I like the concepts for the different gambling mini-games. I was surprised when I pressed exit and found both an exiting cutscene and copious amount of debt instead of the game closing, giving the gambling an objective as opposed to only a casino simulator.
I think the quantum roulette offers the best payout, with a bonus on having the most interactivity. I wonder what more quantum based casino minigames would look like for something like blackjack or poker?
I really love the visuals for this game. I also like boxing games, so I really like the concept for this one.
I was unable, however, to get the charge move to work. I'm not sure if I just didn't understand it (holding shift while holding lmb, then letting lmb go) or it was not working on my end.
I found the ultimate technique that enabled me to become invincible! Punch while blocking! I do think there is potential to become a decent boxing game by working out enemy patterns and the usage of each punch (basic for damage, uppercut for knockback if they are pressuring you too much).
I really like this one. Who doesn't like wanton chaos after all?
I really like how the animation stretches as you run past the objects, almost feeling like your main goal is to outrun the security, and you just smash things on reflex. I was having a lot of trouble getting all of the items after getting stuck behind the counter frequently until I realized I could jump.
My least favorite thing is probably the camera, as the position makes it hard to see below you, so you tend to run into things before you learn the layout, or the security guard if you lose track of him.
I also like the contrast of the song with the running and smashing chaos unfolding.
After acquiring around 100 cats and accruing over 1 million dollars in cat worth, I can not begin to describe the relief I, and more importantly my ears, felt after pressing the sell all button.
I like the idea where as a player you can decide to go for more valuable cats (upgrades for tier frequency and combining) or for quantity (focusing on clicking the cat food). An auto-clicker, of course, annihilates the debt.
Special mention to the cat names. I particularly like "Fishlips" and "Bingus." There are some really good cat names in there.
I wonder if cats wiggle their butts to recharge their glowing orb pounce?
I like the visuals; it reminds me of a glass jar filled with colored sand. Sound is great and works well with the tiny rat screams driving me to chase them down. I like how the level is designed with tons of exits, entrances, nooks and crannies all over the place. It did feel a bit claustrophobic at times when I kept bumping into things trying to pounce/dash. I also kept pouncing right over the rats frequently, making me feel like an over-excited cat. I wonder how a future version might look including some catlike ways to utilize the environment?
I really like how the game looks, and the concept of saving kittens from a forest fire is a neat idea.
The camera is a bit frustrating to use, especially due to the inverted y-axis, as well as around edges of things. This problem is especially noticeable around trees where it becomes very hard to figure out where you are.
I noticed you can actually move faster diagonally, so ended up zigzagging around the forest clearing in search of the poor lost kittens. I liked to imagine the mother cat was extra panicked so couldn't run straight.
Yeah, I definitely overestimated how much I would be able to do in a week by myself! I really need to work on my scope and/or time management skills in future jams!
I'm glad you liked the Yin and Yang theme I had going! I had originally intended for the other world (accessed through the checkerboard pedestal in the first screen) to have swapped colors to further this idea, just ran out of time. It's something to add for the post jam version!
Thanks for the feedback and for checking it out!
Going through it again to see what I meant I found two things.
Yeah, you're right on the reset. I didn't even realize that it worked that way. In that case it's not a bug at all, but is working as intended! I think I thought it was a bug since I thought death was a "full reset", and not a "respawn at checkpoint." I don't think the way you have it set-up (now knowing) is a bad thing. Maybe the presentation can be adjusted? "R to Restart" seems to me to mean a full level restart. It might be better to have a "fail" animation, then respawn automatically.
The second thing I noticed was in regards to how long ashes last. Looking at them, the amount of time they last by themselves is just fine. The problem comes with where they start to disappear from. If the player is walking down the path of ash, each step they take makes the ash under them disappear. The problem lies in the ash in front of the player disappearing while they are almost to the end of the trail. I think the ash disappearing probably starts from the first ash that is not already disappearing. I understand how this could be implemented this way, but I think a better way (not necessarily on memory) would be for each ash to have an individual timer if not stepped on. Whether it is implemented in this way, or you find a different, better way, I think the problem lies in the ashes running on the timer of the first ash pile created. (I hope this makes sense, it feels kind of like I'm rambling. Let me know if this is unclear)
I know for me personally, "Interact" is "E", due to playing many games with it set to that. It also feels more natural for me to reach up to press it, rather than reaching to the right (with hand on WASD) (QWERTY). I know this comes down to personal preference, so "F" isn't the worst key it could be if you end up not implementing key remapping. I just kept instinctually pressing "E" and having to remind myself that it was the wrong button!
The style of this game is very cool. I really liked it. Everything seems to run well. The attacks work and feel effective. There's plenty to explore and learn about the world. I think the dimensions are a great idea, and are expressed well with the static objects.
If anything, the mouse sensitivity is kind of low. A slider would be appreciated. Also "f" to interact feels a bit unnatural to me, so control remapping would also be appreciated.
Great job!
What worked:
It looked pretty cool and trippy. The atmosphere was pretty cool. My first instinct was to jump into the giant pit. It didn't go so well. I thought it was a cool area to look at.
What didn't:
It was kind of weird for music to only play around torches in the second level. I'm not really sure about the design reason for that.
The second level might also be a bit too dark, but it was cool to use the torchlight to find the right direction.
Some interactivity would be nice.
Bugs:
Didn't see any.
==
Great job!
What worked:
Very cool take on the concept of needing to kill to survive. I love these retro-type space shooters. The game is definitely designed for the player to be aggressive too, both through the laser mechanic and the needing to kill to survive and heal. It's fun and even rewards strategic shooting as opposed to holding down fire (since I think it was draining my life faster?).
What didn't:
The attacks the enemies fired were extremely hard to dodge, so added onto the aggressiveness that the player feels the need to exhibit. I never felt the need to dodge as it seemed more rewarding to just keep firing and hope I outheal the attacks.
Bugs:
Didn't see any.
==
Great job!
What worked:
It's a very creative idea. I like the part where you have to carry the other after falling. The different characters revealing secrets in each room (keys, platforms) is really cool. I didn't get very far due to time, but it seems like there are some great puzzles ahead.
What didn't:
I would love some feedback on how far the tether is. Something visual or sound based to let me know I'm reaching the limit before I get there.
Swapping can feel kind of slow at times.
The character collision boxes feel a bit too big, making it easy to run into spikes.
Bugs:
After turning upside down, I couldn't find the key so decided to backtrack. This was a bad idea as I ended up phasing through a wall and getting stuck in the first bridge area.
==
Great job!
What worked:
The art on the lamps showing how much energy they have is a nice touch. I like the concept of using your resources and having to keep moving around the map as a result. It's a neat arcade game as is.
What didn't:
The screenshake and brief stun on enemy spawn is too much for notifying the player. I kept thinking I was taking damage.
I never actually felt like I was in danger.
The enemies feel like they have too much hp. I might have preferred the lights drain faster if it meant enemies also died faster.
Bugs:
Didn't see any.
==
Great job!
What worked:
This one is really creative. I like the concepts behind it. The way the ship lights things up visually is really nice, particularly in the first area. Managing the meters for the different sides of the ship can also give some depth to using abilities. I really like how the story is presented. The different tts voices really add to it.
What didn't:
The controls feel too floaty/slippery. I get that it's a ship in zero gravity, and delicate control should be had for this game, but I think it's a bit too much.
I would have liked the ship to have a small radius around it so you can see immediately next to you. There were far too many times I would bump into asteroids due to trying to strafe.
Bugs:
I was going to talk about the triggers not working until I read the description fully.
==
Great job!
What worked:
It controls well. The sound effects and the music (although a bit loud) sound good. I like that you can see enemy spawn points (cracks in the wall, gravestones). I never felt like an enemy came out of nowhere. It also helps to line up where an enemy is coming from. Avoiding the gravestones enemies while waiting for the wall ghosts was challenging. I like that the gravestone ghosts despawned at certain places as opposed to chasing you indefinitely.
What didn't:
The flashlight didn't really add or take away from the game. It was kind of just there.
The game was a bit simplistic, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, especially for your first game! It's better to be simple and well-functioning, than massively over-scoped and a buggy mess. I do wish there was a bit more to it though.
Bugs:
Didn't find any.
==
Great job!
What worked:
It looks neat and the curved effect give an impression of wearing a helmet of some sort. Rocket jumping is really fun, but it took me a while to realize it was killing me haha. I like the idea of exploring into darkness to find lights, which then make return exploration easier. Getting the lights works well.
What didn't:
I'm not entirely sure what the objective is. If it's to light up everything, I'd like to know that. If it's survival, a timer would be appreciated to have something to work towards.
Those fish are mean! The tiny ones are really hard to shoot due to the gun being projectile based (rather than hitscan/raytracing), so it ends up being a mad rush to health kits rather than trying to fend them off. On that note too, platforming is very difficult when being slugged in the face repeatedly.
Bugs:
Music slider isn't set right.
UI doesn't properly scale when window is maximized (at least the sliders aren't).
==
Great job!
What worked:
The aesthetics look great. I like the characters and the dialogue we share. There's a good variety of people, some shady, other very shady in classic noir fashion. I like the contrast of the people's personalities too, being lurking dark figures, but generally pleasant. It's also nice that what they needed was usually nearby.
It runs well for the most part, and the menus and UI are presented very well. I like the feeling of wandering around a city at late night, unsure if the next person you see will be a friendly face, or the last one you'll ever see.
What didn't:
The map can be a bit confusing due to the sheer size of it and all the different streets. A map would be helpful here.
I really wish the game portion had some smooth jazz to accompany it, even the same track from the menu. It felt too quiet wandering around for so long, and I think a soundtrack would add to the noir atmosphere.
I would have loved some noir narration of some sort. Maybe something when you pick up items? Just a blurb, or even an item description in a menu. It could also occur at major plot points (the start, major milestones in items acquired).
Bugs:
On controller: Sometimes I am unable to select a dialogue option (usually after picking an option from multiple, then there only being one option) and have to use my mouse.
Sometimes the monsters would spawn without sound and rush me to the point where it was too late. Not sure if a bug, but it does suck.
I think once a monster got stuck somewhere, so I didn't have to deal with them spawning. I don't know if it can be replicated, but it happened.
==
Great job! Could only get bad and monster endings. Maybe I'll try for the good one later when I have more time.
What worked:
The gameplay feels smooth. The different enemies make sense and work well together. I'd be annoyed at the enemy projectiles if it wasn't for the piercing effect (I wonder if it might be better to be able to destroy their projectiles though? Maybe at high enough damage?) I like the constant decisions and trade-offs on offense vs defense and being able to see. It makes the decision on power-ups that much more intriguing and tactical. Sometimes I might take a power-up I don't want as much just so I can see which is really interesting.
The game also looks great visually. I really like how the light areas function with the way they look and meld together.
What didn't:
Light upgrades feel a bit too weak. I know that they're supposed to be weaker since you get the added benefit of being able to see, but I would often only pick light upgrades only to increase my view area. Shields and dodge percent are fine, the dashes are weak upgrades compared to dark upgrades. Maybe this is more of an issue of there just needing to be more (expanded game)?
On the topic of the strengths between the two choices, dark upgrades felt necessary, but I never felt that I needed light upgrades. One example of this was the boss fight, where it can spawn so many minions that it's impossible to survive unless you've been upgrading your attack (damage, fire rate, piercing, etc.).
I would have liked to see some way to restore health. Maybe even at the cost of taking an upgrade, or a bit of health after a boss.
Bugs:
Dash can still be used when standing still. You won't go anyway, but you won't be able to move for a little bit. Not technically a bug, but also probably not intended.
Great job! (best - 191)
What worked:
The sound design is really good. It feels full and gives it impression of being out to sea. The art and set-up look really great too. I like the feeling of being in a cabin as a viewport. Having to wrestle with the sea works well thematically.
What didn't:
I didn't notice any helpful sound cues. That doesn't mean they weren't there, but I never picked up on any. (I heard singing which is never a good sign when you're alone, but both steering to and away didn't really change much.)
It gets really hard after a certain point. This is fine innately, but I began to feel like there was nothing I could do. I would frequently find myself suddenly in-between two rocks after a long period of darkness, try to steer in the middle, then become faced with a certain other object out of nowhere on the next flash. This is when I can steer at all of course.
I'm still not sure on how close to objects I could safely sail. Was it to the edges of my cabin, or the edges of the screen?
Bugs:
Didn't find any.
Great job! Last time I fall asleep manning a one-man vessel, ptoooey.
What worked:
It's an interesting idea. I like the thought that you exist in a world where every creature is fighting for light. It could go in interesting direction if you decide to continue this project.
What didn't:
The enemy fire rate may be a bit fast with the size of the player.
I found the best way to play was to wait out the enemy attacks until they couldn't shoot anymore. You may want to give the player more strength or ability to deal with projectiles so this is only an option instead of what seems like the only way to play.
Bugs:
Didn't find any.
Great job! (score 6865)
What worked:
This is a really cool concept. I like the risk vs reward of taking it slow and knowing what's going on versus gaining a higher score by keeping track of everything mentally. It feels good to play mechanically with everything feeling responsive.
What didn't:
The difficulty curve may be a bit sharp. If this was expanded you might want to make level packs and have the difficulty be more gradual.
Wall jumping feels odd while in the dark. I don't think there's any way to fix this (maybe particles when wall jumping?).
Bugs:
Didn't find any.
Great job! (00 32'31'', 6 deaths)
What worked:
It's a really solid puzzle platformer. All the added mechanics work really well both by themselves and when added together with the previous ones. The parts where you have to jump through an area toggling the light to bypass obstacles were my favorite. The part where you have to drop a lamp was also really cool, and I wish I saw more of that.
What didn't:
I ended up dying once because I was standing on the edge of a platform and ended up rolling off haha. I don't know if this is worth fixing (since you'd lose out on the advantages of having it like that and it's only on the very edge of platforms), but it didn't feel good.
I'm just not personally too big a fan of timing puzzles/challenges. This one is purely personal preference, but my least favorite challenges involved flickering and moving lights.
I think it'd be better to have lamp pick up be set to a key (could be same as drop lamp) since I often set it down, then promptly picked it up again just trying to move around.
Bugs:
Didn't see any.
Great job!
What worked:
I really love the art for this game. It actually looks as if I'm walking across the pages of a comic book. It reminds me a bit of Comix Zone. I like the objects interacting with your burns. I would have loved to see this expanded on with more objects being used, but of course with jam constraints it's only the one level.
What didn't:
I do think the ashes disappear a bit too quickly. I never felt that I got the full usage from my burns.
I think the enemies could be improved. I like the idea of sneaking around them, and I like that they drain your resources by erasing your burn trail. I don't like how the only direct way to deal with them is to hit them a bunch draining resources. I'm not sure what you could do, but something else would work better than hitting them over and over again with a burn trail. (something with the environment maybe?)
Bugs:
Level is not properly reset on death and restart.
Great job!
What worked:
It's great, and feels like a unique take on Osu. The song is fun and keeps you moving. I really enjoyed it! It's not too mechanically hard to get into, so getting high scores doesn't feel like a chore either! Basing movement only on mouse movement works really well for this making the rhythm portion feel very smooth.
Having the outlines telegraph movements works very well so you can focus on "hitting the notes" as opposed to only having good reflexes and/or memory.
What didn't:
Some of the patterns seem to overlap to the point where I would ignore them (notably some bars that spawned at top of screen) and would be just fine moving from the one before to the next one.
Bugs:
Didn't find any.
Great job!
Shoot, did it say "Space" to sprint all this time?! Thanks for letting me know!
Yeah, on sound and guidance of what you're doing, I did run out of time. It is possible to "finish" the game, but in classic point and click fashion you have to intuit what madness the developer was under to use objects correctly (I'm assuming you don't mean physically stuck). The stairs specifically give you access to a cave in (what was supposed to be) the inverted world that can be accessed by the checkerboard thing.
Thanks for the feedback and for checking it out!
What worked:
It's a fun arcade game. It feels challenging in a good way making you want to get a better score. Combo-ing dashes feels nice as you tear through enemies.
What didn't:
I felt the dash hitbox was too small/precise. I would have liked it to be larger/more forgiving as I frequently missed enemies passing just next to them.
The scrolling felt too slow at times. I think it would be better to allow the scrolling to follow the player if they pass a certain bounding area. While in the bounding area, the scroll can continue as normal, but the player can speed it up especially if they combo through a large group of enemies.
Bugs:
I also ran into the disappearing player bug. It happened twice. Both times were after a moving laser enemy was swallowed by the void. Maybe there's some trigger on the laser enemies that's tied to the wrong object? Maybe it's a phantom attack from an improperly destroyed/disabled laser?
Great job!
What worked:
I'm blue dah-buh-dee dah-buh-dye
What didn't:
Based only on what was there, it needed camera controls. (unless I just missed something)
Bugs:
If you collect any blip, it'll collect them in order. So if I collect the one that's furthest back (towards me, the player) the one that's most in the front will be collected first, and so on until the back one is collected last. Maybe it's set to pick up objects based on their id, in order of children, or in order in an array?
It's a start! Good job! The question is what will you do next?
What worked:
I like the switching mechanic. Having two separate worlds that you have to interact with to progress works well. The concept of a rougelite being slower or having more puzzle elements than action is an interesting idea to pursue. The art looks cool, and I like the main character. Being able to choose when to fight the boss at any level (once you have enough resources) is a cool idea, letting the player decide when they want to take a swing at it. I never got stuck in any walls either which is usually a problem in world switching games during jams, so great job there!
What didn't:
The art for the traps is a bit unclear. After running into it, I of course realize it'll kill me, but it's still a bit hard to tell/see at a glance due to how thin it is.
I didn't realize I could interact with barrels and chests at first. Maybe more direction is needed?
I might have missed something, but I never found a way to deal with the bats. I entered the boss arena once before immediately being swarmed with bats. Is there an attack? Maybe after fully upgrading light?
I didn't really see a point to having the world switching based on a timer, aside from no traps being in the light world. There aren't really many benefits to being in either world (aside from some barrels and chests) throughout the main portion of the game, so I would rapidly flick between the two if I needed to smash a barrel or pass a wall. It might be helpful if you want to keep this mechanic to add a reason that the player can only access the light world for small periods of time (timed mechanics, enemies disappear, negate projectiles).
Upgrades feel overpriced. As the game progresses, you tend to either be wandering around smashing barrels, or dying immediately to a bat. In this sense it also feels slow to repeat this over and over to get a small upgrade.
Bugs:
Didn't see any.
Great job!
What worked:
I really like the firing modes of the gun. It is really fun to propel yourself around recklessly. It's wacky and goofy in a good way, reminding me a lot of Newgrounds type games (Battleblock Theater, No Time To Explain, Castle Crashers).
What didn't:
It's a bit tedious having to check every dark corner for enemies. It really slows down what feels like a fast-paced game.
I would have liked to see interaction between the two firing modes. As it stands, each one activates by itself, but I kept wanting to light boost, dark swing, dark swing, then light boost up a ledge when I fell a bit short. This suggestion is entirely up to you of course since it drastically changes the game. I think this could be implemented by having the firing modes set to separate timers so you can't spam either one, but can activate them one after the other. Also on this note, I'd have loved if the light blast gave you more of a midair boost, but I understand why it doesn't since it seems heavily momentum based.
Checkpoints would be appreciated. The main area is short enough that it's fine, but it doesn't feel good having to restart hell the bouns level.
Bugs:
Didn't see any
Great job!
What worked:
I like the pick a path difficulty idea. It lets the player make risk vs reward decisions to help them in the future, or to lower the difficulty if they feel it necessary. The art looks very nice, and the theme is done well. The concept of a complete restart is brutal, but can be done well if the deaths feel fair.
What didn't:
Some power-ups seem to hinder the player. The increased jump height meant that I kept slamming my head into spikes (the first dash level especially). The only way to get around this was to dash to cut my jumps short, which with the increased dash power sent me past the blocks. I then had to double jump to recover, sending me into the spikes anyway.
The text is pretty hard to read due to the background and the dots that appear as part of the texture at times. The UI also takes over a significant portion of the screen before disappearing in each level. It makes it hard to see, especially when you've already read it and are replaying levels.
Respawning needs a small delay. There were many times I would die and immediately run off a platform due to still holding the right button.
Movement should be tightened a bit, or level design should be matched closer to current movement. (most notably air mobility)
Bugs:
Everything (spikes and pit) on Level 6 (path of brave) seems to take out 3 hp at a time? I'm not sure if this is intended.
Level 9 (path of brave) seems to have an invisible spike/collider above the first spike tower? (maybe I just couldn't see it before dying)
Double-jump doesn't seem to work while running or dashing off a platform instead of jumping off (only works when following a normal jump, dash doesn't affect it either way (can jump after dash, but only after a normal jump)).
Great job! (2m, 9 sec, full brave)
What worked:
The idea of the low resolution was neat to give the game the feeling of an older game. Having a metered power to deal with the enemies works well.
What didn't:
The implementation of the low resolution needs work. Instead of exporting into a set resolution, you should the camera to view the game in the target resolution, then use a texture to make the game look pixelated. This will allow you to customize things more and cause less problems.
It is very hard to see. I found myself wrestling with shelves more often than the robots.
Some indication of which boxes you're supposed to pick up will help. I finally found the boxes and realized that I was picking up entire shelves of boxes to carry around. I took a while since the "pick-up shelves" look identical to any other shelf, plus I was looking for loose boxes.
Bugs:
None found.
Good job!
What worked:
The atmosphere and visuals on the game work really well to create an atmosphere of something lurking in the shadows. The vibration on the controller is a nice touch to give the player feedback on being in the darkness. I really like the mechanic of creating your own way forward with the flashlights.
What didn't:
The game feels a bit slow. By this I mean the death animation and the walking speed. For the walking speed, it's not a problem in small rooms, but in large ones it tends to drag a bit, especially when you need to backtrack (room with giant toggle-able spotlight specifically).
Bugs:
Volume slider needs to be looked at. I think it goes too quiet too quickly? Music is also a bit crackly with popping, not sure what is causing this.
Great job! Would have loved to see more!
I do want to get it to my vision of my original plans, but I don't think I'll take this game much further than that. I am considering if I want to make this a short series where I can take this character on different adventures, having different casual adventures for the little goober.
Thanks for checking it out!
What worked:
The visuals work really well and give a creative and unique look to this game. The feeling when the light finally runs out of stuns is pure bliss. I now know how final bosses feel when I keep foiling their plans.
What didn't:
If I don't keep the light in my field of view, there's a good chance I'll take the wrong dead end and have to go all the way back up, losing the light. This is fine as a lose condition innately, but how I got there ends up being making one mistake, then losing to "pick-a-door" when I get to a fork. This part doesn't feel very good. Maybe add a trail to the light? Also giving the boss some skill based abilities to help could be a fun idea, especially if you plan on expanding the idea. This way there's some counter-play (unless I missed something) to being stunned repeatedly or taking the wrong path.
Bugs:
Didn't see any.
Great job!
