This is a great puzzle game! I loved the art and music. This game oozes style.
I experienced some jank when selecting the rune “pages” in the bottom left corner. You can click to summon the page multiple times, with each click summoning a new page (that needed to be dismissed with another click) in front of the last, and the screen getting dimmer each time. I was also able to click to activate doors even when they were behind the pages. I would’ve really preferred to be able to click the page in the corner again to dismiss it.
I also didn’t like that the blown-up guide pages would cover the symbols over the middle door and on the sign in front, but not the doors on the sides. I think you should cover all the doors (to make it clearly a design choice that you can’t see the reference and the choices at the same time), or make them all visible.
I actually pulled out a pen and paper to take notes on the symbols, which was awesome. I felt like an arcane detective even though I was just doing simple transformations.
I think you should do a little more to highlight the rune guide. Maybe a glowing outline or something. It’s easy to miss because it’s not in the center of the screen. Similarly, I think the note pages could have a glow or some other indicator to them.
The puzzle mechanics were great. I loved how they were simple but strung together to create increasing complexity. At first I didn’t like the health system because I kept having to restart, but I played for a bit more and started to develop a more intuitive feel for reading the symbols (taking notes helped), so it got faster and more rewarding. Good design choice.
This is the only game I’ve played this jam that left me perfectly satisfied and with a sense of mastery.
The duck ending was cute!
Easily the best game I’ve seen in this jam, and the only one I’ve given 5 stars across the board. I’m recommending this game to friends who aren’t even participants, that’s how good it is.