made once.
Music is pretty good, a bit samey. Sounds are good too.
Overall solid entry, my criticism is mostly programming/design details that you will figure out with experience. 2D platformers are popular and pretty easy to make (tons of resources), which makes people’s expectations for the genre particularly high I think.
I loved the cinematics, the music, and the visual effects you created with the light! The story is quite engaging, and I really enjoyed playing it. The unique art style adds so much personality to the game, and the transitions are incredibly well done—I loved experiencing those too. Amazing work!
Feels very fancy with the animated intro and the shadows and beautiful visuals.
I would have appreciated a bit more of a visual indicator when you attack, something that shows the attack range.
I was going to complain that game is short - but now that I'm writing this comment I noticed that I must have missed something, since the "How does your game tie into the theme?" section indicates there is a "metamorphosis" mechanic?
I got like 140 more games I would like to rate, but hopefully I'll find the time to give this game a second try and update this comment accordingly.
Edit: I figured out what happened. There is a guy right before the place where you undergo metamorphosis. I didn't notice (and thus didn't kill them), so when the game started the "you can't get across" monologue, I died. For me it looked like the game went straight from "you can't get though this part" to " you gave up". It's not uncommon for a jam game to stop abruptly due to obvious reasons, but I'm glad I came back and gave it another shot.
No, no, it's not really a mechanic, it happens between two phases
I like the fact that this has an intro cutscene and the cutscenes for getting abilities, also a fan of the character arts! Some visualization for the attacks could improve the playing experience, it was hard to calculate the right distance for attacking enemies.
I must say the opening sequence is very impressive and atmospheric. Beautifully done! I also like character design, simple but delicate and original.
In regards to gameplay I ran into some problems progressing further due to controls and got quite frustrated - which kind of fits the subject here ;). I wasn't able to complete, but I hope the protagonist found some positive outcomes.
It's pretty rare to get an opening cinematic and cutscenes like this.
The art, aesthetic and sound design here are all crazy good. The gameplay is a fine platformer and can clearly see the Hollow Knight influence pretty clearly. It would've been nice to have a visual for the attack.
Whoever decided Z for jump when using WASD and space is nuts though.
I really need to start working in a team, you can get so much more done in the time.
WASD support was only in some rare cases if someone has a 60% keyboard layout without arrows or something. Tutorial was last addition before we submitted, I meant to write "Use ARROWS to move" but my brain accidentally wrote "Use WASD to move" because we were under the tension lol, so actual setup should be left hand on Z/X/C and right hand on arrows.
Also yeah, working with team can be fun! Thank you so much for the feedback.
Really cool transition between scenes (or cutscenes?)! The lights, the perspective, and the camera work - are all really cool!
My main issue was not having the attack "blow" visualization, which made it hard to understand how close you should come to attack, etc. Also, the sound of enemies dying is a bit too pittyfull, I kept feeling bad for punching those beautiful creatures, as if I'm the villain here :)
Great submission, especially for the first one!
Thank you so much for the comment and nice words! We do agree we could've focused more on some kind of attack animation, but we were really short on time.
> I kept feeling bad for punching those beautiful creatures, as if I'm the villain here :)
I see :)
Again, thanks for the comment!
Some very nice cutscenes, just the transition from the splash to the main menu was super cool. I think the main thing I would change is not to be sent way back to the beginning as my reward for beating each section, some shortcuts would make that actually interesting as I can now take new paths.
I see a lot of comments about the controls, but I think it made sense. I think the only main confusion is the tutorial mentions WASD to move, rather than Arrow Keys. Trying to use WASD and ZXC is a nightmare for sure, but Arrows and ZXC is totally fine.
Yeah, tutorial at the start was last thing added so I accidentally said "WASD" instead of arrows which confused a lot of players. Thank you do much for feedback!
Fun game! The cutscenes in between levels were really well done and the story kept me intrigued until the end. Enemies and your character changing throughout the game was a good touch. Awesome music and ambience too!
I found the controls a bit awkward having jump on Z, but overall quite good, music and visuals are very pretty
Thank you !
Nice introduction, good atmosphere, good story. My only complaint is that the white screen is too white! Hahaha! Great game, congrats!
Thank you for the feedback haha!
Very pretty game, amazing visuals paired with a good soundtrack but a wild control scheme (z for jump?) and a slightly lackluster on animations.. This game sure has an interesting and unique story!
This is a nice entry that could have used more time to get things more polished!
Good job to the team!
Thank you!
Some actions need a bit more polish (some attack animation would have been nice) and the controls as people has said is kinda weird and unusual.
Story is well exposed but a bit harsh and violent imo, becoming the bully is not something you want, it's a lot me vs them, them being evil and it's kinda uneasing.
Overall, great entry and awesome game, great job
[Spoilers]
It's evil and kinda 'harsh' towards the character on purpose, some (?) narrator (your mind?) is telling you you're not good enough and you must be like them to fit in. Even tho you get experience, new abilities, at the end, you're stuck, a dead end, the ability that you've actually needed is to be yourself
Thanks for the Feedback!
The game is beautiful without question, and the cutscenes etc were very nicely done. However, with a team of 4 folks I would have liked to have seen a bit more polish. Attack animations, UI graphics (health), etc. Also like the others have mentioned, that Z key for jump is pretty awkward to use. I think the game has real potential though! Congrats on the submission!
Fair point.
At this point, we see why Z might've been awkward for jumping but our vision was for people to have setup like this:
Left hand:
Ring finger finger on Z
Middle finger on X
Point/Index finger on C
Thumb on SPACE for attacking
Right hand on arrows
Due to multiple controls we 'stole' controls from games like Celeste and Hollow Knight so we didn't actually expect people to not like it haha, I guess we just got used to it thru the development.
But we're glad for people pointing out the issue, and we'll make sure to keep that in mind next time. Thank you so much!!
Very atmospheric, the most beautiful game I played so far. The music fits really well with the graphics !
But why Z ?
Honestly, we were surprised so many people are not used to Z for jumping. But actually inspiration was from games like Celeste and Hollow Knight.
The idea was to use Z, X and C with left hand, with thumb on space bar, and arrows on right side with right hand to move. (Or W/D & S/D for movement)
But we understand why are people frustrated and all the feedback.
Thank you so much!
Z for jump is wild indeed. However this game is very atmospheric! I really like the artwork. There is definitely potential for a solid platformer here. I would have liked a sound settings menu though, it was really loud but I didn't want to turn the SFX down
Thank you
other than z for jump this is like perfect