12:13:445
I have been following this game's progress from day 1 on twitter, so I already knew that it will be an especial game. I could clearly see that your game design skills are on an amazing level, but I got surprised nevertheless.
Theme:
Limbo-like storytelling was a great idea to fit the theme. A lot of content, questions, mysteries hidden beneath very simple design. And you know what? You nailed it. I even felt more into story and characters than while playing Limbo, so that means something.
Visuals:
You've added a lot of love into this I can tell. Making minimalistic games that actually work well aren't that easy. Your game really needs to be smooth, consistant and in the same time tell story with the environment. Animations are definitely smooth and wonderfully blended, world is interactable (reaction particles etc), color pallete is really well suiting and you can definitely feel the climate of the game on every step.
The only thing that I would point out, is that bomb's look doesn't represent it's actual size. It might seem like a small detail, but in games that require a lot of precision to beat, it's really important to make gameplay clear.
Innovation:
There are of course many similar games in case of storytelling, gameplay etc. But in this case I would say your game is definitely innovative in it's overall look. The experience I had was very unique.
SFX:
Oh dear, definitely best game I've seen on this jam in terms of not only music, but all the things you did with transitioning, timing and playing with other settings. You really made a great use of music in your story-telling. (I would be grateful if you could send me scores from your game, would love to listen to them in a free time).
Sounds are also beautifully made and fitted. The ONLY one I had problem with was tweeting of our bird. It felt a bit too sampled (might be just me tho).
Gameplay:
Very well done. Movement is fluent, responsive and easy to get used to. Maybe the only thing I could add would be about bombs, but that's what I've mentioned earlier, apart from that: perfect.
Game Design:
What can I say. Hard to make it better. You did great job at leading the player (this little fisho-creature that flows from one flower to another & other white elements), using environment to show danger (those hands). And many many more...
Just congratulations, as you've created art ;)