| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Audio | #4 | 4.414 | 4.414 |
| Overall | #20 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Game Design | #30 | 4.103 | 4.103 |
| Fun | #51 | 3.966 | 3.966 |
| Theme | #78 | 4.138 | 4.138 |
| Graphics | #197 | 3.897 | 3.897 |
| Innovation | #291 | 3.483 | 3.483 |
Ranked from 29 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
In what way does your game fit the theme?
You play as two characters that must work together to escape the ruins.
Did you write all the code yourself and made all the assets from scratch?
Yes
This was a really well designed game! I enjoyed playing through it although I agree with a few of the other comments that some of the repetitiveness (such as doors) would have been nice to be able to skip with the 'E' button. I thought the story behind to game was spot on and really enjoyed seeing the characters grow together even though it was for such a short time.
Awesome job on this!
This game was unbelievably adorable; a great, affective little narrative that was perfectly reflected in the key interactions we had with the world. I really enjoyed the narrative reasoning behind the monsters and how you managed to tie that into the narrative in a very meaningful way--making them both an obstacle for the gameplay and the story.
The design was simple but effective, the music cute and the sound design very strong. Overall I'm floored by how complete the experience felt especially considering it's done for a jam. While it did seem quite similar to Blackbird (not sure if you played it, was made for the Blackthornprod game jam a month ago) it definitely held its own in terms of mechanics and narrative.
A few thoughts I had while running through:
- The mechanics of platforming felt a bit abstracted away from the main narrative of the game and the whole journey down and back up did get a little tedious at times. Not quite sure how I'd get around this, but worth noting.
- For me the dialogue was a little overwritten, with the themes shining through really beautifully but also being a tiny bit on the nose. I'd really say less is more there. I don't even think it's a question of the writing quality, as the lines were all convincing and characterful. Just a thing of perhaps being a little more selective and cutting down.
- I wasn't a huge fan of E being the main interact button; I would have preferred space or something. It made trying to do the book ability a bit tricky while jumping.
- The door button cutscenes became a little repetitve as you couldn't skip them.
- The character switch could have perhaps triggered a small arrow or outline on the selected character to make switching easier when the characters are closer together. [but this is super minor].
Those may seem like a few things, but I'm sure you can tell how minor they are in the grand scheme of things.
Absolutely overwhelmed by what you have put together here, and I can't wait to see your next project!
Also, I'd be delighted if you'd give my game a go as I think our mode of storytelling in this jam was pretty similar!
Also: I posted your game to this wholesome thread of games we find that aren't getting the attention they deserve.
https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-5/topic/1226290/share-games-you-feel-are-underated-...
If you find any games you love make sure you send them over there!
Wow, thank you so much for your kind words! You are correct, Blackbird was one of my inspirations for this game, and I wanted to take some elements of it and turn it into a story-based game that I thought would speak to a lot of people. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for the valuable feedback too, I especially appreciate the feedback on the dialogue as I spent a lot of time working on the story. Writing isn't actually my strong suit, so it's very nice to hear what can be improved on in that regard.
I love the storytelling between the two characters. Even though the journey is short, they have such a strong bond. The soundtrack and sound effects are also wonderful. And probably the best example of "Stronger Together" as they (the players) understand that the characters need each other in order to progress the game.
The major issue I can come up with is the introduction of the enemies. Not the most proper way to show the player that the machines could kill you, in my opinion. Maybe have a cut-scene showing a machine killing a human running by its path.
Overall, amazing job!
Amazing story telling and great music, never felt repetitive or annoying even tho it looped for more than 20 minutes.
Really well done on the game design and the theme! I can't rate full marks for innovation as it is too close to blackbird style and the art is too basic. The robot looks great but the flesh-being is a bit confusing and the environment is way too dull.
Anyway, good job and I hope to see a more developed version post jam ;)
That was really beautiful, very well executed in all aspects, the story was engaging. the music and art fitted perfectly and the whole flow of the game was perfect. I loved it, great job!
Wow you have done so much content in the game jam! I enjoy the whole story. Graphic is so great. With the soft background music, creates a perfect vibe for the game. This remind me of Hollowknight and GRIS. It is the most polished game I've been in the jam so far. It's so clever that each character have their own ability to completing the game. I will definitely buy this game. Well done!
Please also check out our game ;)
Ok, this one is definitely my favorite game so far.
I tried to immerse the player in my game too, but differently. And oh boy you sir did it good!
The story is so cute, and well written. As a french, learning the name of the "flesh-being" gives a whole new meaning to the story. Good depth, good length... congrats!
The art is on top too. And the music is honey for ears, honestly.
I would make much more compliments but I also want to search for something I think could be thought twice:
- Why not making a pause panel / a way to go back to menu or something? It has the feeling of being a one shot, and has the good length to be like that but I feel you could add something still with that.
- When you do an error and lose with either character, it is like nothing happen. Maybe you could do a rewind effect or a teleport, to feel like nothing happened or they were saved last second?
I am being nit-picky, but I wanted to give you something to think about in the middle of all my congratulations....
Amazing job !! :)
Have i finished this game? The Answer Is Yes! Have I enjoyed it immensely? This unit definitely has but it's still learning how to process emotions.
Seriously, I haven't expected such an amazing story-driven game . I have a one nasty weakspot and it's not a tendon, it's a storytelling expierence. Right from the start the piano hits you right into your fragile soul and sets up the atmosphere of melancholy and perplexity. The art and music bind together perfectly and send you right to the immersion land. Everything was great. The first time i stepped to the bottom i was like *Why the eerie music all the sudden?* and then i got a decent adrenaline rush:). Character development is done perfectly. I felt for them and once Heart got damaged by the bramble diving from above - I knew what was going on. I even got a little bit teary, especially in the end! I also had been recording a video of my gameplay but it looks like it had too many emotions and brambles ate it :(. Well, to be honest I've just failed to push the record button on windows game bar. All the technicalities aside, you are very talented and done an amazing job! You have lots of potentional, i hope you release something like that as a full game one day.
I got completely immersed in this experience, incredible job. Hands down one of the best I played on this jam. Te length of the game was not to long, not to short, just right for what it needed to do.
Only two notes:
-I really wish the enemies where utilized more.
-The wait time for the gates to open is just a tad to long, it really hindered the flow of the game.
Keep up the good work, I can really see this game going live on steam or something one day.
Maybe even add some co-op so that two players each control their own character.
ohhh how sweet! Love it Stichless :) Thank you so much for this game i totally sank into the game and dialogue.. beautiful graphics, music gameplay! Well done!
Damn those ninja cutting onions,
This is one touching game, I cant say much because it might spoil the game.
Congrats on your submission, I have to agree to Bastian Top this is one BlackBird inspired game.
Cheers!!!
Whoa, I didn't expect this! Thanks a ton for playing, I watched your playthrough of it. Unfortunate that the audio got scuffed, I would have liked for you to hear the piano music in its highest quality, but that's not your fault at all. I'm just glad that I got to see you play through the whole thing, it's always a joy watching someone else play what you've made.
And yep, BlackBird was a great game to study off of since it was made within the same time limit. I actually took inspiration from a lot of different games in order to make a story-based game that I thought a lot of people would enjoy.
What an absolutely fantastic game. I adore story-driven games as a writer myself and you have captured a beautiful essence of fun and story through this game. The music, atmosphere, and enemies reminded me so much of Hollow Knight! I fell in love with the characters instantly and the level design was fun and a little tense when those non-flesh-beings were chasing after me!
Congratulations on making such an amazing game. I really hope your piece gets a lot of attention! The only criticism I have would come from not having the space bar as jump. But I think that's more of a preference than anything. Well done Jon!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I love story driven games as well, and this is the first game I've made the story the main focus, so I'm really glad people are liking it. Your game's story with the plants and water was really creative and charming as well. And Hollow Knight is one of my favorite games of all time so I'm glad my entry reminded you of that!
I agree with the spacebar thing. In fact I probably shouldn't have made it the swap key since it's usually used for jump, but I wanted to map it to a key that was easy to reach. I'm very happy that you enjoyed my game tho, thanks for playing :D
Very cool game! I really liked the atmosphere you managed to create with the more minimalist style and the contrast between the calm starting area and the lower area with the monsters was great. The story was charming too.
My only real gripe was that the door animation felt a bit too long, which was fine outside of the final area where it slowed things down, but it wasn't too big of a deal. Overall, good game!
Very solid submission! I really liked the double jump animation, and the dialog was very well written! Good job! I know it has been mentioned before, but the door animation is about a second to long. But other than that, it was a very enjoyable experience. :)
Wow, great game! Those big monsters was so creepy, hated being near them haha :D Really impressive to create a metroidvania in just a week! I really enjoyed it, the story was very sweet, the music and atmosphere was really great. The only feedback I can think of right now is to shorten the animation when you open a door, started to be a little annoying at the end when there was doors everywhere :D Overall, awesome work!
If you have the time I would love it if you gave my game a try too! :)
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