hey that was pretty cool!
a very short game with simple gameplay and a straightforward story. feels like it would've been really easy to overcomplicate things but it knows what it is and pulls everything off really well. i got stuck a couple times at the start but overall i was never lost and always knew where i had to go next, which can be tricky but it's done great here.
the visuals were really neat. i'm a sucker for both extremely complicated pixel art, and also the really simple and clean kind (both can be equally hard to master, people!). that, mixed with the font and ui, give the whole thing a really nice retro vibe. it even felt at times like an obscure (in a good way) title i'd be playing in a gameboy haha.
SPOILERS:
there's a bunch of segments i could highlight: the reptile things following you sometimes when you leave an area, the laboratory part where you have to follow precise instructions (i'm a sucker for those kinda minigames lol), the oxygen system that makes you tense but doesn't require constant attention, the final chase scene which was really cool and adrenaline-pumping... it all comes together for a really neat package.
if you accept criticism, like i said i got stuck a couple of times at the start. i didn't know how to enter the facility and it took me a while to realize i had to interact with the broken fence. maybe it'd be solved by making the broken part more obvious? and while like i said the final chase is really cool, it got a bit annoying dying again and again and having to repeat it. but that's probably just skill issue lol.
overall this was a really good game, and a super unique take on the theme of the jam! honestly it makes me wonder why there aren't more games about exploring a barren land in the dark, because it's such a cool concept and it's pretty effective here.