Skip to main content

Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines
(+1)

Very interesting concept.

The antics are quite Harold, and the use of MV3D to really bring that stage-play thing to life is impressive.

I'm not super sold on the gameplay. There's a lot of waiting for the dialog (I know it's synced with the music, and that's amazing don't get me wrong), and there's a lot of individual moments where you have choices, but too many I think fall into illusion of choice from a functional perspective.

For example when fighting a certain slime, you can Slash for 0 damage or Spark for some damage. Playing without foreknowledge, the enemy just gets a free hit on you for using Slash and wasting that turn, and it feels kinda cheap. At the same time, you're instructed to preserve PP, but for that particular battle, you can't avoid using PP. I didn't try Defend strats as that fight is before the one where it makes it pretty obvious that you're not supposed to attack the opponent.

It also felt weird that I couldn't avoid that battle (or at least the dialog tree to do so was unintuitive).

I think the presentation, music, and technical wizardry behind this are all spectacular. And, it's entertaining in the sense that watching a short musical or something might be. My problem is - and this is something that cutscene heavy games have always run afoul of IMO - that I don't want to be entertained passively, I want to have fun actively by doing. This is what separates gaming from other types of media and by no means is this game worse in that respect than a visual novel, just to be clear.

That all said, and knowing I am not the target audience for this type of experience, it's a very high quality game that I think everyone should try.

(+1)

Thanks for the feedback, glad you liked the presentation. Gameplay was definitely a bit of a risk and I do think there were some holes and conundrums in the way I presented it. Of course everyone is gonna have a different opinion on gameplay; that's why I used this jam to take the risk. Now I know what works and what doesn't.

(+1)

Exactly, jams are the best opportunity for that and it's great you were able to come in with that perspective.

I'd still call the project a success even if it ain't my thing. I'd also add that my opinions generally run alongside a pretty small subset of potential players, so there's that.

And since I felt I was most likely to win best sound over any other award, the game's shortcomings may not matter as much when the final ratings drop. Pretty much the jam to submit this game to.