i would pay $10 for 4 additional levels! as far as itch goes, i think $5 is probably a safer bet so price doesnt deter potential players, especially if each level averages to maybe about 30 minutes? idk, ive never priced games before either :3 wishing you luck on your other projects as well!
what a fantastic game! im excited by the idea that this is a demo-- might there be more demons in future?
i only have a couple nitpicks; i wish there was something in the UI to display what the current items we are holding are! for all i know, you planned to but didnt have time :~) the second thing is that i wish there were more hints as to what the correct combination is to get the good ending. maybe im just missing them! one of them is made obvious by going through the dialogue with the girl, but the other is a little bit more of a random choice. actually i understood the hint with the mirror but it seemed a comparably unremarkable object so i never used it for the dismissal :( until i went to find out what it was supposed to be (side note- your code is very neat and pleasant to look through). i think you made a lot of red herrings, which is great for a game like this, but for that one im not sure what i was missing to know thats what i should have chosen
i love the art style- its simple, but in a very good way. visually, you have no choice but to focus on the demon, and i think that works in your favor. the music fit the tone, so you chose well on that. i really felt the urgency of the situation, and the dialogue felt heavy enough to draw me in. despite that i think the demon is just a cute guy, and felt a little bad to get rid of him. i really hope that youd consider making this an anthology of some kind! i would buy a set of exorcism missions :D
nostalgic art style, fun and unique gameplay kind of similar to a ttrpg. its kind of addicting trying to get a perfect run, and that means i died about 100 times without feeling frustrated. i saw the note about trying to get the match less buggy haha, but unfortunately i still got a bug related to it v_v i also got a fatal error by throwing something into the potted plant (i think the ax?) anyway i think the style of your game is great. i think youve done an extremely thorough job with item combinations except that it seems to be picky about which item is chosen first for a combo. (for example, creating the sliced lit poison birthday cake was a nightmare lol). im a really big fan of this game, though i wish some things were made more obvious since theyre not typically present in games like these (to my knowledge) such as being able to throw things through a door. i saw the throw option but assumed that just meant i could throw it onto a tile on the map.
overall i think you did a super good job. it was a ton of fun, and im gonna check out some of your other games :)
ohh i had so much fun with this one, it reminded me of browser games i used to play as a kid. only problem i have is that a couple puzzle solutions are either not functioning correctly or not intuitive for players. im gonna start with the review and then put a spoiler-heavy last paragraph telling you more about what i was having problems with (and then ill copy only the review part onto your game page heh)
review: nostalgic art style, fun and unique gameplay kind of similar to a ttrpg. its kind of addicting trying to get a perfect run, and that means i died about 100 times without feeling frustrated. i saw the note about trying to get the match less buggy haha, but unfortunately i still got a bug related to it v_v i also got a fatal error by throwing something into the potted plant (i think the ax?) anyway i think the style of your game is great. i think youve done an extremely thorough job with item combinations except that it seems to be picky about which item is chosen first for a combo. (for example, creating the sliced lit poison birthday cake was a nightmare lol). im a really big fan of this game, though i wish some things were made more obvious since theyre not typically present in games like these (to my knowledge) such as being able to throw things through a door. i saw the throw option but assumed that just meant i could throw it onto a tile on the map.
so for the spoilers: after looking through your scripts i see that im supposed to be able to do a couple things with the sentry room. notably being able to throw an illuminated object into the room and put the sentry into a state of firing, however that never works for me. ive tried several different lit objects but i just get the default "you hope for the best" line, and then die when i enter the sentry room anyway. i thought it might be because of the water rising, so i made sure to try again fast enough to throw it before the water, but no luck. i poked around the code to see if i could figure out what was causing the issue but im not familiar with your organization method so i wasnt able to find out. i was able to finish the game (sort of) through a different method but im still curious why the lit item method wasnt working. by "finish the game (sort of)" i mean that i didnt come up with the crazy idea of how to get out of the final room on my own haha. i would be sort of surprised if anyone did think of it on their own, so thats one of my only real criticisms; the final puzzle is a little unlikely to be solved without looking at the room's ren'py code
overall i think you did a super good job. it was a ton of fun, and im gonna check out some of your other games :)
hehe thanks for commenting ^-^ anya is intended to be like the easy mode, and silver the corresponding hard mode. most of my feedback indicates that silver is the fan favorite. i gotta get the other 2 girls in stat! the people want more evil!
hmm i was actually really into the concept, and i liked how things changed in the game when i retried and picked different options. however i feel like im missing something, or perhaps something isnt running right. the morse code just isnt making sense v_v idk maybe im dumb. i dont want to post spoilers so you can message me on discord if you want to hear more, my username is michauxii on there. i will say i was charmed by the idea of having a text file as our train ticket. i thought it was super cute. the visuals kind of lend to an uncomfortable horror-ish experience. frank's baby face + receding hairline combo will probably live in my mind forever. i think good job overall but i wish i could see the win ending!!
such an incredibly sweet and beautifully crafted story. the writing is paced perfectly to keep you drawn in without leaving you behind. yoyo is terribly cute, he has sokka energy but like sokka after suki. you know what i mean.
fantastic voice work, compelling plot, and a saccharine romance, sounds like a winning combo to me
i didnt realize there were going to be alternate lines until i replayed it. had to replay it because i spent so long mesmerized by the silhouette art and the background panning in. as i was replaying it i realized there were different lines. then i got distracted by the art again because its just so satisfying to look at. those clean lines. minimalist but hugely effective highlights. amazing. missed some voice lines again. had to replay
gave it 5 stars across the board because wow, this submission is incredible. in my opinion the screenshots on the game page dont do the art of this game justice, the expressions are so perfect for the mood they're portraying. i thought that kenji and viola had really evocative expressions. the only downside i could find is just that it didnt run super well on my pc, like UI elements wouldnt activate with the mouse for some reason? that might just be me though? once i was in the game i just used arrow keys to go forward/back and it was no problem. i loved the characterizations and the panic felt real and personal. i think you all nailed this one. i hope it gets more attention
ohh seeing your description saying it was inspired by a dream makes sense, it definitely was similar to one! youve done a great job at imagining unimaginable horrors
i thought it had a slow start, not really sure what my motivation was supposed to be, but i ended up immersed really quickly. actually i thought the ambience was really effective at putting me on edge haha. the visuals are unique, they remind me of myst or the dracula games, and i was wondering if either was an inspiration for you? i like your writing style as well. if there was infinite time to make the game my feedback would be to give more of an intro, and build up to discovering the obelisk? i dunno! i thought it was awesome
the visuals are really nice, and i like the concept of a modern/urban mermaid :) the story line feels a bit rushed, and i think i would have preferred to spend more time talking to the mermaid and building a believable connection, instead of the conversation with friend. i think it could be improved this way, because a slower descent into obsession and madness will be easier for the player to feel and understand. but thats up to you and the story you want to tell! i had a good time with it either way :D is there any way to save friend's life? i wasnt able to, so i wonder if there is a secret way :o
i played this one last night and i havent stopped thinking about it. im not sure why, but it really resonated with me. the art, though simple, is so striking. the writing felt deep and poetic without being pretentious. the critique i would give is that the noise created when some characters speak doesn't fit the tone, in my opinion. im not sure if you were trying to use the beeps to mean "this person is speaking aloud" versus us reading their thoughts. if thats the case, i think thats a great idea but perhaps a different sound would serve better? maybe im the only one who feels this way. i also think this could benefit from some kind of ambient/atmospheric background noise, but thats up to you, if you think it fits with the experience. overall i think it was incredible. i love your writing, and i like it so much im going to give you a 2nd comment on the game page
the art direction for this game is phenomenal, and super cohesive as well! the only critique i have is that i wish there was more! i love all the expressions for the ghost, and i like that theres a narrative reason for the player to not have voice acting (not a fan of voiced protagonists anyway, but i thought it was cute that there was a canonical reason for us to be silent)
