Play game
Litany from Beyond (DCJAM24)'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Overall fun and playability | #133 | 2.183 | 2.250 |
Ranked from 16 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Theme incorporation
The chosen theme is cosmic horror, as the story and the setting follow classical Lovecroft vibes. The setting should be obvious from the start, the first mind monster is encountered after entering the mansion.
Sadly, I ran out of time, so there is only one enemy and even that lacks several features, but this prototype should show the full intent of the game. Same goes for the set dressing, which is complete for the first map and erodes to the later ones. Will defenitely revisit this project later to finish it properly.
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
I burnt the idol.
What's there is good. The overall presentation is consistent and works very well, there are actually quite several detailed environments, the game sounds good, the story and its tone are engaging. Movement feels mostly good although sometimes I wish I could walked quicker. The detective gameplay is fun, I like the part where knowledge helps you fight againt the fear of the idol.
Thanks for sharing.
I burned the idol :)
I definitely see what you were going for here, and it was a huge experience you were trying to craft. Multiple large locations, an open world hub with the swamp section. It's a shame you didn't have a chance to finish it because the concept itself is cool.
In terms of whats there, when actually exploring the movement felt good however the the sheer size of moveable area meant I wanted the option to move a bit more quick (Like being able to spam forward and speedup/skip the move tween) just to help getting around, especially where I need to backtrack. The actual environment design that is in place is really good, It's clear that had you the time these environments would have been filled with set dressing and interesting immersive spaces to explore.
In your description I see you're planning on taking this forward post-jam, and I definitely think you should because you've clearly got a complete vision and just didn't have the time to execute.
Good effort!
The part you did have time to implement was still interesting and engaging. Some more snappy movement would be nice. Also interesting system to use for movement, movement blobs. Graphically it is a masterpiece, but since it so far from a complete game it is hard to say its a great entry. I hope you participate in more jams and that you got the time to complete the next one. I think you have the potential to complete real quality products!
Ah, its a shame you did not have enough time to finish the game. It looks very moody and has a nice creepy atmosphere. I second the Alone in the dark mentioning in an earlier comment, escpecially because it is more just creepy then shock horror like Resident evil. Everything looks very smooth and well designed, there is even rain. The "overworld" transitioning is well done an makes the game feel larger without disrespecting my time because of to long walks, where nothing happens anymay. Please develop it further!
Premise was a good one and I was looking forward to play it. Shame that its so raw though... But that is an experience regardless! As others say - idea of dedective crawler with "clue" searching has a lot of potential by itself!
There is a lot of potential here. I love the setting, and together with the low-poly style, it gives me Alone in the Dark vibes.
It’s unfortunate that you ran out of time; this kind of mixture of mystery and horror is totally my jam, if you’ll pardon the pun.
Good job!
There's not a lot here, but what is here is decent. The art assets that are present in the game look quite nice, but nothing else is really developed enough to judge. The themes seem promising, and the ideas presented (research-based 'combat') do as well, for what it's worth.
The mansion segment could maybe do with some signposting given that it is pure trial and error to find the room that matters, as far as I can tell, but it is hard to tell when there's no way to tell if you intended for all the other rooms to be entirely irrelevant or just didn't finish them. The ghoul's sanity damage could similarly do with some kind of feedback, and probably should not occur when the player cannot perceive them in any way, but it is similarly hard to tell if this is simply a case of unfinished content.
I did record a video of my playthrough, although I don't think its likely to be terribly useful given the minimal state of the game:
I see where it was going and I think with some post-jam work this could be good. The grid and turning was well implemented, the graphics and level design (the finished stuff anyway) was really good too but I wish there was just more meat to it all. It felt a bit like a walking sim and seemingly randomly my sanity would reduce and I would have to start over. Good luck!
Thanks for your reply! No, the sanity doesn't drop randomly, that is because of the ghoul in the area of the kitchen. Usually, it comes more or less directly into the hallway, but maybe it didn't in your case. That is one of the central game play loops in the game - as long as you don't know anything about the monsters, they drive you insane. Only if you learned something about them - in this case, it is enough to read the book in the study room - you are able to confront them physically. Developing the realtime enemies took me a lot of time, as it wasn't part of my crawler kit, so the game fell short there.
Damn that mansion needs some attention ;)
There's a lot to really like about this game. It feels like it's the start of something really good. At the moment, it's not always clear where you're going and stuff.
But the dialogue I thought was excellent. I think with another week, getting the assets in and stuff, this is going to be a very playable game. A little short right now, but that is ALWAYS a good thing for a Game Jam !
Great job !
I think this game does a good job with atmosphere and the story is there. I can see where this is going, I think, and it is cool! I don't know if I would call this cosmic horror, probably just horror, but I had a fun time with it.