itch.io

I'll begin with criticisms, then gush about everything I loved about this.

First of all, making the player return to an earlier "decay level" after failure feels awful. I already beat that level, and if it took a long time to beat, it just feels like a slap in the face to someone trying to progress. Bad design.

Entering the ship without enough speed can result in you not having enough momentum to reach the floor. That also feels really crummy, especially when trying to move as fast as possible. Now I gotta watch my guy fall down, then accelerate again, and oops! I missed it again.

Tangentially related, people have suggested a way to jump while inside the ship. Absolutely a good suggestion.

On a different note: The graphics are amazing. The music is nice. The player movement felt good. I appreciate the sound effects when certain objects break. I wish every object had its own SFX.

I haven't seen anybody make it this far, so I thought I'd brag:

I honestly don't know if beating this level is humanly possible, but it felt pretty good to make it this close to decay 0.

All around, great game.

Thank you so much for the feedback!!

I honestly thought the tiles from level 1 being permanent was a good idea that would lead to more interesting levels. It forces one to improvise. In hindsight, I can see how withholding that information can be a bad idea though.

This isn't the first comment about the player's friction, which keeps surprising me. My only excuse is that I play a lot of Super Mario Bros. 3, which is notoriously slippery, and I keep forgetting that most platformers have way more friction.

The art for the background started as an homage to SMB1's background, and I wanted to go back and make more decorations (add parallax, trees, other subtle background elements) but I prioritized art for the cutscenes, and didn't have time to circle back to that.

I'm glad you enjoyed the story and cutscenes! With the past few jams, I've been trying to find the best way to add as much story to a jam game as possible, and I think I'm figuring it out. Also, thank you for sharing the level code!

When the theme was announced, I was brainstorming ideas and thought about the villain "decaying" at the funeral. I also thought a lot about making platforms that disappear, and thought a good interpretation of that idea was to make the bridge disappear for level 2, which is very much not an obvious reference to decay, but it was the connection I made. It's a bit of a stretch, I'll be honest.

Perhaps I minmaxxed too hard, but I had enough money halfway through day 3. (I stood around doing nothing for a bit before I decided to take the screenshot)



Anyway, I love the artwork (The character design especially)! The gameplay was fairly straightforward, and the music was nice. All around, great work.

The largest issue with this game is the way the items spawn. If the clay blobs are entirely random, then the player can fail even when making zero mistakes, due to the random nature of the clay blobs spawning or not. Failing when making zero mistakes is a terrible feeling for the player.

Other than that, the game works fine! Zero bugs, the double jump was cool, the music was laughably dramatic, and I had fun.

Hm, I don't think I did level 7 the way it was intended. You can just jump from the flower at the spawn directly to the altar, and spend you one flower this stage to replace it. I didn't need to go to the right at all.

The puzzles are well designed, but I think there might be some solutions you missed, as I also beat level 8 with an extra flower unused.

You should also probably freeze the player movement during the day/night cycle cutscene.

At any rate, I enjoyed the puzzles, the day/night cycle animation was really cool, the character was cute, and all around this was a good time! Great work.

Combat bejeweled is an interesting idea!

I liked the designs of all the enemies, but I think the combat could be expanded a bit. What if the enemies fought back by making their own combos, or scrambling the board state?

Anyway, I won! Cool game!

The levels were well designed. I like how the AI can be tricked into walking into corners, which adds a neat level of trickery to be clever and outsmart them.

I got a high score around 10,000 for levels 1 and 2, gave up on level 3. Funnily enough, I found routing level 2 was wayy easier than level 1, which I only lost because I fell off the map. I don't know if the rate of decay goes up over time, or just due to the number of tiles that have disappeared, but I seemed to find a perfect loop through level 2 where none of the remaining tiles could ever decay.

The art was nice, and the level design was great! I saw a couple comments complaining about the wall jumping, but I've got to say the opposite. I thought the controls were tight, and the wall jumping felt natural. Great work all around.

You can click on the on the menu icon for an object you already placed to move it around. Objects placed in level 1 cannot be moved in level 2 though. I thought that would make for more interesting designs.

In terms of player friction, I might just be playing too much Super Mario Bros. 3

Thanks for sharing the level string!

I'm glad you enjoyed the humor! The animations were done in-engine. I just had the animation set to record mode, and moved things around with my mouse.
Thank you for sharing the level code!

Very Baba inspired, I see.

I enjoyed the puzzles! Level 6 was my favorite!

All around, it's a good time. The music was relaxing (good for puzzles), the art was very readable, and the gameplay was intuitive.

Just a heads up, here's what the game looks like in ultrawide: I suggest setting the game to a specific resolution.

The art of designing a good camera is one that must not be overlooked. I cannot overemphasize how much this camera ruins the gameplay. Keeping the player on the edge of the screen in the direction they are going prevents you from seeing anything ahead of you. The best course of action is to constantly be zooming all the way in and out the force the camera to keep the player in the center of the screen. This paragraph goes doubly so for the maze level.
Staple the camera to the player, let me move the camera by dragging the mouse... anything but this.

Can we also talk about the difficulty? Because it really feels like you are trying to make a "rage game". Even putting the camera aside, this game is unforgivingly difficult. Did the chase sequence really need a dead end?

At any rate, I beat the game.

Let's talk about solutions here.

Mid-Level checkpoints. The player has continuous progress. This let's you design large levels without rage-inducing consequences for death.

Updated camera movement code. Always keep the player on the opposite side of the screen relative to their movement. You always want the player to see as far ahead of them as possible. Giving the player more information is a must.

Remove all dead ends. In the maze level (which I don't think needs to exist) the dead ends only waste the player's time, which feels bad. In the chase level, ending up in the dead end is a guaruntee that you fail, which feels bad. If the camera could be freely controlled by the player, then the maze level concept is fine, but if you have to reach a dead end in order to know it's a dead end, that's just bad design.

A better victory screen. The ending screen is just the intro? If I screenshot that as proof that I won, it's no visually different than the start of the game! I wanted to brag, darn it!

From reading these comments, I think I'm the only player to beat the game. This reminds me a lot of my early jam games. I made challenging games because I enjoy challenging games. I even had messages in-game saying things such as "Wow, that was difficult huh?" just like your game here, but all this difficulty really does is lead to people not finishing your game. Just look at all the comments so far mentioning them giving up due to the difficulty. You recognize the difficulty, but you also need to know that as the developer, you have way more experience and knowledge about your game than anyone else. The levels that you find difficult are near impossible for someone just picking the game up. And a little side note, people have more fun when they are winning. The difficulty just makes the victory bitter-sweet, while an easier game's victory is fun.

Just my 2 cents.

And now with all that negativity out of the way, this is a really funny concept. I chuckled during the opening, and I found the occasional fun facts about the history of the DVD player enjoyable. The survival level was by far my favorite! I like how the player's speed has no upper bound. Perhaps there should be one, but letting the player build up infinite speed is hilarious- definitely keep that. The detail of the logo changing colors with each bonk is perfect. I can tell you put a lot of work into this, and it's a shame that the difficulty is preventing people from reaching the end.

Oooh, I love the mood you set!

As someone who plays/makes too many platformers, let me begin with my biggest complaint. The timing on the double jump. Forcing the second jump to be before the apex of your jump just feels awful. I believe the timing is this way due to the hovering mechanic in the first 2 levels, but I was genuinely struggling at time to make the character double jump the way I wanted them too, even long after the hovering mechanic was removed.  Honestly, that might be my only complaint.

These aren't complaints, but a series of neutral thoughts. I thought it was strange that all objects except screws required you to press a button while standing on them to pick them up. The wind sound effect had a very noticeable looping point. I found it funny that the conveyors never broke down in this place. Everything may be falling apart, but those conveyors are holding on strong.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing the level code!

This is genuinely a lot of fun.

The background is trippy in a good way, and it's not too distracting from the foreground either.

The spray modes effecting the tiles (and not the way your attack works) is really clever! Also, can I just say that this game has such a great take on the theme?

Honestly, one of the best jam games I've played in the past few game jams. It's incredibly easy to understand, it's short, it's fun, it's well polished.  5/5.

What an entry.

Edit: and I got 9020 points on my best run.

Feedback in the style of other jams:

Graphics: Adorable. Absolutely great work. no notes.

Audio: The music absolutely fit the game. The sound effects were great too! Honestly, superb job all around.

Innovation: This was super creative!! I love the way everything interacted, and all the characters had unique uses.

Theme/Limitation: Everything I have to say here is a compliment. Great use of the two item limitation, great use of the hero theme.

Overall: Okay it's too difficult. It took me like 20+ tries, even after figuring out "the meta", or perhaps I completely missed something. I did the tutorial many times too. In  the run that finally succeeded, I was able to get about 6 bombs to explode at the end of each day, and I was able to use the frog's ability to gain 1 more day. That is is the only reason I was able to win. The entire game is framed under an umbrella of "it's all skill based, just get good" but it really feels like it's nothing but RNG weather you can have a good run. I had around 6 attempts make it incredible close, I could afford the frog's power, but at  the very last moment I never got any frogs to get the last day that I needed. I think the boss's health could've just been 200 and it the game would've felt better. Even still, great job!

Feedback in the style of other jams:

Graphics: I love the 3D models! Very impressive work with the animations too. I especially like how the boss has a dying animation, instead of the game immediately ending when the health drops to zero. I think there's some room for improvements though, for instance: The default unity skybox is visible. I think this game could use some walls, yeah? Maybe make it look like the end of a dungeon.

Audio: Great music! I think the boss's attack sound effect is a bit weak? I think it should be a real crunchy "THUNK" rather than a soft "Tong" sound.

Mood: I love how the game is emphasizing how much larger the boss is compared to you. It's a real David Vs. Goliath perspective, and I think it was done very well.

Innovation: It's honestly a really creative boss fight. I haven't played any boss fights that were quite like this, and I enjoyed it.

Theme/Limitation: It really feels like it's only one item. I guess the boss has the other item? Or perhaps the bow is one item and the arrow is the other? I usually would consider those two parts of one whole. Perhaps I'm just being nitpicky.

Overall: Very nice! The pacing is good. It's a nice 2 minute long game, any more and it would get stale. I couldn't see myself circling this guy dealing 30 individual hits, you know? Speaking of, I think it's silly that the health is arbitrarily multiplied by ten. Why not just make the health count down by 1? Anyway, I enjoyed the game! Great work!

Feedback in the style of other jams:

Audio: I had to begin here. You have my unlimited respect for making the music acapella. I've recently been making acapella music in my game jams (not this minijam unfortunately) and I can tell you had fun making it. Honestly, I wish I could just talk about the acapella music for several paragraphs, but  there's some more important feedback to address.

Graphics: Let's focus on the camera. Issue number one: Blind Jumps. Look at this screenshot and tell me, what's below the player?

As the developer, you probably know where this is. You know what's down there, because you made it. In hindsight, I know there are no hazards that would kill the player, but on my first playthrough I was doing everything in my power to avoid falling down pits, assuming the worst: Instant death and restarting the game. Sure- the game doesn't have any of that, but how would I know? Blind jumps are one of the biggest mistake I see in new game developers. Make sure the player always can see where they are trying to go.

With the comments on the camera aside, I'll also mention that the artwork itself could be improved. The background is simultaneously darker than the foreground, with glowing windows that are brighter than the foreground. Try and keep the background and foreground at different levels of brightness/saturation. It's tricky to balance making the background pretty without it distracting the player from the foreground, though it's very important that you find the right balance.

Final notes on the graphics, I loved the cutscenes!

Mood: One of the greatest comments I ever received on any of my game jam games was "It is impossible to play this game without a huge stupid grin!" and I believe that applies here as well. It's so silly. Mostly due to the acapella music, but the story, the art, it all creates an atmosphere of "Just have fun".

Fun: Speaking of... yeah- this is fun. Once I finished the game, I replayed it many times just to try out the other items. There's a lot of interesting combos, and it's impressive how much content this game actually has!

Theme/Limitation: You are a hero, you get two items. I love how more items exist, but you have to pick the two to use. It's a great use of the limitation.

Overall: It's a lot of fun, and I think with some changes to either the camera or the level design, it could be even better. It has a couple issues that stand out as very teachable lessons in game design, though that's what game jams are for, right? Learn something new every time. Great work, fun game, bravo!

Feedback in the style of some other jams:

Graphics: This is delightful. The pastel colors remind me a lot of Pendleton Ward's "The Midnight Gospel". You made a very cute village filled to the brim with details!

Audio: The music absolutely fits the environment. Perhaps the loop is a bit short, but the game is short enough that the music doesn't get stale.

Innovation: It's like a digital "Where's Waldo" or "I Spy" book. Though the idea of searching for something and clicking on it has been done before, I like the storytelling, as we are a wanderer passing through a town.

Mood: There's a lot of joyful emotions I feel when playing this. The art is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, but I like how our mysterious character is friendly. The world you created seems like a very nice place to be.

Fun: I wish there was more! I really did enjoy finding the two birds, but I was shocked to see the game ended right there!

Theme/Limitation: I think the limitation here is working against the best interest of the game. If there was more than 2 birds, the player's experience would be better. Perhaps if the character has two items, like a magnifying glass for searching and some second item for delivering found items to a person in need? It would allow for the game to have more characters to help out!

Overall: It's short and sweet! Perhaps too short. I was able to crash the game by replaying after succeeding (it takes you back to the title screen after succeeding, so you can press play again), and clicking on one of the birds. In a "second play through" some other minor issues occurred, such as the person missing their birds not prompting you, and talking to Mayor Letty a second time shows an empty text box that never goes away. Even still, it's a minor issue since I already was able to beat the game before the issues occurred. I love the world you created! Great work!

Graphics: In a 3D platformer, the most important thing, though it's a tiny detail, is a drop shadow. Placing a shadow directly under the player can provide a much needed sense of depth when looking at the ground. On top of that, any amount of shading would go a long way. All the walls are the same shade of brown, which makes it a bit unclear where corners are.

Audio: The music is a bit... repetitive. I like how it builds! Extra instruments are added which is very nice, though the melody rarely deviates. That being said, I like how long of a loop the track is.

Mood: The creepy enemies set the tone 100%. Any other design and this game would feel different. I like the creepiness of it all.

Innovation: In a weird way it makes me think of Celeste 64. Dashing is a super cool mechanic that more platformers should explore.

Fun: I had a blast. Just flinging myself into the void trying to find cheesy shortcuts.

Overall: I mention it in the video, but some of the mechanics are just not explained to the player in a good learning-environment. You had a poster on the wall in room 1 (which was honestly pretty vague) and I think the game could use more of those. I recognize now (after finishing the game) that you explain some tips on the web page, but that should really be explained in game.

And here's a video of me playing! Great game. Cheers!

Feedback in the style of other game jams:

Fun: I had fun for the first minute, but then the gameplay never changed and got stale fairly quick. On my first try, I got a score of 247:



Graphics: Very cute! The opening cutscene was great, and the art style is very adorable. I'm a big fan of cute characters in general.

Audio: Honestly at first I thought this would be a rhythm game, and found hitting enemies out of sync with the beat unsatisfying.

Innovation: Can't really say much here. It's a lot like 2 lane guitar hero.

Theme/Limitation: It's a bit of a stretch, but sure.

Overall: Nice work. I don't have too many notes to add. I like the story, I like the art, I wish there was more to the gameplay.

Feedback in the style of other jams, since I'm better at giving feedback in that style.

Innovation: Honestly a very creative way to make the player's relationship with projectiles feel unique. Especially the twist added in 2nd room.

Graphics: The art was very readable and cute. Good stuff, no notes!

Audio: The music SLAPS. I love me some funky synth jams, and this had me grooving.

Fun: I cannot stress how excited I was to see the green sword in the second room. At an immediate glance I knew I would be juggling the items I could fit in my 2 hands, and my face lit up. I only wish there were more rooms with an increasing number of swords I had to manage, HA!

Theme/Limitation: Okay, so having the same item twice is way too clever. The absolute genius idea of making a red/blue sword that do the same thing to different projectiles- what an incredibly great take on this limitation.

Overall: It's a perfect jam game. Short and sweet with a really dang good twist halfway through. Bravo!

Feedback in the style of Ludum Dare:

Fun: Oh I love it. The puzzles were unique, interesting, and fun! I enjoyed solving the puzzles, and each room felt good to clear.

Graphics: Oh heck yes. I love the gameboy style limited palette. You did a stellar job. No notes.

Audio: Likewise, the gameboy chiptune really sells the gameboy aesthetics. Honestly, once again, no notes.

Innovation: These were some really creative puzzles! I love the idea of a turn-based puzzle game. Honestly this was delightfully unique.

Theme/Limitation: I've honestly been giving a lot of developers crap for just having two weapons (like melee and range weapons. wow.) but this works. The way the different items were used for different purposes to create interesting puzzles... yes! You found a great use of the limitation. Thank you.

Overall: Great game. You know what you're doing. Keep it up!

Feedback in the form of various categories that are used by other jams:

Innovation: Okay yeah wow. I really like the concept here. The gameplay is really creative. I like how I only need to get 1 of 3 requirements on the order right. Very nice!

Fun: I'll admit I probably wasn't playing right. There were so many customers, it felt like a waste of time to actually see what they were ordering. I just threw a random dish together under the assumption that it will satisfy most customers. That said- it was still fun even if I wasn't playing how you probably intended.

Graphics: Oh it's charming. The 2D sprite work is marvelous. The characters, the food, the animations, the room, it's all presented in such a lighthearted and cheerful vibe. I love it.

Audio: the music slaps. I love the "RUSH HOUR!" and the music changes. great stuff.

Mood: Very cheerful and wholesome. It's a place I'd like to be.

Theme/Limitation: I love how you are not "the hero" in this game. You feed them. Great take on the theme! The limitation is also well done, as you only have 2 slots to place your food (which is composed of 2 items (and a special meal prep)). Great use of the limitation! It's not just another "you have two weapons. a [fill in the blank] and [fill in this blank too] type of 'two item' game".

Overall: Stunning work. You all made a great game. Cheers!

I'm gonna provide feedback on some categories used by other jams, since that's the style of feedback I know how to give.

Fun: This had no right being this enjoyable. It's so stupid in the best possible way. I had fun. A lot of fun.

Graphics: I- ... It's beautiful. The insane high-definition mouse model (with no animation) and the silly model of the cheese. It's a delight.

Audio: Bonk. Yes. perfect. no notes.

Innovation: It's been a while since I've played a game where you protect a stash of something. It's not the most unique concept, but the way the game is played is certainly different. the first person perspective makes it stand out from other "protect the X" style games, and the comical presentation of it makes it great.

Mood: This is a horror game. Chills. My cheese!

Humor: Yes.

Theme/Limitation: While you might not be a hero, there are definitely two items. I'll be a bit stubborn and say the "two items" limitation was taken a bit too literally. Nothing unique here with the limitation, but you did indeed follow it.

Overall: Great work. I really enjoyed the comedy of this one. It's a perfect jam game.

This is my first Mini-jam, so I'm much more familiar with the Ludum Dare-style of providing feedback. Allow me to break down my feedback in their style of categories.

Graphics: I'll be blunt, it's jarring. The 3D models of the crossbow and axe are masterfully done compared to the 2D spritework. That's not to say the 2D graphics are bad (in fact I think the monster designs are creative and interesting), but the art styles clash.

Audio: I liked the music! It fit the "dark moody vibes" of the gameplay. No notes. Great work.

Fun: Yes! You set out to make an endless(?) survival, which you achieved. It's a fun genre, what can I say?

Innovation: Despite the praise I gave for using a genre I find fun, it's a pretty standard take on an endless survivor. I think this game could use some more unique gameplay elements, other than simply killing the bad guys and avoid dying.

Mood: You set a great creepy DOOM-like vibe, and I'm here for it.

Theme/Limitation: Right- so I'll admit my game is in the same boat. Yes, there are in fact two items. That was indeed the limitation, but there's no twist and the limitation was taken entirely at face value.

Overall: Good work! The difficulty curve is honestly well done for a randomly generated wave system. The waves getting harder makes the player feel a sense of progression, and hey- the audio toggle button works! Everything works and the game feels bug-free from the time I spent with it. Bravo!

It would be silly of me to make that number anything else.

Wow, thanks! I'm glad to hear you liked it!

I will admit, the difficulty curve of the demo is a bit rough since I wanted to showcase mechanics from later in the game. There's not quite enough time to get the player used to everything, and if needed I could make some sections here easier.

Thanks for the feedback!

Overall: I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do. I read the info button, but I feel like I'm missing something. I was unable to get the field value to go anywhere. I'm not sure if the red button is doing anything? I combined like, 30 particles and hit the red button. I assumed with the boost, the total field value increase would be pretty huge, but it barely went up, and proceeded to drop swiftly. I think I'm just missing something.

Fun: Again, I'm not sure. I didn't particularly have fun, but it's again due to my confusion.

Innovation: I've certainly never played a game quite like this.

Theme: It would seem the objective is heavily surrounding the idea of making combinations of these elements, so yeah, it fits the theme. 

Graphics: I think the graphics do a pretty good job. It's clear that the buttons are indeed buttons. Though it doesn't affect me personally, I think you should better indicate what the buttons do with more than red/green coloring, due to color blindness. perhaps a recycle symbol on the recycling button, etc.

Mood: It's a bit relaxing. I don't feel any particularly strong emotions while playing this, but I did find the shapes my molecules formed pretty satisfying.

Audio: Not Applicable.

Humor: Not Applicable.

Final Thoughts: This game is in need of better explaining. I genuinely don't think it's possible to reach that 10,000 field score. I like to make wildly complicated ideas with my games too, but one of the most important steps is clearly teaching the player how the mechanic of your game works. The kinds of games I make tend to have a more defined introductory point to make room for tutorials or gradually letting the player figure out how the game is played. Perhaps having a tutorial where you only need to score 500 field points with some extra text to help out would make the  game more approachable. In a game like this, it would also go a long way to display a small number next to your field score to show how much it goes up by when pressing the buttons. Just seeing the bar go up is night, but having a little green "+100" appear would help out so much. same for managing the heat with the red / blue molecules.

Overall: This is really cool, unique, and challenging! I will point out though, the difficulty curve is in definite need of tweaking. The first 4 levels are tutorials that are seemingly impossible to screw up, and I was unable to clear level 5. Out of curiosity, since I failed level 5, I checked out the last level, which to my surprise I was able to beat. I even went back to level 5 and still struggled to clear it. Unrelated to my previous note, I think the inclusion of a level editor is really cool, and impressive for such a short jam,

Fun: I enjoyed the puzzles! It was fun trying to figure out how to get a huge chain going, and undoing moves to try and fir just one more piece in.

Innovation: I haven't played anything like this, and it was really creative!

Theme: I would definitely say this fits the theme. The core mechanic of the gameplay is getting larger combos of pieces. It's a pretty creative use for the theme too!

Graphics: I like the faces everything had. It adds some nice character to an otherwise abstract puzzle game. I like how since the game is played on the web, you took time to draw the page background and a lot of out-of-game assets to set the scene.

Mood: It's pretty zen. I like the slow paced calm puzzle gameplay. the super rad webpage background sets a great mood too.

Audio: I like the music. It's calming and relaxing, though perhaps too short? I try to make my music over a minute long minimum before looping. I think the short duration of the loop leads to it feeling repetitive.

Humor: Not applicable.

Final Thoughts: Solid entry. I'd still like to point out the difficulty curve. This scenario is akin to riding a bike with training wheels. In the first 4 levels you are holding the player's hand, but after you take the training wheels off, you end up roll them down a hill with no regard for their safety. The earlier levels shouldn't be so strict in requiring the player to fill in every space. Let them get used to the mechanic off the scripted rails, give them room to breathe, and then after a few stages of getting the hang of it you can ramp up the difficulty. Difficulty is one of the hardest things to judge when you're making a puzzle game, since you made the solutions and you made the mechanic so it comes naturally to you. The players are just experiencing it for the first time, so they need some room to play with it before being confined to maximizing score.

Overall: Since there's a list for 5 songs that keep a record of your highest combo with that song, I wish the different songs had different objects in their respective stages. All of them being identical was a bit disappointing. I like the gameplay, and the visuals are over the top, but it felt a bit empty. I do however sincerely appreciate the pause menu and volume sliders.

Fun: I think this game needs more variety. Since it only has one stage, with one type of enemy, it gets stale fast. Perhaps adding some ground enemies, or enemies that combine into a snake formation could spice it up.

Innovation: I can't think of many places where this game does something new. Maybe the song select? 

Theme: I really don't think this game fits the theme. The "Combo" is more of a kill tally, as you don't really lose the combo for missing or anything. And the combo has no effect on the gameplay.

Graphics: I love the neon aesthetic! The 3d models are impressive too! I think the explosion particles get in the way a little bit, and they really clutter up the screen. There were definitely times when so much was on screen I couldn't even see my own attacks.

Mood: I'm really unsure what kind of mood you're going for. The visual scream Retro 80's neon vibe, but the music is completely unrelated.

Audio: I think it was an odd choice to let the player pick a song from a list. On top of that, I wasn't a huge fan of any of the songs. They didn't seem to fit the visuals in any way. I was expecting more retro synths to match the neon aesthetic. The music was well made and balanced though.

Humor: Not Applicable.

Final Thoughts: I just wish there was more. It's crazy that it keeps track of your score across 5 different "levels" and yet they are all the same level. There's only one type of enemy, and I can only shoot one type of gun. It's definitely a prototype of something that could be much bigger. According to the description, you were going for a "crazy time", and I think it could be a lot crazier with some goofy additions, like a grapple hook, or a jet pack, or bombs, or a minigun, or a spider-enemy that jumps around... I could go on. I think too much effort was put in the music, and not enough on the gameplay.

Overall: It seemed a bit too easy. Going off of the chart in the beginning, the optimal strategy is Bear head, Alligator body, alligator legs. Why would I ever create anything else? 

Fun: I never got that into the age of war style games. It's slow, and the gameplay consists mostly of watching things happen.

Innovation: I like the addition of combining creatures, but as stated, Bear-Gator-Gator is the only one I created, due to the stats being optimal according to the chart. Perhaps not letting the player know the exact numbers would be in your favor. It forces the player to experiment.

Theme: Again with my comments on innovation, I like the combining element, but I really didn't play around with it.

Graphics: I love the artwork, and the goofy enemies looked great. The background was really cool too!

Mood: This ties in with how cool the background was. The cool night time colors set the scene for some fun witchcraft/necromancy. Good stuff!

Audio: The music seemed strangely compressed. It reminds me of old flash games, and maybe that's what you were going for? I personally wasn't a huge fan though. 

Humor: The combos looked funny, and I like it.

Final Thoughts: I think you shouldn't let the players see the stats, and maybe force them to experiment by making it so they can't make the same creature two times in a row. It would certainly force variety and playing around more with the combo mechanic. Great game!

Overall: It's a well made game! I like how when you attack, you scoot over a little bit. It makes it more interesting than just having a static character.

Fun: I enjoy the snappy quick paced gameplay, and the difficulty increases at a very well made pace. I think the gameplay gets a bit stale quickly, so to make it more fun I challenged myself to see how far I could move the guy to the left. That definitely spiced it up! I was able to move far enough that the background repeated!

Innovation:  I wish the game had a bit more to it. This jam alone, with a total of 20 games, I have played 2 other games similar to this one. "Generic Game" and "Nobody Grooves like Cadenska Voldmirovna" which both do more than just increase your score with a better combo. In "Generic Game" the score is also points for a shop, and buying things resets the combo making a risk/reward situation where you ponder if it's worth getting that upgrade or healing. In "Nobody Grooves like Cadenska Voldmirovna" the combo also makes your attacks stronger, helping out in the later stages of the game.

Theme: I like how the combo affects your score, but I personally think this is a lazy take on the theme. The score is essentially ((x^2)/2)+(x/2) where x is the number of killed goblins (unless you miss, but for some reason I initially assumed missing would kill me). In the grand scheme of things, why is that more significant than just making the score equal to the number of killed goblins? Especially considering that's the theme of the game. My final score was 2850, so I killed 75 goblins without missing. Going back to my comments on Innovation, I feel like the combo needs to have a more dramatic effect on the gameplay than just the score.

Graphics: Since you didn't draw the artwork, allow me to comment on the other aspects of the visuals. I'm not a fan of the fuzzy grain postprocessing. Additionally, the game over screen is somehow "over" the post processing. I'm also just not a fan of Chromatic Aberration.

Mood: I like the dungeon/crypt aesthetic. The music certainly is too cheerful though. it sounds like I'm vibing at a fair, not fighting for my life.

Audio: The goblin exploding sound effects is pretty great. I also like the music, though it's a bit "stock music" sounding.

Humor: Nonsensical violence is always fun. Also the tiny splat as the goblins explode is humorous.

Final Thoughts: I think the game is a bit short. There's definitely incentive to play it again with the high score, but I feel like there's just not enough content to make it last. That said, it's still fun, and I enjoyed goofing off by moving far to the left and avoiding the objective entirely by playing it in the very much not correct way.

Overall: I think it's pretty cool that your combo is also your health! I really enjoyed the concept of this one, and the gameplay loop is satisfying. The game ramps up in difficulty at an appropriate rate, and the graphics + audio combine really well to make the game feel good. My biggest complaint is that there didn't seem to be a "game over" screen of any sort, so I had to Alt+F4 to close it, and there wasn't any metric of score, so I can't boast at how well I did, or replay the game with a visible high score to beat.

Fun: I enjoyed it! I definitely had a good time running around and dodging everything . As stated, any indication of how well I'm doing would be nice. Either a timer, or score, or "longest combo at 9 without dropping"... anything! It would add replayabillity for sure.

Innovation: Top down shooters are definitely a genre in need of innovating, and I like your combo = health addition! I think it can make the game too easy at times, but since it's the tie in with the theme, I can't complain. Speaking of...

Theme: I really like how the combo is the center of attention. It's very clear that the combo is the main focus of the game, and it's a pretty great take on the theme.

Graphics: First things first, I love the screen shake.  I like the gore, but making it pink is an interesting touch. I think the background is a bit awkward? I can't tell if it's grass, or a nuclear river of some sort. The grey boxes are also a bit out of place.

Mood: I usually reserve this space to talk about the emotions I felt playing the game. It's fun, and over the top, and goofy, and that's great.

Audio: I like the sound effects. Some music would be nice.

Humor: Good ol' nonsensical violence.  I'm a fan.

Final Thoughts: Checking out your Itch.io page, this looks like it's your second game jam? And dang, it's a solid entry. Great work!

Overall: I like the concept, but the game is near impossible. Healing costs 50, but the most I could ever get was around 3 points. The idea of removing the combo when you buy things is cool, and it adds a nice risk/reward mechanic, but I was never able to come anywhere close to buying anything, so I wasn't able to make such a risk. I also think it's awkward how the game just closes when you lose instead of taking you to a "you lose screen" of some sort.

Fun: This ties in with how impossible the game is. If nobody can get anywhere in the game, how could anyone have fun? The controls felt a bit awkward, I would've preferred a combo of WASD and holding down multiple buttons for the diagonals. I've never played a game with a QWEADZXC button scheme, and with the incredible difficulty, I had no time to get the hang of the controls.

Innovation: As stated, the risk/reward for losing the combo on buying something is pretty cool! The rest of the gameplay is pretty standard survival game. Another game from this jam that this reminds me of is "Nobody Grooves like Cadenska Voldmirovna". Its another survival game with an unmoving main character. If you haven't checked that game out already, it's a good example of making the game manageable. Your attacks are at a reasonable pace that keeps up with the enemies, and there are only 4 lanes of enemies instead of 8. Maybe you could start with 4 lanes, and then after say, wave 5, add in the extras?

Theme: If I could survive long enough, the theme would be much more applicable. Again, the combos allowing you to gain points for the shop are critical to the gameplay loop, and so the theme fits. But if nobody can manage the game before their first purchase, the theme is never encountered.

Graphics: The game is readable. Everything looks like what it should. I wish there was a background instead of the default Unity 2D blue, but I think the difficulty is a bigger concern than the artwork.

Audio: Not applicable.

Humor: Not applicable.

Final Thoughts:  This game gives off the "My first game" energy, and taking a look at your Itch.io page, this is your second game jam (and your first was just before this one!) First off, congrats on submitting a game! It's incredibly daunting for your first game jams, but once you've done it a few times you get the hang of it. I know there aren't too many comments on this game (or your previous one for that matter), but you should definitely listen to the feedback we're providing.  We all had to start somewhere, and rest assured, my first jam games were sloppy compared to my recent work.  My first game was also an impossibly difficult survival game with a non-moving main character, and one of the pieces of advice that took me the longest to grasp was "It's not about beating the player". I kept making hard games, and nobody could get anywhere in them, and so my games scored poorly. Definitely consider the player's experience, because everybody loves to win, and not everybody want to put in the time to get good.

one thing that I found awkward with the platforming is a lack of weight. You are either moving at top speed, or zero. You’re right, I should’ve specified what I found rough, and that’s on me. And yes, the rising platform does eventually make it on screen, so that’s on me too. My game is by no means a perfect demonstration of adding weight to the characters movements (mimicking Mario 3’s player physics in a weekend was certainly not my best move) but the friction of the ground, or keeping speed while mid-air feels a lot nicer that letting go of the moving buttons and coming to an immediate halt. That also tangentially applies to the instant speed boost from holding shift. You definitely want them to gain and lose speed quickly, maybe a quarter of a second or a half of a second from zero speed to top speed, but making it instant is jarring. Same for slowing down, but you typically want slowing down to be faster than taking off, or it feels slippery. Mario 3 is notorious for feeling like you’re constantly on ice, and some games like Celeste instantly stop the player while on the ground, but while in the air you have a short gradual slowdown. Honestly, that’s the only issue I had with the platforming.

Overall:  I really appreciate the ability to press 'R' to reset the platforming. It isn't mentioned anywhere on the game page or in-game, but I instinctly hit 'R' when getting stuck, and it reset the level, which was very nice. I think the detrimental card packs was unneeded, and was easily circumvented with the 'R' button, and the platforming was very rough around the edges. Oh, and when I won the game, it just closes the game instead of taking me to a "You win" screen. I wish there was a victory screen of some sort.

Fun: So, the platforming was pretty rough, and I think that was a major issue.  There was a section with moving platforms that I had to jump down to, but they were off screen and a tiny moving box. If the player cannot see what they are landing on, then this is commonly referred to as a "Blind Jump" and should certainly be avoided. I know the moving platform comes on screen if you wait long enough, but for the most of the time it's off screen and I didn't know if it would rise on screen or not, so I took several jumps without knowing where to land.

Innovation: I like the interesting combo between a platforming game and a deckbuilding card combat game. Plus, the combat is centered on combos which works very well. I know card based combat games have become pretty saturated in game jams after Slay the spire came out, so I've played all too many card based combat games, but I like the extra addition of having to run around and collect cards.

Theme: I like the multiple uses of the theme. it's a combo of genres, (platforming and card combat) as well as the combo-usage in the combat. (Cards working together). Well done!

Graphics:  So, it goes without saying that the artwork is underwhelming.  This game is a pretty clear demonstration of a programmer making a fun game, and the visuals are an afterthought. After all, who needs shiny graphics when the gameplay is fire? That said, playing as rectangles can leave me pretty unattached the the character. That leads well into mood.

Mood: I have no emotional connection with this game. The environment is the windows XP default desktop background, and I play as a rectangle fighting against another rectangle. There's not really a story, or any motivation to move forwards, and nothing exists purely as decoration or added details. It feels empty and uninspiring. Most of these issues could be solved with a new coat of paint, some background parallax, character artwork and decorations. Perhaps even a story.

Audio: I appreciate the option to mute the SFX and music. A volume slider is preferred over binary checkboxes, but the inclusion of a method to mute at all is very nice. The music doesn't seem very fitting. The sound effects are nice though.

Humor: Not Applicable.

Final Thoughts: I think it's an interesting game with some questionable execution. The idea of platforming to collect cards to benefit you in combat is a great idea, but the platforming sections are clunky and rough. I think it was a cool concept, and with some more experience and feedback, you're probably going to make some super cool innovative stuff in the future. Nice work.