itch.io

Well done Distant Dimensions! Area-41 is a very beautiful pixel art game. The art is really cool, with many details and sprites of quality, and some enemies that can remind of metroids and other similar games. It's nice that you keep making 2d games from time to time, the result is good. I like the addition of more modern effects, such as the general blue tint (required by the theme of course), particles, and the vignetting. Everything is polished, there is no big problem in the gameplay (the gravity thing is a good idea), and the audio serves the game well (when an enemy is near, for example). I don't know if the levels are created randomly or not, but they are very long. Digging seems endless, and as long as you don't find a key and a door, or a checkpoint (teleporter?), you will continue to dig more and more to the depths of this world. You gain treasures when you dig, and it gives you a final score when you open the door. Globally it's a cool project for something made in such a short time during a Game Jam. It's just a shame that there is not a more developed story, and more changes in the level design (new treasures, more traps, and a real objective ... I mean, an evolution in the gameplay). But it's cool, it's very well done! I find however that the mouse controls are a little bit complicated (for me - but I know it's related to the theme) and I would prefer to play this with keyboard or gamepad. I think that mouse would be more adapated for a point and click adventure than a kind of adventure game: when there's contact with an enemy, it's total panic, and then it's hard to know which button to press in order to flee! There is a bit of space for improvement but certainly space for a longer game eventually. Nice project!