Play game
First Break - Pirate Jam Version's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Cleverness | #79 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Artistic Style | #85 | 4.667 | 4.667 |
| Playability | #90 | 4.667 | 4.667 |
| Theme | #425 | 3.333 | 3.333 |
Ranked from 6 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.
- Playability 5/5: This game runs flawlessly. I haven't experienced a stutter, a misaligned hitbox, or an overly-frustrating level. Learning the mechanics is a breeze and rather intuitive even with little guidance. Theme 3/5: This game is quite clever with the way it engages the theme, but I do wish there was just a bit more. Of course, this is two weeks and this is one dev... but as an impartial judgement it leaves me wanting more. Cleverness 4/5: As stated prior, this game is rather clever with the way it approaches the theme. I do wish the mechanic was further explored, but all-in-all I very much enjoyed what you did with it! Artistic Style 5/5: This game's style is wonderful. My one critique is increasing the contrast of the enemies colors, as some of the colors on the blue side of the spectrum could be confused depending on the monitor. This is a phenomenal submission and I hope you continue to develop it, no matter what the end result.
- I'll be honest, I'm just bad at games, especially like this. It's not bad in the slightest, but after attempting however many levels I got to, with over 100 deaths, I had to stop playing for my own sake. Love the style (art & combat), but definitely didn't catch on to the controls in the very beginning until I played around with the controls (could be on me if it was specified and I wasn't paying attention)
- Good use of intrigue in the story. Really compelling gameplay. Clever use of the theme though I feel it could be taken further. Wonderful style on this as well. Damn good job
- VERY VERY good! nearly impeccable, I find the theming to be a bit weak, but otherwise stellar! Please develop this into a full game, the ending has me hooked to see more narrative :)
- Loved how you introduced mechanics slowly. Difficulty ramped up pretty quick (but it is a game jam so I get that you wanted to show a range of gameplay!). Music was tops. Loved the feeling of dread. Appreciate the intro as well Brilliant
- While it doesn't hit the theme as hard as I'd like (and I think it could be adapted to have the narrative lean harder in that direction quite easily), First Break introduces its player to the mechanics quickly and efficiently without ever explaining itself, is immediately engaging both mechanically and artistically and remains so until the end.
Did you include your Game Design Document in your downloadable files?
Yes
Tell us about your game!
First Break is a atmospheric puzzle/bullet-hell hybrid about surviving a strange prison filled with traps.
Four creatures tell someone to pick something from a bag, a sling, before they get thrown into a seemingly endless pit. They wake up in this strange prison, and for every room, they need to find a key in order to open a warp and move forward.
Many enemies live in these rooms, and as they move, they spread deadly trails that will affect the player moves in many ways. The player is also very fragile, and every contact with an enemy or trap will end in a Game Over. Dying is fine, just try to escape.
Controls
WASD/Left Stick - 8-Direction Movement
Mouse/Right Stick - Aim Sling
LT/Right Click - Interaction
RT/Left Click - Shoot
I RECOMMEND USING A SCREEN REFRESH RATE OF 60HZ TO PLAY THE GAME WITH THE INTENDED FIRE RATE AND ENEMY SPREAD RATE - 144HZ WILL WORK PERFECTLY FINE, IT WILL JUST BE A BIT EASIER
Did you remember to include your Game Design Document?
Yes
Is your game set to Public so we can see it?
Yes
Extra Notes
Thanks Thor for organizing the jam and everyone for playing the game! I recommend using the mouse and keyboard to play, gamepad is supported but there is no aim assist.
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Comments
wonderful idea, I'm surprised how much you got done, great job <3
That was a blast! The ambiance was on point.
Amazing!
really nicely made, love the challenge
super cool concept 8)
Great music, great feel, cool concept, papa johns
Amazing! Everything works pretty well and i had a lot of fun overall, my only complain is about the trails, which felt more like "frustrating hard" than "fun hard", but great job, one of the best i've seen in the jam.
Beautiful, but the difficulty was frustrating due to only 1 mechanic: the trail. It felt super fun to get through the levels but when the screen gets hectic, trying to manage all the entities plus the trails felt a bit annoying
Good level of difficulty, also the polish on this is incredible!
Mixed feelings.
I enjoyed the game and thought it was interesting, but it was annoying that it was an all-or-nothing puzzle. It felt more like luck at times than skill. Felt like it got repetitive around puzzle ~21.
Being able to hide behind some of the blocks from the spreading effects would be a nice feature and allow for much more flexibility in the puzzles.
What's the 'It's Spreading" Part?
When enemies are moving/exploding, they spread trails (bullet-hell style) that instantly kills the player on contact :)
Cool, dark art style and music. The mechanics are interesting and fun. Put it on Steam and I will definitely buy it :) Good luck!
This game is so cool! I had a blast playing it. Looking forward to see where it goes.
Fun game, with interesting puzzles. I found that shooting wasn't always the best option which is interesting. Having movement where you can slide along the walls would be a great quality of life update.
Fun and hard!
A great game. I would pay for a full version. It's challenging for me, who is someone who has played a decent amount of bullet hells, but not too hard. It has a ton of both mechanics and levels, and is honestly a great experience. Would love to see some more challenging (probably optional) levels. I'd love to sink hundreds of deaths into a hard but fair set of these levels!
Thank you so much, it means a lot. I'm really considering making this into a full game :)
What a nice game you’ve made, I really like it.
WOW!
What a game, also quite addicting :D
This is fun, well done!
Very nice! Really cool idea, and the ambiance is top notch.
Is the game actually endless? If not, I feel like there were too many levels.
Also, the music is a bit too loud. Even if not full music options, maybe just lower the volume a bit.