Play experience
Elegy for the Departed's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Story | #1 | 4.023 | 4.023 |
| Horror | #12 | 3.250 | 3.250 |
| Sound Design | #13 | 3.432 | 3.432 |
| Aesthetics | #15 | 3.864 | 3.864 |
| Enjoyment (Best Game) | #15 | 3.341 | 3.341 |
Ranked from 44 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
I thought the story was really cool. Movement was a bit weird but it didn't hinder the experience too much. I thought this was really really good :)
Thank you!
Now I know what it would be like to go insane. Thanks! (Also the game was very good too!)
Haha, aye!
Great game! Movement was kind of clunky but the art style and sound were amazing!
Thanks!
Such melancholy! This was a good little narrative. I appreciate the simplicity and visual changes as the story progresses.
Thank you friend! Glad you liked it
nice story, i could kinda see the way it was going straight away, i think it would have been more impactful twist if you didnt build it up so much and made it seem like someone or something else was the one behind everything. movement was hard to control felt like a grid base movement which felt weird when you can move the camera freely in any direction. nice game though story was good for what it was
Thanks for the feedback! The important part of the story is the catharsis for the character, so we wanted to drag out his feelings as much as possible to be more in his shoes as a player, not so much make it a twist. As for the twist part however, by reading the extra prompts at the start you can see the character keeps on insisting that his family was "taken" from him or that he wishes he could "save them" to hide from the truth. But he always knew what the truth was, just didn't want to face it :)
The graphic style is very well done and the story is AMAZING! Great game, my only point is that the movement is a little disconnected from the camera, but other than that the game was an awesome experience.
Thank you friend :) Appreciate the feedback
The story and writing were good and I liked the visual style. Pixelated horror was always a good way to make some parts even more scarrier. Also I was getting some Max Payne vibes during the game.
Thanks! I can see what you mean with Max Payne, hadn't thought of it like that but true ahah
I liked the aesthetics, reminded me of those popular pixelated horror games like imscared. The movement was a little bit "stiff" but I feel like that's the only complaint I have good job
Thanks!
I loved the artstyle and the way the story is communicated.
Thanks, appreciate it :)
This is a great game. I have to say, the writing in this game is really well done, and I enjoyed it a lot. also the point you walk in the bathroom and suddenly everything looks off, is so well executed. It makes the player feel really unease. I get that reading games are not for everyone (I like them though), But I would really recomend this to anyone
Amazing game. Keep it up♥
Thank you! Glad you liked it
It was quite an interesting story, mostly I don’t have the patience to read, but this time I didn’t skip the dialogues and that’s good because it was the whole point of the game ;) Good work.
That's nice to hear, thank you friend :)
Love the aesthetics! Good work on the story!
Aye! Thanks
This is the aesthetic I crave haha. Really nice environment and the way it changed throughout was always interesting. "Knocking at the door" is a great horror device and it's used well here. The story was pretty interesting (even if the poetry bits weren't my thing) and overall this was a neat experience! Glad to have played it.
Thank you friend!
Not much in terms of gameplay, but the story is great. loved the twist at the end.
Glad you liked it!
really well done on the story, loved the music
Thanks!
The story seemed a little reliant on the dialogue in having to explain things, but it would probably take way more time to show and not tell everything. Impressive for having been made in a week. The low poly art made me feel lost but in a good way. I like the changes that happen to the house in the second part of the game, like the picture on the fridge and the blood in the bathtub. The music was super creepy, in a good way of course. The controls weren't that bad but interacting with things was challenging. Overall a good experience, just needs a little refinement.
Appreciate the feedback, thanks for playing!
I really think some ambient sound would have added a lot to the game's atmosphere and creepiness. The art will simple is still pretty neat. The story was neat but there was maybe a bit much to read at times. I'm not sure if you made this in your own game engine, if you did major congrats if you didn't, maybe some lighting next time? Also, the movement was really jank.
Overall, pretty cool and short experience.
Mmm did you have the game muted? Because we had ambient soundtrack on the back throughout the entire game, changing according to the tension etc. We wanted the house to feel empty with the atmosphere to reflect the protagonist's emotional state. Thanks for taking the time though!
Hello, just checking in on this issue with the sound. Can you confirm that it wasn't a problem on your side? We haven't had any issues on our side. Make sure to run it with sound for the full experience if you missed out :p
I loved the detail of the text waving for the poetry and shaking for the ghosts. Good work!
Aye, thank you. Hope you enjoyed the game :)
the controls were very hard to use but good story, a nice experience.
Thanks! Some limitations with the engine with the grid controls, but glad it didn't take away from your experience :)
I feel like you have all the ideas for a great story, unfortunately this is more like visual novel than horror fps experience where you main character drown into madness.
The ending shows how the whole game should have been made (in my opinion) : make your story works by showing, and not telling : the burnt painting, shadows of the deads and the lights of police cars on the windows, this works. But the long dialogs doesn't help to feel anything.
At least that's my opinion : show don't tell.
Thanks for the feedback. During the dialogue sections we wanted to push the character into realizing the reality of his case, and then afterward being able to see it. That's why we used both ways to portray the narrative. With the portrait for example you could see blood on it to fill in the gaps of what happened to the wife, something that wasn't mentioned during the exposition part. With the dialogue we wanted to explore how the character saw things, for example the "hand of fate" that was in reality his own hand. He basically knew what happened, just didn't have it in his mind in the way that he was the guilty one. He blamed fate for it, until his subconscious in the form of his wife with the right wording gets him to admit what he always knew. We wanted it to be a slow burn with the background music in those parts. In any case, I understand your own perspective as well on how to portray it differently though. Cheers!