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Refresh: A Tale of Two Tabs's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Playability | #1 | 5.000 | 5.000 |
| Artistic Style | #1 | 5.000 | 5.000 |
| Cleverness | #227 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Theme | #233 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
Ranked from 2 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.
- Love this little game, other than the end goal of using alchemy to make a potion, I am unsure how much this related to the theme beyond that, I did see great lighting affect
- I am unable to run the game in Firefox: An error occurred running the Unity content on this page. See your browser JavaScript console for more info. The error was: SecurityError: The operation is insecure. _GetLocalStorage@https://html-classic.itch.zone/html/11061491/Refresh%20Final/Build/Refresh%20Final.framework.js:3:20925 It works fine on Chrome, though! Mechanics are very interesting! I think it's really unique that you're utilising browser refreshing & multiple tabs as an actual gameplay mechanic. Perhaps consider a brief tutorial at the beginning of the key concepts, so the player jumps into the game with an idea of how to play - but still needs to work out the majority themselves. For example, a tutorial could explain that the first item increases your weight. Because I got the first item so quickly, it didn't occur to me that it was the item that was causing me to be heavy for quite a while... I just assumed that was how the movement was meant to be permanently. Good job, overall.
Did you include your Game Design Document as a Google Drive link?
Yes
Seriously... did you include your Game Design Document?
Yes
Is your game set to Public so we can see it?
Yes
Tell us about your game!
This is a meta puzzle game that uses hidden mechanics that have to be discovered along the way to solve the overarching puzzle. The puzzle design is inspired by Outer Wilds. You play as Keek the frog and your main goal is to bring ingredients to a cauldron, but holding an ingredient gives you some kind of power and some kind of limitation. There are some unconventional mechanics; refreshing the tab manually is something you should be doing somewhat frequently which may seem convoluted but it is required for the gimmick of the game to work, I made the action start right away so the least amount of time is wasted loading.
Extra Notes
The solution is probably very difficult unless you are an avid puzzle enthusiast but don't let that discourage you! Enjoy the process of discovery and experimentation that will lead you to your goal.
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Comments
I have to credit the cover art of this game because as soon as I saw it I was really hopeful about what the game would be about and it did not disappoint! The art is gorgeous, the music’s nice (the music changing was interesting emergent feedback to switching tabs!) the platforming is really polished.
Personally I have a discomfort for platforming levels where you transition between rooms vertically based on jumping; it’s just a bit disconcerting, but I understand the role that mechanic plays in the genre, and having to learn how to navigate the space is a big part of the puzzle.
I think my favorite part is the way your approach to the theme was to encourage experimentation gameplay - the outer wilds influence is really clear. You see something happen, and then have to generate theories about why that might be the case. You find arcane hints, and manipulate a system that underlies the world (browser caches) to accomplish your goals. ’Tis ingenious!
I disagree with whatever judge scored you a 4 on cleverness lol, I think you'd struggle to find a game more clever than this! (Still keep meaning to play it again and try to figure it out properly... we'll see)
agreeeed! so clever still cant get it. which is the best complement.
This is such a unique game! A bit too difficult, but a lot of potential! I had no idea how the refresh mechanic worked until I read the gdd, and I don't feel it was my fault as a player. I got a really big animal well vibe from this, but it just misses some gameplay streamlining to make the player be able to figure everything out on their own :p
I had a great time tho trying to figure it out, even tho I couldn't. Also great music, it helps when banging your head against the wall trying the same thing over and over again getting the same result :p
Yeah the hints could use some work, definitely some animal well inspiration here that's one of my favorites, thanks for checking it out!
Gawd daymn, that was difficult. I wish i could say I solved it sompletely on my own, but I'd be lying haha, I had to look up the guide in the game design doc near the end becuase it never occured to me to go down with the cristal and climb up through the small vent. Managed to solve the parts before that on my own though so im proud of that. Other than that I had a fun time figuring out how the mechanics worked. ^-^ The only one i couldn't grasp on my own is that the static screen lets you 'save' one broken wall between resets. Even though I saw the little slideshow i didn't get what it meant.
Anyways, everything else is marvelous. Really unique mechanics and awesome execution. not to mention the nice art that goes with it.
I’m glad I kept you engaged enough to stick with it! it’s probably a tad too hard for this type of jam but I wanted to go all out. The slide shows could probably use some work, I put the timer up there to try to bring attention to the glitch and show that it only happens once. From my experience some people get it and others dont even think about the glitch so I just need to make them a little more clear. I appreciate you playing it
This seems amazing! I only wish I was smart enough to figure it out, LOL - I'm sure with time I could get there! Mainly I struggled to understand what was being saved in each state in each tab, I think if there was an easier way to understand that, I would be able to get there! Also the images showing "what to do" are a little hard to decipher so I think those could perhaps be clearer?
But anyway this game is really clever and very well made! Movement is good etc., I think only the sound design could use a little work but otherwise, what a great game to make in just 2 weeks!
ribbit
I’m confused
If you want to understand it check the gdd
what a clever puzzle game. Very challenging and very mysterious, makes you really think hard. Apart from some stumbling blocks ("The white butterfly wouldn't make me heavy, right?") and the "burping" jump sound that can get a bit annoying, definitely a well-made puzzle. The tab mechanic is super cool, didn't know that was possible. Didn't finish it yet, but coming back after I had some sleep :D
thank you! I wanted to make it very cryptic so that each discovery would be more exciting. The white butterfly is supposed to be lead which has the elemental symbol Pb. So it makes you heavier when you pick it up. Good luck completing it!
Super cool! - love metroidvanias
I was not expecting that challenging of a puzzle for my first review of the night. After about 1 hour I finally solved it and felt incredibly accomplished. Great Job!
Art & Sound
The art in this game matches the vibe perfectly. The simple color palette is very appealing. The sound effects and music mesh very well with the overall aesthetic. I loved the use of the frog as the main character for a jumping puzzle game.
Gameplay
The movement was very simple and familiar, but without reading the description it was very difficult to understand what was going on. After the first 30 minutes of struggling, I finally figured out how to really use the two tab mechanic. The guides in the game try to help convey the mechanic, but they didn't make a lot of sense until I accidentally got it to work the way I wanted to. After figuring out the mechanic, the guides made a LOT more sense.
Design & Difficulty
The design of the puzzle is both incredibly simple in concept, but still very difficult. I can definitely see this being among people's favorites if the genre is something they like. The items were very intuitive, although I frustratingly misused the block on the first try because I accidentally hit down. The two-tab mechanic, while confusing at first, is a breath of fresh air with how unique it is. I have never played another game like this and thoroughly enjoyed figuring out how everything worked.
Conclusion
An excellent game, well thought out design, incredibly unique mechanic. I look forward to seeing more from this creator.
Thank you very much! I'm impressed that you beat it! As far as I know you are the first, did you figure it out on your own and did you solve the same way as the intended method in the GDD?
I did figure it out on my own, but I made a LOT of mistakes along the way. In my "final" run before posting my review, all I had left was to return the crystal and I accidentally hit the button at the wrong times and totally ruined the run. After we talked on discord, as you know, I ended up finishing it just because I was curious what happens at the end. Great game, satisfying to complete for sure.
Amazing puzzle game which makes player actually think hard
Very artistic as well! I would love to see more of this game in the future
Thanks! It’s inspired by outer wilds which leaves a lot of thinking and experimenting to the player so I tried to leave most of the work to the play. I may make a version of it that uses tab interaction a little more if it does well in the jam.
Mechanics are little difficult to understand at first, but once it clicked it blew my mind. Incredibly unique entry.
Great puzzler! Will have you figure out the mechanics are you go along and you uncover the world and its rules.