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I will be looking forward to it!

Congratulations on reaching 20 votes!

Are you going to make the stream from last night as a video on demand?

Thank you so much!

Thanks to you, I think!

It was fun at first, but I got stressed with the sound-based puzzle, worrying there might not be enough clues for you to solve it. That’s on me! I’m glad you enjoyed it too. Thank you!

Thank you so much! We enjoyed watching someone else play it :)

I’m sorry if my comment was too brutal, but it’s my honest feedback.

I won’t miss watching you play our game!

Playthrough Blog Post

Are you going to stream again tonight? My game was the next in the list, and I’m dying to watch someone else play it for a change to get better feedback on it!

Edit: Nevermind, I saw your comment late.

https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-12/rate/2973744

Thank you for the honest review!

The Double Door puzzle is sound based, you have to hit the pedestals and cubes to figure out what to do. I’m glad you were still able to get through the doors, despite not being intended.

I may have been too brutal with my comment, but it’s my honest opinion, at least. Please don’t let it discourage you though. Keep pushing games!

I’m glad to hear you’re fired up!

You are welcome!

Immaculate! ^-^

It’s awesome to hear that you’ve learned new skills while making this. I’m excited to see what you come up with next! While the game is simple, it’s both fun and relaxing—until you find out the health inspector is on the way, and then it turns into chaos! I love it. I also loved the music—did you make it yourself? I’m pretty sure I heard vocals saying “Goblin Cafe!” in there, which was a nice touch.

I hope you can find some time to try our game as well, currently lacking 20 votes.

I hope you enjoy our unique game. https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-12/rate/2973744

I got it!

I’m happy my comment was well received. I will look forward to updates to this game. I would also really appreciate if you could spend a few moments for try my game.

I must have missed some of the instructions then. And I’m not sure if I understand what you mean by not needing to repeat all the stuff.

The music is fantastic—I actually paused at the menu just to enjoy it before starting the game. Initially, I had a really positive impression, but then the combat transitioned into something that felt turn-based, though not exactly. Unfortunately, that style of grid-based, tabletop-like combat simulation isn’t for me, and I lost interest at that point. To top it off, I got stuck between a rock and a tree, which ended my experience. Sorry about that. But don’t let my comment discourage you, because the reason I did not like your game comes down to personal preference.

The place I got stuck:

It’s always challenging to critique someone’s first attempt without seeming discouraging, especially not knowing how they’ll take the feedback. That said, I want to be honest with you. While constructive criticism is often more beneficial than praise, making your first game is a huge achievement, even if the final product has areas for improvement.

The artwork is fantastic, though the animations could use some work. With time and practice, I’m sure you’ll get better at this.

As for the theme, I didn’t notice a clear connection to “Calm Before the Storm.”

Regarding game design, there are some notable issues. The WASD controls feel unnecessary. The weapon’s damage radius is quite large, and since the enemies automatically move toward you, there’s little need for movement. In one of my playthroughs, I stood still and simply spammed the attack button without taking any damage. To make the combat more rewarding, you could adjust the attack mechanics to only damage enemies on the side the character is facing.

When it comes to the enemies, they’re described as “dark” and fly towards the player, disappearing either when they intersect with the character or are hit, which dims the angel’s light. While the concept is solid, the execution needs work. It’s hard to tell whether enemies are disappearing because you attacked them or because they hit the angel. This ties into the earlier issues I mentioned, but you could address it with clearer animations, sounds, or by adding effects like a temporary stun when the player takes damage. Even something as simple as dimming a halo of light around the angel could improve feedback.

Lastly, I recommend incorporating brief moments of calm after all enemies in a level are defeated, giving the player a chance to regroup. Right now, the screen changes instantly after the last enemy is defeated, which can lead to accidental button clicks.

First of all, congratulations on reaching 20 votes with your downloadable entry!

The graphics, sounds, and movement mechanics were impressive. However, the puzzles were quite challenging; I lost count of how many tries it took to solve them. The combination of the timer restart and having to redo everything added to the frustration. I appreciated some of the rhyming clues, but others that relied on symbols felt too cryptic and vague to be helpful. Figuring out how to navigate the transparent doorway felt more like a random chance than trial and error. Overall, it’s a solid entry! If you have a moment, I’d love for you to check out my game as well, so it can reach the 20-vote threshold.

Incredible graphics and animations. The game was challenging, and I couldn’t complete it. After reading other comments, I realized there was a jump mechanic by pressing W, which was not intuitive—I didn’t even figure it out. The sounds and music were okay; they did their job. The shield throw mechanic was interesting, but the shield bash mechanic was frustrating. The delay between shield bashes was too long. Picking up items with the spacebar was also unintuitive, as space is typically reserved for jumping. So, the gameplay mechanics were lacking.

Also, where is this panicked woman running to, forcing the player to keep up with her? Could it have been done differently, like having the woman follow us instead? Unfortunately, the frustrating gameplay mechanics caused me to give up after dying five or six times.

This game gave me a lot of enjoyment. I first saw it on nomistreams’ stream, and it was very well made. I could clearly see and feel the attention to detail that went into creating the characters and their personalities. I loved how the kid kept plopping all the money onto the tray, the old lady who couldn’t count, the shady guy who either handed over large banknotes or fake money, and the couple who kept buying water. Some characters noticed mistakes and complained, prompting the player to correct them, while others simply missed them. I especially liked the homeless man in patches.

You put so much love into creating this little game, and it really shows. The art, while not amazing, was good enough for a game jam. The game felt polished and engaging, and I managed to finish with over 800 euros by the end of day five—more than double the 400 euro requirement.

My only suggestion, if you could call it a criticism, is that it would have been nice to see some small change management. For example, having a finite amount of coins, where the player could potentially run out of small change, making it necessary to manage resources more carefully. There was music, and although it was repetitive, the game was so engaging that it didn’t become an issue. I also loved how the game kept getting more complex as the days progressed.

Overall, this is a beautifully designed, nearly perfectly executed game. One of the best games of the game jam, if not the best. It’s a great shame that this game has so few votes. Although it’s understandable given that it’s a downloadable game and not a browser game, it’s no less frustrating. I would love to see it expanded, and I’d definitely pay for it on Steam and recommend it to my friends.

I believe this game has a lot of potential if more time and effort are invested in expanding it. However, as it stands, it became repetitive by the second lab, where the same puzzle was reused. I really enjoyed the narrative elements—discovering objects, reading them, and uncovering insights. But by the third puzzle, which was significantly longer than the previous ones without a clear reason, it started to feel like a chore, even causing discomfort in my wrist. When I got to the fourth puzzle and realized it would require two minutes of rapid mouse clicking and intense hand-eye coordination, I decided to stop playing.

One thing that stood out as particularly awkward was the mixed control scheme. Using the mouse for movement but the keyboard for interacting, sprinting, and opening the inventory felt inconsistent and unintuitive. It would be better to choose one control scheme and stick with it—either a full point-and-click system or a keyboard-only setup. Mixing the two creates a jarring experience, forcing the player to constantly switch between control styles in a way that doesn’t feel fluid.

That said, I liked the nostalgic sound effects, especially in the menu, and the art was decent. The sprint mechanic felt awkward—having to press Shift and the left mouse button simultaneously for sprinting is counterintuitive. The default key layout was also unusual, with X and C for interaction and inventory, though I appreciated that you allowed key remapping for keyboard, at least—something many game jam entries overlook. I’d love to see this game evolve into a fully narrative-driven exploration experience.

Thank you. The idea was that this spike forest environment would be alien to the player. It was inspired from conceptual nuclear spike forest images, a potential nuclear waste warning sign for future civilizations, incase ours were too collapse. Because they look ominous, right. So this is way, way post post-apocalyptic.

Thank you very much, kind sir! I will try yor game tomorrow.

You found our game, yay! Thank you for trying it. I’ll try your game tomorrow!

I have very mixed feelings about this game. Phenomenal artwork by the artist, who seemingly ran out of talent while writing.

Good job! Push on creating games and you’ll become a great dev! Just don’t use circle darkness please :D

I wasn’t sure how to respond in the dialogues, and events unfolded beyond my control, yet I still ended up winning the game without really understanding what was happening. The 2D art was intriguing, and I particularly liked the unusual color palette.

Please try my game, It is lacking votes :) https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-12/rate/2973744

I hope I don’t miss the stream!

Already commented on your game, I thought it was an incredible game. Honestly one of the best games I tried during this game jam.

I will just drop this here in the hopes that you’ll have time to try it out.

https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-12/rate/2973744

You’ve got a winning formula here! I really enjoyed playing this game. I’d love to offer some criticism, but honestly, there’s nothing to critique. Sometimes, simple is best, and this game perfectly demonstrates that with its elegant and addictive gameplay. Well done!

While the pixel art is adorable and the soundscape is decent, I found the gameplay lacking. The limited visibility from the blackout effect was really frustrating—I often bumped into things while trying to find interactable elements, only to realize the curtain was the only thing I could manipulate. It was also tedious that I couldn’t just stand and wait by the wall clock until midnight, which is the game’s goal. I actually found myself enjoying writing this comment more than playing the game itself. It would be great to see some improvements to enhance the overall experience!

Interesting premise, and well-executed for a game jam. However, the gameplay feels a bit underwhelming compared to the concept. The mechanics and environment could benefit from improvement—being unable to run and constantly staring at repetitive floor tiles, while the view is restricted by darkness, detracts from the experience. It doesn’t capture the depth or tension I expected after reading about the theme. With some adjustments, it could better reflect the emotional intensity of the story.

Our game is inspired by long-term nuclear waste warning signs, specifically spike fields. It’s a very ambition FPS exploration/adventure game with a tragic ending.

https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-12/rate/2973744

While the premise of searching for a missing sibling sets up a potentially engaging narrative, the gameplay feels completely disconnected from this theme. Collecting coins while being chased by ghosts doesn’t build on the story’s emotional stakes, and the mechanics themselves are repetitive and not very engaging. It would be more immersive and rewarding if the gameplay elements reflected the core goal—finding the sibling—rather than focusing on an unrelated coin-collecting aspect.

That said, the mobile controls are smooth and responsive, which is a plus.

v1.2 Changelog