itch.io

Ahaha, thanks for playing!

Thanks for the feedback! If you ever want to try and beat it here is a little clue: Do you hear something after you pull the lever in the cargo hold?

• Use of Theme - 4
  • The theme was very much present in the story. I just wish we could actually see the recovery process before the ending, to have a sense of progress. The text is the same everyday.
• Gameplay - 3
  • The game is interesting, but it gets a little boring the farther you progress because you end up doing almost the same thing everyday even when trying out different endings. I found a weird bug in the hagling system, if you pressed the down key in a 0 button it would turn all the other 0s into 9s. Another thing i found weird is that you could not buy something without clicking the haggling option. Overall a good experience but i think the user experience could be improved by having different options of what to do in different days.
• Creativity - 3
  • The story i«has a good foundation but i think it lacks a bit of development thorughout the game as i mentioned above. Only seeing progress in the last day is not stimulating or rewarding to the player. 
• Art - 4
  • The game was very athmospheric and the art was a good fit for the concept. I just think the characters didn't really merge well with the background.
• Sound - 3
  • I appreciate the different BGM at certain points but i wish there were some more SFX to give the player some feedback.

• Use of Theme - 4
  • At first i thought that the game didn't have much to do with the theme other than the mission to recover Laura's body. But after reaching the end i understood what you went for and i liked it. Not the most alusive but it worked.
• Gameplay - 4
  • The game was well done, it was engaging, fun and kept it interesting through constant changes of scenarios and objectives, which i find can make or break a game like this one. Only one thing i did not understand was the different portraits in the messages when the character or the "narrator" was speaking. The portraits were really blurry, maybe intentionally, idk if we are supposed to figure out what they represent but i couldn't.
• Creativity - 5
  • The story was very well written, as well as the characters and the different storylines (i played it twice). So good job on that end.
• Art - 4
  • I think the art was all very homogenous which made the game very immersive, it was not the prettiest game but it conveyed the message and that's what matters.
• Sound - 4
  • The sound was good, i appreciated the changes in the BGM everytime the mood shifted.

• Use of Theme - 1
  • Other than the title of the game i don't see how this game incorporates the theme of the Jam.
• Gameplay - 3
  • The game is engaging and fun. I did however find some problems that ruined my experience a bit. The trampoline doesn't work if you jump on it, only if you walk into it. So if you spawn the trampoline on top of you you have to walk out and in again in order for it to work. Also even when it finally works the height you jump is not always constant. Another thing i noticed is that if you jump into certain walls you can stand on the side of them, must be a rogue collider.
• Creativity - 4
  • The idea of having the player place the platforms is very creative, and kudos for having more than one type of platform. The level design is also good.
• Art - 5
  • The art was very good and it fits the concept very well.
• Sound - 4
  • The sfx and bgm were also very well chosen and mixed.

Nope they are just distractions ahah

• Use of Theme - 3
  • The underwater ecosystem recovery idea is pretty fitting to the theme i would say. I just wish it was a bit more explored than just collecting trash.
• Gameplay - 3
  • The game is challenging, perhaps a little too much? I couldn't get past the first level and believe me when i say i tried lol. I think the movement mechanic is interesting as it kind of emulates how octopi locumute, so good job on that. The hiding under a rock mechanic is also pretty cool and well implemented. The only issue i found was with the enemies, more specifically the fish, i found that their movement was too erratic which made the players job kind of impossible imo. Also when moving backwards it feels weird for the octopus to still be facing forwards, and another thing i didn't enjoy was the camera movement. I wish when i moved farther away from it it stayed at the same distance because if i went inside a rock the camera would almost go inside it too making it impossible to see if the fish were still there or not.
• Creativity - 3
  • The idea of the game is very creative as are the elements within i just think the level design could be better. Perhaps have a slower difficulty progression thought the levels in order to keep the player engaged for longer.
• Art - 4
  • The art is very well achieved, the variety of elements in the scenario really make the game immersive and a pleasure to play.
• Sound - 3
  • The SFX and BGM were good enough but i don't think they fit the game very much, if you close your eyes you dont imagine underwater octopus when you heard those sounds.

Thank you for trying out and reviewing my game! Regarding some of the issues you mentioned, We know about the flickering textures and the buggy ladder. About the water tablets, are you sure they didnt just spawn again at the last place you dropped them? Also we made the decision of having no inventory because we wanted the player to be only able to carry 1 object at a time.

• Use of Theme - 2
  • I understand what you were going for with the loot recovery but it kind of feels like a lazy interpretation of the theme imo.
• Gameplay - 4
  • The game is very fun and engaging. I enjoyed trying to master the rope stabilization (keyword trying, because its impossible) my record was 450$. The game design is very well done with the slow progression of difficulty, the clear objective and the variety of obstacles and loot. Overall a great experience. At first i thought that the light around the character meant something but i guess it was just for the vibes, which is not a bad idea but i think might create some confusion.
• Creativity - 4
  • I loved the interesting and unique rope mechanic, great job on that. Also the variety of loot and obstacles like i said above. But im just not a fan of infinite games, because other than trying to get a higher score there is no replayability incentive. I wish there were missions or levels.
• Art - 5
  • The game looks beautiful, very well done.
• Sound - 4
  • The sound design was well done, i just think the BGM is not very suitable? 

• Use of Theme - 5
  • I think this is a unique and cool interpretation of the theme.
• Gameplay - 4
  • The game is well implemented from what i could tell everything from the 2 types of movement to the different tools available to find the crash site came togheter very well to create a good and immersive experience. I wish the peices were more scattered to make for more engaging and lasting gameplay though. But overall a great experience.
• Creativity - 4
  • I liked the variety of tools available to the player, great job! I just wish you were more creative with the level design, as i mentioned above. Having everything in the same place is kind of a bumer. I wanted toplay more xd
• Art - 3
  • The art style is very prototype-ish imo. It didnt feel like a final game, it was practical and got the message across so i appreciate it.
• Sound - 3
  • The SFX were cool but i think some of them were a bit too loud. The BGM i dont think was a good fit tbh.

• Use of Theme - 3
  • I understand what you were going for with the file recovery but it kind of feels like a lazy implementation of the theme imo.
• Gameplay - 2
  • The game is very simple. Move the player and collect the files while dodging the moving obstacles. I found a few issues though. In a top down game not being able to move the player diagonally feels very weird. If i press up and right key at the same time im expecting the character to move diagonally, or at least start moving in the direction of the key i pressed last. Another issue i found was sometimes when i died i couldnt click on the buttons to restart the game and ended up having to refresh the page to boot up the game again. The level design was also very flawed with some later stages being easier than previous ones. I think these are problems easy to fix and would make the game a much better experience.
• Creativity - 3
  • The concept is interesting, and i appreciate the diversity of obstacles, at least visually. Also good job on diversifying the levels. It made the game more intersting.
• Art - 3
  • The art is very simple which i think was the intention. I didn't understand what the little transistors/batteries? and broken walls were for.  They were all just different types of walls?
• Sound - 1
  • No sound.

For your first game is not bad at all! You can keep going and improving with experience for sure!

• Use of Theme - 1
  • I'm pretty sure this game wasn't made with the theme in mind.
• Gameplay - 3
  • The game is really well implemented, but the game design is very flawed imo. It starts off really complicated already and doesn't even let the player ease into it making the experience very frustrating. I appreciate the different types of attacks but i felt like the bombs were very useless and the fact that you coudln't go back was also very restrictive to the player imo.
• Creativity - 2
  • Pretty much a remake of old games with similar names, not a very creative idea.
• Art - 5
  • The art is the strongest point of this game. really well made. the animations also were very smooth and seamless.
• Sound - 5
  • The sound design was also very well done. i liked the BGM and all the SFX

• Use of Theme - 2
  • I understand what you were going for with the snowball recovery but it kind of feels like a lazy interpretation of the theme.
• Gameplay - 2
  • The gameplay is pretty simple, it gets boring pretty fast. Everytime you die the game crashes and the obstacle generation is very random often resulting in impossible scenarios where you have to get damaged on purpose. I would start slow and increase the difficulty as the game progressed, not just start strong like that.
• Creativity - 2
  • The game is pretty simple. I appreciate the diversity of obstacles but that's about it.
• Art - 3
  • The art is also very simple. The rocks are a bit small which makes it hard to see.
• Sound - 4
  • The sound design was very well done

All of this said though, i think you made your game without using any engine (Python perhaps?) so i commend you for that. Keep going and improving!

• Use of Theme - 4
  • A brave interpretation of the theme, but the execution doesn't have the impact it should imo.
• Gameplay - 2
  • The game is very much a npc interaction demo. I wish there was more to do, perhaps different scenarios? Also the camera was a bit wonky when transfering from the npc to the player and the other way around.
• Creativity - 3
  • The story is good but that's about it. I wish the game itself had more features.
• Art - 3
  • The art is good. It transports you to another world, but it's very two dimensional and the ground was just a grass texture projection what kind of removed some of the immersiveness.
• Sound - 2
  • The BGM was adequate but i wish there were some sfx too.

Can't play this game. The file seems to be corrupted.

• Use of Theme - 2
  • I could tell how you wanted the player to interpret the theme through the game but i think it wasn't very well achieved. because the character never really recovers, they just keep erasing their negative thoughts infinitely (that i could tell).
• Gameplay - 3
  • The game is challenging and more than just a click to jump type of game, you need to think where to go because since the platforms and negative thoughts are randomly generated each time you play it's a different experience. However i found that sometimes you are forced to lose because the platforms were generated way too far away from eachother and as a player you can't foretell this because you can't see where the new platforms are going to appear, which becomes quite frustrating. If i were to improve this game i'd add a timer so it was a more engaging experience, and i'd tune the platform generation to prevent what i mentioned above.
• Creativity - 3
  • The erasing mechanic is quite smart and innovative. I would improve on the game design like i mentioned bocve though, in order to keep the player more engaged.
• Art - 5
  • "The strongest aspect of this game without a shadow of a doubt. It's really well made and homogenous." This is what i said in the other game you guys made and i stand by it.
• Sound - 2
  • The bgm go well with the gameplay although i would like some sfx. Like when you erase the negative thoughs or jump, or die.

• Use of Theme - 2
  • The theme is not very present. I can see how someone might interpret it as 'recovering apples' but i think it's still too far fetched.
• Gameplay - 3
  • It's well implemented, i liked the subtle slowing down of the apples at the end so you could still catch them if 2 spawned in defferent ends. That was a nice touch. I feel like it is too easy though, i played for a good 5 minutes and the difficulty was always the same. Not enough variance to keep the player engaged i'm afraid.
• Creativity - 3
  • The game is pretty simple, not much diversity in the gameplay. I appreciated the different golden apple and the durian aspect but that was not much.
• Art - 3
  • The game is pretty with a cute background and cute sprites. I just feel like the font is kind of ugly and maybe too big?
• Sound - 4
  • The sound was pretty good, not extraordinary though.

Overall a very average game.

• Use of Theme - 4
  • I think the main mechanic of the game (the dropping sanity/hp) reflects well the theme.
• Gameplay - 4
  • I loved the adrenaline rush i got from playing this. At first i was afraid it was gonna be a very monotonous game but i was pleasantly surprised when i found out it wasn't the case. I don't give 5 stars because in the rooms where you have to drop under a certain level of sanity/hp it is not obvious what you need to do and the player might get very confused.
• Creativity - 4
  • I really liked that we went from a realistic scenario into a more dream like scene and all the red messages that told you what to do, they were quite creative and kept the game fresh.
• Art - 4
  • The art style lended itself well to the style of game. It was creepy and would make you nervous even if you are a horror fan. Overall very well done. I just wish that in the more abstract stages the background wasn't just a grey solid color, that kind of ruined the experience a little. I also didnt really understand what the white people were and their purpose.
• Sound - 5
  • The sound design was excelent which made de game such a good experience. the sound of the monster getting closer was truly terrifying.

• Use of Theme - 4
  • The theme is quite well present in the gameplay.
• Gameplay - 2
  • I like the energy recovery mechanic and i feel like i would appreciate the variety of batteries, but i feel like the fast paced gameplay doesn't let the player understand the differences between them. Also i don't think the movement mechanic is the right fit for this type of game. A keyboard/controller movement would feel much better imo.
• Creativity - 3
  • I appreciate the effort to keep the game varied through the different types of batteries and the strategy needed to work the movement, but i don't think these features work well togheter. 
• Art - 3
  • The player and the batteries' sprites and animations are quite well done. As for the background and walls i think they could use some more work.
• Sound - 2
  • The BGM was well chosen imo.

• Use of Theme - 2
  • I understand what you were going for with the gift recovery but it kind of feels like a lazy interpretation of the theme.
• Gameplay - 3
  • The gameplay is pretty simple, i couldn't find any bugs and i think the scoring mechanic is very clever with dropping the gifts when you hit an enemy instead of restarting the game or losing hp. However it gets boring pretty fast. I think that it lacks variety between the levels, all of them felt the same.
• Creativity - 2
  • As i said above i appreciate the scoring mechanic.
• Art - 3
  • The art is cute and does the job. I also like all the effects. Felt the lack of animations.
• Sound - 4
  • The sound design was very well done.

• Use of Theme - 2
  • I understand what you were going for with the friend counter but it just felt way to forced in there just to adhere to the theme.
• Gameplay - 2
  • The gameplay is pretty simple, walk to the right and click click click. Its not that challenging but it was engaging thanks to the little story. Its a shame that it only has 2 levels and one of them kind of is the tutorial.
• Creativity - 3
  • I appreciated the creative storytelling and the funny lines of the shopkepper ahah.
• Art - 3
  • The art was good, but i found that some choices were poorly made that kind of runied the experience a bit. The font is really hard to read, and the parallax effect is way too instense, it actually made me dizzy and made it hard to look at the screen. But those are easialy fixed problems.
• Sound - 2
  • The bgm went well with the game, but the loop transition was not seamless.

Honestly congrats on finishing your first game, and don't feel discouraged by negative comments. Just use them to learn and improve!

Damn i really enjoyed that one. Played it twice just to get on the leaderboard.

• Use of Theme - 5
  • An exceptional use of the theme imo.
• Gameplay - 5
  • Great job on the mechanics, because however simple they are they were really perfectly implemented, i couldn't find anything wrong with the game. The ai of the bargaining creatures also was really well done, not predictable at all. Overall a really engaging and fun experience.
• Creativity - 5
  • This game is so creative. It's funny how a simple platformer can be so powerful in delivering a message like this one through amazing level design and storytelling. I loved how perfectly each level conveyed the feeling of each gried stage. In denial you pretend everything is normal so its just a normal platformer. In anger i got really angry and frustrated because of the spikes. During the barganing stage you keep running after something that is unnatainable. In the depression stage you feel exhausted and life feels like a maze you will never get out of, often leading you through paths you wouldnt otherwise take. And finally in the acceptance stage you learn how to live with all of these sentiments, because grief is something that stays with you for the rest of your life. Beautiful. My hats off to you. Also this is emotional manipulation ahahah.
• Art - 4
  • The art lends itself very well to the game, i loved the animations, they were very seamless and easy on the eyes. I just wish the UI was prettier ahah.
• Sound - 2
  • The BGM was also good, even if it didnt have the most seamless loop transition. I wish there were some sfx.

• Use of Theme - 3
  • You didnt specify how you used the theme in your game but i assume it is something along the lines of recovering the statues? Which is not the best but also not the worst. 
• Gameplay - 3
  • The game is quite clean with a few exceptions, i liked the variety of scenarios and obstacles it kept the game fresh and the player engaged. I tried to beat the game but i always got stuck because of the springs? (is that what you call them?) They don't seem to work? If i jump on one i just become frozen mid jump animation and can't jump, only walk. Another thing i noticed is that if you kill an enemy who is really close to you they still damage you after they die. Also i think the reset after you die takes waaaay too long.
• Creativity - 3
  • Like i said above i appreciated the variety in scenarios and obstacles and enemies which demonstrates creativity. But i think you left too much for the player to deduct? Why is it called Element? because you have to retrieve all the elemental statues? But then why are they all the same color? Is the name elusive to the different areas? What is the objective? What is the players motive to be fighting monsters and collecting statues? I think a simple dialog feature could explain a lot of these questions and make the game even more engaging.
• Art - 5
  • I really enjoyed the aspect of the game, it very much emulates the 8bit aestethic you were going for.
• Sound - 4
  • I think the sound also emulates the 8bit game era very well. So congratulations on that part. I just wish the bgm transtition was more seamless.

OMG where to start, i spent like 2 hours playing this game. I killed the penultimate patient though T.T Was really convinced they ate the poisoned ox meat but apparently not? Anway let's move onto the review:

• Use of Theme - 5
  • You can't get a better use of the theme than this imo. It goes very well along the intended interpretation by the Game Jam host.
• Gameplay - 4
  • I think depending on the person this game can be either very engaging (for someone like me) nor very boring for someone with a low attention span or is a lazy reader. I spent so much time reading through all the files and making connecting charts to figure out who knew who and where they were. It was so much fun! The only issues were some typos here and there, some dates that made no sense, like the date of birth would be after the date of admission, and the missing files mentioned in the game page. But all of those can be overlooked and they didn't ruin the experince one bit. Seriously a really good experince.
• Creativity - 5
  • Can i give a 10/5? Seriously how can you come up with this whole detailed story within a month? It was so immersive and well thought out, the plot twists made me gasp out loud ahahah. Seriously congratulations on the writing, if it wasn't good i wouldn't have finished it.
• Art - 4
  • The art of the game consists of an just an UI but it complements the game perfectly. I would change some of the icons to something a little bit more alusive to what they represent but other than that i really enjoyed it.
• Sound - 4
  • There was only a bgm and a typing sound (that i remember). They did the job, the bgm was a bit annoying after an hour though xdd. I would have loved something like a voice recording just for variance but i understand that with just a month to develop it would be maybe too ambitious.

I hope you expand this game into something bigger because i'm invested in the story now ahaha.

P.S. i hated how conveniently some key information was always corrupted ahahaha.

Thank you for your review! I'll get to your game today hopefully!

• Use of Theme - 1
  • I don't see how the theme was present in this game.
• Gameplay - 3
  • The game is just a small platformer with a bit of exposition. The game ends as soon as it starts, but the main mechanic of freezing the enemies is quite good. There is a bug with the interaction mechanic sometimes even if the 'K' shows up nothing happens when you press it.
• Creativity - 3
  • The most creative thing about this game is as i have said above, the attack mechanic. Other than that it's just a regular platformer. I also really appreciated the opening sequence.
• Art - 2
  • The art was good. I just think next time you should be more careful about image compression. I think you saved files as jpg and that is not a good format to use for this effect.
• Sound - 2
  • The BGM went well with the game.

• Use of Theme - 1
  • I couldn't tell how the theme was incorporated into this game.
• Gameplay - 2
  • The gameplay is far from perfect. The collisions and animations are very rigid. If you go to the left in the beggining of the game you can fall inifinitely. When you lose a life there is no feedback to tell you that except the number changing at the top. When you die the rest takes way too long and theres again no feedback making the player think the game might have crashed. Overall, a lot to improve here.
• Creativity - 4
  • The main mechanic is quite smart and innovative. And the overall thematic and story of the game is really well put togheter. I would improve on the game design a bit though.
• Art - 5
  • The strongest aspect of this game without a shadow of a doubt. It's really well made and homogenous.
• Sound - 3
  • The sfx and bgm go well with the gameplay although there are some  moments in the game that would benefit from having sound, manly to provide feedback to the player.

• Use of Theme - 4
  • The theme was very much present in the story i just wish we actually got to witness the recovery they much talked about.
• Gameplay - 3
  • The gameplay left a lot to be desired imo. I was liking the story but then it went no where, it just ended. I didn't understand why there were monsters other than just to have something else to do. Also sometimes the doors marked with the 'E' didnt open (The big ones).
• Creativity - 3
  • The story was interesting, i wish we got a little bit more though.
• Art - 4
  • The art was very good and atmospheric, it fit the gameplay quite well, but i found it weird that there were no doors in places where they should be. The fonts also very well chosen.
• Sound - 3
  • The sounds were well picked but the mixing was quite weird imo. The background rain sound was a bit too loud and the loop was not seamless. The footsteps sound was quite annoying too after a while.

Pay close attention to the keys in that keypad. Some of them may look a bit.. greasy.

• Use of Theme - 5
  • The game truly embodied the theme imo.
• Gameplay - 4
  • The game is engaging, challenging and fun. Most of the mechanics are intuitive and well built, with the exception of the "portals" i would say. It took me a while to figure out what they were and what they did. But overall i think it's a very good experience.
• Creativity - 4
  • Very creative mechanics and story. perhaps a little more variety, would help keep the player engaged for longer.
• Art - 4
  • The art style is not the prettiest but it is functional and clear, which makes for a pleaseant user experience.
• Sound - 4
  • The BGM and the SFX match the game pretty well.

• Use of Theme - 2
  • Apart from the little bit of story in the page of the game i couldn't tell how the theme is incorporated in the game.
• Gameplay - 2
  • There isn't much to comment about the gameplay. What is implemented is well done but it's really simple for a month long game jam imo. Also i don't think the main mechanic lends itself well to a game like this with infinite scoring. But i think it would work well with a side scrolling level design maybe.
• Creativity - 3
  • The main mechanic is quite creative but other than that i think it lacks a bit.
• Art - 5
  • Perhaps what saves this game. The cute art makes this game a pleaseant experience and may keep the players engaged more than the gameplay itself.
• Sound - 2
  • I don't think the BGM suited the game. It was like an epic sounding track when the game is really cute.

• Use of Theme - 5
  • I think this game embodies the theme perfectly.
• Gameplay - 4
  • The game is really well made, the controls are intuitive and the UI is pretty self explanatory.  I wish that when you clicked an hashtag it would highlight all the buildings because that would make missions easier. I'm also not sure about the prices of things because at the start of the game i had to skip rounds in order to get some money. which felt weird. Maybe if there was a negative consequence to skipping turns it would feel better.
• Creativity - 4
  • It's not a new concept but all the story and pieces of the game are really well constructed.
• Art - 5
  • The art fits the game perfectly imo.
• Sound - 1
  • No sound.

• Use of Theme - 2
  • I don't think the game was made with this theme in mind but it fits somewhat.
• Gameplay - 4
  • The game is fun and challenging. The objective was not clear from the start and some details can go unnoticed like the bar in the missiles and the fact that you need to keep the key pressed to make it go higher but maybe im just dumb xd Overall a really good experience
• Creativity - 5
  • Really innovative game, i don't think ive ever played anything like it.
• Art - 5
  • The art style really matches well with the gameplay, the animations are really cool and well made. Overall a perfect job.
• Sound - 4
  • The sound really matches the game and playstyle.

• Use of Theme - 1
  • I don't see it.
• Gameplay - 2
  • It's just a prototype as the title says. I beat it in like 30 seconds ahaha. It just has movement and a very dodgy combat feature. It wasn't clear as to when an enemy was atatcking or when they died or how much hp they had. I appreciated the little zoom in when attacking that was cool
• Creativity - 1
  • Just a platformer prototype so nothing new to see here.
• Art - 2
  • The art is was very prototypeish. The only thing that felt final were the enemies and the main character. The animations were cool. 
• Sound - 2
  • Just a bgm that was a bit too loud maybe.

• Use of Theme - 1
  • I don't see where the theme is incorporated in this game.
• Gameplay - 1
  • It gets boring very fast. It's just a worse version of flappy bird. Shouldn't be able to leave the screen?
• Creativity - 1
  • Nothing new, perhaps the allusion to the covid pandemic is the most creative thing in this game.
• Art - 2
  • Very simple, just 3 sprites and a solid bg. Does the job but gets boring fast.
• Sound - 2
  • BGM and a jumping sound. It's fine for the game that it is i guess.

• Use of Theme - 4
  • The theme was very much present in the game through the mining objective.
• Gameplay - 4
  • The game was engaging, challenging and fun. I spent alsmot an hour in this game trying to get all the upgrades. The navigation was kind of frustrating though ahahah. I liked all the different upgrades, the distance feauture was cool and the camera zooming out depending on your speed was also a great little feature. I wish we could keep updating the storage though.
• Creativity - 4
  • The concept is not anything new but the in game features were very clever and went well togheter to create an engaging experience. Also the flavour text in the upgrades was great.

• Art - 3
  • Perhaps the weakest aspect of the game. The art was very simple. I liked the different aspects of the ship but the background, the asteroids and the materials were always the same which after a while made the game very monotonous and tedious.
• Sound - 3
  • The sound was simple but effective.