It looks and plays absolutely beautifully and the writing is so compelling! I love how cohesive the art style is, to the point where even the font and dialog box are in the manga style. I am absolutely in love and I can't wait for the next part!
Wow, this is a huge game changer! I really like it so far, I might write some more in-depth comment later. I just wanted to hop in and say that every floor having a mezzanine is the most Austrian architecture I have ever seen in game design, thanks for the cultural representation of our million mezzanines hahahahaha
Oh wow, I didn't think my comment would have so much influence! I am very sorry for the blood particle animations, they DID look super good.
I played the new build (downloadable version, the browser version isn't loading on my end) and I loved it! Made it to Room 10 with both the knight and the rogue and it was tons of fun. I love the trinkets, they shake up the gameplay and make the last 2 rooms a bit more doable.
I also love the X-Barrel and the O-Barrel, it adds another dimension to strategising.
I always forget to mention the little graphics/UI-improvements, but they always look good, I love the new animation for shaman.
I wanted to ask, is there a discord community planned for lost for swords? I think it could be really useful for posting playthroughs and comparing strategies. EDIT: Just joined the Discord, can't believe I missed it
EDIT: I also wanted to ask if you considered adding some stats on the ending screen? For example, how many gems collected, how many hits taken, highest damage in one round, something like that (I am taking inspiration on Inscryption's Kaycees Mod)
I am not sure how to feel about the newest version of the game. I do like the UI improvements and the monsters telegraphing where they will go.
But I do not like the glass sphere all that much. A huge part of what made the game so enjoyable and addicting to me was the satisfaction I got from taking the monsters out one by one. Taking out a monster and having one monster less to deal with in the next room was a really tangible way of measuring progress. I no longer feel that rush when I defeated a monster, knowing that it will spawn in the next room either way.
I also used the dungeon deck to strategize, to see who is still in the deck and try to make a strategy based on that information. I am sad to see that aspect go.
I do really understand the shortcomings of the dungeon deck, but the new system has taken a lot of enjoyment out of the game for me personally.
Every player is different of course, so I am sure that for somebody else it is the perfect game!
Wow, thanks for that in-depth look into the development process! Always interesting to learn how things work behind the scenes.
I love the symmetry of the dungeon deck and the hero deck as well, but it's true that it can get incredibly overpowering. I got circled by Grunts a LOT and the only way I have found to circumvent this is to stockpile battle rods to get out of tricky spots and even then I still got my little rogue beaten to a pulp 9/10 times.
I am super curious for the new build, cause there are so many tricky balancing challenges to face! Very happy to be able to experience the process
Tough as nails to beat, but rewarding every time. Although I *do* wonder if adding 3 Fatigues to the deck is a bit much. In the later levels (7+) it slows down the gameplay a lot. Less weapons/armor will spawn in, (because of the fatigue cards) and you will have to backtrack a lot to get a decent hit in. That can end up feeling quite tedious.
I wonder if it would be better to either add just 2 fatigues, or to increase the "penalty free" room number in the last 3 or 4 levels to 4, rather then 3.
(Edit: In the run I screenshotted, I had 21 fatigues in my deck, plus the ones on board)
Today was the first day I beat the game since the update (as a rogue)! It was tricky, but very satisfying. Playing as the rogue is so tense, but with the pushing weapons and the sleep mechanic, there are a lot of strategic options you can take. Still can't figure out how to beat level 10 as a knight, I don't know if my strategy is bad or if it's a balancing issue
I love the new weapons, I love how dynamic everything is, but I cannot beat the 10th level, I always get killed by the grunts, no matter how strong my deck is.
I do love the new dungeon cards (chest, mirage, timed pillar), since they add a new element that i need to account for when planning my strategy.
As a rogue, I wasn't able to get much further than level 5 or so, but this might be a skill issue on my part, rather than a balancing issue
I am absolutely obsessed with the new system. I was already obsessed with the game, but now it's on a whole new level, I love the way it makes me think. I got to level 10 with the knight, but misplayed at the end. I'll beat the last level eventually! I am also getting better with the rogue, but it's very challenging, so I haven't made as much progress yet.
I did a quick playthrough yesterday and I loved it. The monsters chasing me feels absolutely terrifying, I love it. The knight used to feel a bit stiff compared to the rogue, cause the lack of ranged weapons and quick attacks took out a lot of the strategic possibilities.
But now everything feels super dynamic!
I got to level 8 yesterday, which I think isn’t half bad! I am still getting used to the new strategies I gotta use.
I also did a rogue playthrough and died almost immediately XD
I still gotta learn how to strategically use the new weapons
In the new update, I noticed that sometimes when I upgrade weapon that I happen to have 2x in the deck (for example, if I upgrade the battle rod), the duplicate card will disappear. Since the cards are random, it's not super easy to replicate, so I am not sure if it has been fixed already. Just wanted to let you know!
Finally got to Level 10 on rogue after you removed a lot of the quick attacks. It feels super balanced now, every level felt very tense! I really felt for my little rogue every time I had to calculate whether a hit with the poison dagger is worth it.
I also love that sloth is back and renamed fatigue. Fatigue feels less judgy and also helped me immerse myself in the dungeon, with the fatigue creeping up to you and making you unable to move.
I haven't tested the knight as thoroughly, I will report back when I have!
Both played as the rogue and as the knight. I absolutely love the new cards, especially the rapier! I also love how the undo button and the card lookup option were implemented, it's simple and easy to understand.
At the moment, playing as the rogue is much easier then playing as the knight, because there are quite a few quick attack weapons that can allow you to take out an entire room without getting hit even once. It's a ton of fun playing as the rogue, it just needs a little tweaking so it's not too easy. Maybe the defensive dagger could move into the knights deck? I feel like the rogue has too many quick attack weapons.
I am still getting used to playing as the knight now, since my playstyle was always to go for the quick attack or the poison/sleep weapons (I guess I am a rogue at heart). Combat feels less fast paced now, but it might be because I need to adapt to the new playstyle.
I have not utilised the sin/atonement mechanic that much, that is something that I'm gonna try next time I'm playing!
So, as always, I said that I was only gonna play for a couple of minutes, and ended up playing a couple of hours instead.
I really love the update.
Enemies are hitting harder now, but armor has been updated as well, so there is a nice balance. I love the broken shields as default armor. They make the body armour and the helmet much more valueable items, and I had to think much more carefully when considering which cards to add to my deck.
Armor also works a bit differently now. It used to be that armor shattered on first impact, even if the total hit points of the attack were lower than the armor "points". Now, the armor only gets reduced by the amount that it was hit for, which feels a lot more intuitive and I think it's "fairer".
I also like that the image for the unlocked door has changed. It's a little staircase now, and that is much more easy to understand.
Sloth cards are gone now. I loved the concept, but as more enemies get added in who flee on first attack, you used to accumulate a LOT of sloth cards. Plus enemies get upgraded if their card is face-up and you didn't defeat them, so it's not like there isn't a penalty for "running away".
Another feature that I haven't used a lot so far, but I think is quite cool, is that you can check your "Hero Deck" while in the dungeon. That way you can find out which cards of yours aren't currently on the board when entering a dungeon, which can help you strategize better.
The game was already highly addictive, but now it feels more balanced! My current highest floor I reached was the 8th level, before I died to a particularly nasty new enemy ;)
The only thing that I would wish for would be a way to gain more HP? Either in the levels (gain 1 HP from stabbing a barrel, for example), or that the HP scale between the floors? So that you can gain 3 HP after floor 1 and 2, 4 HP after floor 3 and 4, something like that. Nothing too major, just enough to tip the scales a little bit, since enemies DO get pretty tough after level 5.
Anyway, love this game and love all the little changes added!
I am back again, I have played this game for hours now! I just saw that the Hero's Deck has been slightly changed, now featuring broken shields. I can't wait to try!!!
Oh, interesting question, and kinda tricky to answer!
You see, the stories are not that long, so it's not like it's a big mystery or anything. In some stories the mystery is more driving, in others it's more in the background.
Plus, if you know FilmCow's videos, you know that absurdist style the videos often have? The writing is quite similar in that regard, so there will be a lot of absurd elements, that also make it a bit impossible to guess what is gonna happen.
If I had to choose between the two options you describe, I think it would fall more in the latter camp, It's just a lot of fun following the characters through the strange circumstances that are thrown at them.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply! The rendering is fine, I think, I just have really bad eyes. I can read stuff, but it's a bit straining. So a zoom in option at some point in the future sounds like a lovely idea, especially if zooming in gives you extra info. But I can still attach a screenshot, if you want!
I love the art work by the way and I found the game to be super addictive! Can't wait to see this game at the next vienna game dev meetup
I am having trouble reading some of the cards' inscriptions. Is there any way to inplement something that lets you zoom in on the cards? Also, what does "ethereal" do?
These novelettes are amazing, I can't recommend them enough!
Based on the titles, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed every story.
The settings are really varied, for example "Where is the goo?" features highly advanced technology and spaceship travel, while "Professor Toothy" is set in a magical school with all sorts of different creatures attending it.
All five novelettes feature some sort of mystery that the main characters have to figure out, and the writing has a nice mix of humor and really compelling storytelling. The worlds that the novelettes are set in are so fascinating and feature so many endearing characters, that when the story was over, I felt almost sad about having to let it all go.
I also loved that a lot of these stories feature queer female protagonists.
All in all, it was a fantastic read and I recommend it to any FilmCow fan!
I really enjoyed playing it! I love how the cute aesthetics are juxtaposed with the world falling apart, reminding you of the threat of global warming.
I feel like the controls could be a bit smoother, but I cannot put my finger on what it is. Maybe some sort of acceleration mechanic, so that the penguin could take a run-up before jumps?
I love this, even though it is such a dark subject matter it has a certain serenity about it, I felt strangely peaceful while reading it. I also love the rhythm of it, the line breaks really give it a nice pace. It's a very cool poem
i love the mood and the ideas in this one! i especially enjoyed the dialogue with the merchant. i like the cartoony designs on the goblins, incredibly cute
I came here from your YT tutorial vids, which i love! quick questions, after finding the keys my inventory stayed empty and i couldn't select any keys. did i do something wrong?
I am absolutely in love with the
aesthetic of this game and I really enjoyed the pace and the writing
style! I also really liked that you can already get a sense of the
world this game is taking place in, with the little bits of dialogue
hinting at some deeper stuff going on. Plus the dialogues are really
cute and funny!
I can't wait to see how this game will turn out!
