Like other commenters, I agree that this game really succeeds in terms of atmosphere. The minotaur jumpscare got me every damn time. I really appreciate the classical allusions in your game, and you could perhaps lean into more aspects of the myth. You execute the golden thread very well. If you are going to continue developing this game, I would suggest you take a look at three aspects: tiling, story, and props. I realize that making every wall look like every other wall is part of the design, but right now that brick and timber texture repeats way too often. It's out of scale compared to actual bricks. Take a look at a real-world brick wall, and you'll see that you could easily double the scale and thus repeat half as much. Each jumpscare could give a piece of the story. Why am I here? What am I looking for? How did I lose my soul? Am I Theseus or Ariadne? Neither? In terms of props, I really dig the random cockroaches. Perfect! Throw in some more critters: spiders and rats would be awesome! The occasional bonepile, smashed urn, or rusted armor from the minotaur's previous victims would help break up the visual monotony and give other indicators besides the thread of where the player has been, without taking away from the difficulty too much. You have real potential here, so I would strongly encourage you to not let this game be done after the jam.
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Ariadne's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Theme | #305 | 3.739 | 3.739 |
| Audio | #344 | 3.348 | 3.348 |
| Game Design | #366 | 3.478 | 3.478 |
| Overall | #386 | 3.413 | 3.413 |
| Innovation | #400 | 3.348 | 3.348 |
| Graphics | #497 | 3.478 | 3.478 |
| Fun | #608 | 3.087 | 3.087 |
Ranked from 23 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?
The rewinding of Ariadne's thread is a major component of the game, both from a gameplay and thematic perspective.
Did you write most of the code yourself and made all the assets from scratch?
All code is original, I have rights to use all assets as presented, with some original.
Comments
The monster gave me a good jump. I wish the string stayed on the ground when i backtracked so i know where I've been already. I spent so long walking around not finding anything I gave up, sorry. But it was a cool tense experience.
Thanks for trying it!
Unfortunately, for the second act of the game to work properly, the string really can't stay in all the places you've backtracked out of. This was a tricky design decision, but I want you to know this was absolutely a consideration.
If you still want to try and finish the game, here's a small secret: every 10-30 seconds a bright green clue will appear on the ceiling of where to go.
Really scary game..loved the music and the light effect on menu screen and floating thread..also the cockroaches were really scary..scariest was the monster..had to exit game as its night already and i dont want nightmares today..will play the game during the daytime :)
This is interesting. I wish the player walked fast or had more to do while exploring the maze. The atmosphere is maintained very well, though a backing track would have been nice.
Your little maze man scared the SHIT out of me. I wish I could see a little farther but that limited vision definitely helps add to the mood. I really love the the idea of the thread! I think that's what made the game great for me. well done!
I love the main menu and I jumped so hard the first time the minotaur popped out lol.
Damn minotaur stop scaring the crap out of me and just kill me already! Man your game scares me... a lot. I had to give up though, my heart was telling me I wouldnt get that soul before I lose my own haha.
I liked the concept, and it would have been a really cool horror game...
...If it wewn't a dark maze, that is: mazes aren't usually fun game, espacially where your vision is strongly limited, both by the fact that the game is in first person and it's.... well, dark!!!
I'd have been al ot helpfull if the string won't have turned back after you find a dead end, ot at least i'd have leaved some sort of trace!!
To me, the monster wasn't that scary, especially because (at least in the first part of the game, i didn't managed to go to the second phase) i can't hurt you in any way
I liked the cockroaches, tho!!! :3
Geez it scared few times! And the thread is such an as#!% running away like that. But cool game, it made me feel things, so nice work. I like that you even included cockroaches. The melody was creepy, yet beautiful :)
What a great vibe that you create here! I was imersed in the game the whole time with the body tense! I'm not very good with horror games, but this is a complete job that I enjoyed so much! Great work!
This was awesome. Atmospheric enough that you could probably even challenge S.T.A.L.K.E.R. on how effective your atmosphere sets up a mood and a feeling in the player like no other. Really cool concept, only thing I can say is some of the movement stuff felt a little janky. Great project!
I *really* can't play horror games, but I was surprised I enjoyed yours! The thread was a concept I haven't seen in a horror game, which is a bummer. It provided almost a comforting feeling? But at the same time it gave me false confidence lol. Finally, I'd have to agree with some people on the movement. The speed didn't bother me too much, persay, but it felt like there was a ton of resistance from odd places.
Man this game gave a creepy vibe. The atmosphere was really well done. It gave a very dead and empty feel to the maze. But the actual gameplay was quite slow. Movement was painfully slow, and the cycle of go down a path, run into a wall, go back came up a lot in the game and didn't add much depth or material. In any case, the setting was great and I really liked how the thread showed you were you have been. It made it easier to go back and not get lost. Great job and good luck!
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