it was good, I do suggest that instead of having the Dialog in the corner have it in the bottom middle and make it bigger so it is easier to read

first run in and the heir was afflicted with bleed during the tutorial fight... i didn't think i was going to be playing an RTS version of darkest dungeons today...

this game is brutal, especially for an RTS newbie like me, but nonetheless this was super fun! i can't say that i've gotten far, haven't gotten past the point where the "Tempt Fate Once More" button wouldn't take me straight to the beginning again (closest i got was dying near the big hole in the first area), but each repeated death gives me a better appreciation of the game! i love the role management that comes into play when dealing with battles, i'd have to carefully consider where i'd place my units in order for things to go in my favor (which units are able to enter attack range, which units are drawing aggro, etc.). this all also comes into play with the lighting system in the game, where the map is only revealed based on where the characters in the party are facing, leading you to make decisions based on incomplete information. one wrong move and you could get ambushed due to carelessly pushing towards a path, creating a cool sense of caution and anxiety whenever you move your party, its very cool! theres also a lot of small gameplay systems that stack up and completely affect the battle, like the afflictions, hunger, and even the character facing direction could affect things if you don't plan out properly. i'll need a lot more time to get adjusted to the RTS aspect of the game, but this already feels really well thought out and polished!

the presentation of the game is also incredible! all of the sprites look amazing, with the 1 bit aesthetic working wonders to convey the tone and atmosphere of the game! the lighting not only acts as a mechanic in the game, but also plays into the visuals and elevates the tense atmosphere to a higher level! the character writing is very fun to read to, with each of the characters having their own fun but grounded personalities to them while they speak in ye olde english, i was engrossed the whole time! though i wish there was a way to skip dialogue through input, ive died quite a lot so going through the downtime of waiting for the dialogue and cutscenes to finish after going through it once broke the flow sometimes.

overall, this is an amazing game! at my current state, my one braincell can't beat the game for now, but i'll definitely come back to it at a later date, great work!

I love the vibe and the whole idea of this. presentation-wise, this is amazing 5/5. Well done!

Gameplay-wise, I find it too punishing and too micro-intensive. This, coupled with seeing the same cutscenes every time, is not great. So perhaps this difficulty level is better suited for games with procgen/roguelike mechanics.

I liked the pixel art and the vibe a lot.

Really neat idea but brutally micro intensive and way too punishing, pretty classic jam vibes to make the hardest video game known to man.

I think some key things to improve experiences like this is to allow some failure, as it stands if you lose even one party member you're pretty much completely dead, and the clunky movement and controls and spotty AI mean you're pretty likely to lose someone to bad luck unless you're extremely fast at RTS controls. Most games in this genre avoid that by letting you pause and queue commands.

The vision cone + movement buffs for movement were cool, and theres a boatload of writing here which is really impressive, most of it is pretty well written though the olde english is a little over the top at times, I think clarity is more important than the flavor of the dialect. Loads of cutscenes and encounters which is cool, but replaying them gets tedious fast and cause of the aforementioned difficulty you're replaying the same encounters a lot.

Great vibes and awesome art all around, there's so much dungeon and character design variety which is super cool, the black and white aesthetic is bold but you've made it work really well, I had no difficulties identifying enemies etc. which speaks to good level design and character design.

Really cool game, great vibes.

Great atmosphere and gameplay mechanics. It was pretty unusual to scroll mouse button for looking around! I am myself not a great english speaker so most of dialogues was not understand, due to old style speech, or just to quick for me. It atmosphere remided me first time i played fear and hunger, which was one of the most exiting things i ever experienced. I never previously played RTS but this was fun, and somewhat scary!

Game looks very good! From the opening cutscene to the pixelart used.

I did find the controls to be a bit difficult, often I could not see enemies due to being stuck around a wall and responding was harsh since I might've accidentally deselected the character by trying to attack.

This game looks and feels amazing, although I found it quite difficult. The blend of genres is one I’ve not seen before, however I think it has some potential. The art style being monochrome really emphasises the darkness that you’ve tried to create, with damage being shown clearly through that; very well thought out.

I would’ve liked more sounds, in particular some music, however not having it there helps to feel trapped in the darkness. I also found the scroll wheel to rotate vision very awkward at first, and I feel like basing this off of mouse position would’ve made it a little easier to control.

This is definitely the sort of game I could see myself playing through properly, especially if some of the improvements that I’ve seen through these comments are added in a post-jam version, but I think it’s a really good start. Well done :).

The visuals are pretty nice, and the world is interesting, this is a neat game!

I do think the characters could pop out a bit more in the area instead of blending in, as they currently do blend in a bit too much, and I also think the controls are a bit rough to get the hang of, but other than that, its pretty solid!

The artstyle is really good and you nailed the atmosphere.

The gameplay is not my type, but the game is really well made given the timeframe of the jam.

really like this! The atmosphere is great and the writing ain't shabby either. An interesting direction! :D

ended up wandering around alone in the dark after my companions died RIP