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Grave Secrets's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Oldhar Award for Literature: Story | #1 | 4.545 | 4.545 |
| Hrld Award for Graphics: Visuals | #1 | 4.955 | 4.955 |
| Marsha Award for Music: Sound | #2 | 4.182 | 4.182 |
| Harold Award for Excellence | #3 | 3.909 | 3.909 |
| Therese Award for Strength: Combat | #28 | 1.773 | 1.773 |
| Lucius Award for Laughs: Comedy | #33 | 1.727 | 1.727 |
Ranked from 22 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
I really, really loved this. I don't have a lot of words. I just want more.
I want combat. I want all these feelings to have some resolve.
This was amazing.
There's no way a human is supposed to make something like this in a month.
Excellence: Pretty standard RPG movement and puzzles, but for a story-heavy game like this it makes sense.
Combat: Feel bad giving a low score to any part of this game, but in the end there really wasn't any combat. Hardest fight in the game was me vs. my own tears.
Comedy: Again, not a high rating but not a detriment. The serious depiction of Harold, especially as a father figure to Lorelei, works very well here.
Sound: I think I have to break my "music packs don't get 5 stars" rule for this. Not only does it work unbelievably well with each setting, but the ambient sound is what truly takes this up a notch for me. It is far above anything else I've heard in this jam.
Visuals: How the hell did you draw all this in a month, let alone make an entire game around it? While simplistic in areas (and understandably so), this is so much effort for a Harold Jam!
Story: I am shocked something this poignant came out of a Harold Jam. The story is emotionally charged and the writing throughout really emphasizes it. Up there with Re:PUNCH for my favorite story of the jam.
A little disappointing to see this unfinished, but you know what? I don't just want to see this finished; I want to see this remastered. HD graphics, voice acting, everything. This is something that deserves to stand on its own instead of being confined to the jam about the default RPG Maker character. Hell, take out Harold and Reid. Replace them. Make this its own game. This is the one game from this whole jam where I can say that. Charlotte, you are the revelation of this jam and I cannot wait to see what comes out of you next.
This is a lot of polish for a jam game.
Is it weird all I could think as I was sinking to the bottom of the water was "Oh hey, free sword".
I ran into myself at the start of the first playable map.
This gets my graphics vote and is right up there for excellence (gameplay) and literature.
That sword sure is a keeper.
Thank you, someone else has pointed out the repeat sprite at the start and it has been addressed.
Many thanks for your feedback and playing :)
Top-notchstorytelling and great art style in this one. You did a great job at making me really, really, really want to kill the antagonist. Hopefully you decide to finish this.
Apologies for the late reply, but thank you for playing and i am glad you enjoyed it :) I'm glad you found the antagonist so unlikeable you felt that way as that was the intention haha.
I got sorta spoiled about this game on Discord, so my reaction to certain story revelations were a bit muted. Regardless, I am looking forward to seeing what follows next. The reveal of Harold's face at the end was simply perfect. I had been hoping to see his actual face throughout the whole game, since his helmet completely obstructs it, while in Reid's case we could at least see a silhouette.
The sound and art was on point. The ice puzzles were harder than expected, but still doable. I came across a few bugs (some have already been mentioned):
Anyway, I loved all of the CGs and the handdrawn maps really make this game stand out a lot. Curious to see how this ends :)
Thank you for playing our entry!
Ooof, that's a big saddening you got spoiled a bit and didn't get to experience it without prior knowledge. Despite being pushed for time i knew no matter what i had to do the face reveal at the end as it has been something building up and the nature of how 'harold' currently is in his situation under that Armour.
Yep you can find the sprite without the switch, thank you i have fixed this :)
You are correct, this was due to time constraints. We had dialogue i was unable to implement but has been implemented in the updated version we are currently working on and will upload after the jam period. I think i have posted this in Human's server, if you are interested there is a thread in the jam channel where i posted early concept art, maps and missing text.
Yes the sprite overlaps unfortunately hahaha so it looks a tad funny with the blanket.
Thank you very much for your feedback and glad you enjoyed it :)
The art in this game is amazing, and the story is gripping. I'm not sure how necessary the free moving parts were though. I felt like they didn't add much to the game. It's also where the game is weakest, for these reasons:
Let me know if you want me to go further into depth on any of these critical points.
I do want to remark on the fact that Lorelei has 8-directional movement sprites and that the animations look very fluid. Super impressive! The bust art, pseudo-animated closeups, and other theatrical tricks are all strong points for the presentation, too.
One last critique: there was one point where Harold exclaims "Lorelie!" I didn't see any other errors in this text-heavy experience, so good job on keeping that to a minimum!
I think this is overall an impressive entry. Way to go!
Thank you very much for your feedback just to address your points.
I completely agree with you that the map sections were a bit long and lacking in direction, there was intending to be events and other things that happen on the maps but unfortunately we were strapped for time. Due to time we reused the map to backtrack as originally you would have moved right past the river. There was no time to make full 8 directional movement and 7 frames of animation per direction for Harold so hes stuck endlessly walking with pixels clipping on one of his cycles hahaha!
There's definitely typos and that is one of them thank you for pointing it out. We were running on no sleep up until the deadline before we crashed and the script really wabbles towards the end with them. We have fixed and addressed the script and at some point after the jam is over, i will be uploading a version with updated busts and script. Due to time constraints we just focused on the key points which were the story and art so other things got a pass and the empty/lack of direction in the beginning for the maps is definitely the games weakest point.
Once again thank you very much for your critique/insight its highly appreciated thank you!
Your art is astounding! Absolutely beautiful. The way that you animated it fit so perfectly and really complements the feeling of the game. The story was great, it was pushed forward by the characters, so you could really see thier emotions impacting the story and other characters around them. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful entry!
Thank you so much! It means a lot i'm so glad you enjoyed it :)
Utterly floored by this entry.
This is art: a simple but elegantly-told story that evoked an entire spectrum of emotions, ranging from cold despondency to fierce determination.
A tragic but complex set of protagonists, each surprisingly well fleshed out given the game's relatively brief runtime. Minus a few spelling/word choice errors, the dialog was extraordinary: compelling and solemn without straying into the melodramatic, completely eschewing the typical "meme-y" themes we see with many of these characters.
Beautiful presentation, an expertly curated score that subtly enhanced the emotional context of each scene, and the visuals were just unparalleled (particularly those hand-drawn cut scenes).
Puzzles were extraneous, but "fine". There were a few collision errors in the maps but nothing broke per se, and the environments were so well-illustrated I frankly didn't care about minor pathing issues.
I was crushed when this ended so abruptly.
Hoping we get more in 2023.
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback!
I'm genuinely taken back by how well its been received and i'm so glad its invoked that right notes with you. We were finishing the script on no sleep right up until the end so there is definitely typos and errors. The intention was to be more serious and compelling and im glad it came across.
Currently world building and fleshing out more stuff, it'll be a long road but definitely something more will come out of it, can't say when though :)
the intro already tell you it is a nice game, definitely worth to play it!
Great story and visuals! Especially love Harold and Reid's armour design. I found the music fits the mood very well.
Many thanks for playing, i'm glad you liked their designs :) and enjoyed it.
Really just amazing. From the starting scenes, everything was just jaw-droppingly impressive. Typically I have no patience for so much dialog, but I found myself invested in the story and characters, and willing to hear their stories. I loved what you did with the characters we thought we knew, and I got some chills at the "ending" (even though I was hoping for 2 more hours of gameplay).
Music was well matched to the game, puzzles were short and enjoyable (though arguably unnecessary).
What a beautiful entry. Thanks for redefining what a Harold Jam game can be.
I'm glad you really enjoyed it!
I'm so glad you were invested in the story and the characters as pen ultimately this was the focus. The game play was more or less an afterthought and i agree not really necessarily. We really wanted to redefine a more honourable 'harold' and with a more serious focus. It was intended to go on after the final scene but due to time constraints and wanting to polish what was existing, that was were we opted to left it so things could be finished and complete.
Thank you for playing!
That was....beautiful. If I have to be HONEST, I've played a large handful of harold games and yours is the first that made me feel...feels. You gave Harold depth, personality, and have a world with unique characters. it wasn't just for fun, or jokes. The writing is beautiful, the art is gorgeous, and i can see the hard work you put into every piece of it.
The line in particular "we all have to play the cards we've been dealt, but you aren't playing alone anymore." Was so good. I feel like a lot of this story stayed with me
and I just thought
this is...
this is a GAME jam GAME? this is....amazing....I know you have your own projects, but if you ever decide to continue...it was so beautiful. I'm already attached to these characters. I never (honestly) cared about harold. This, this story and game made me care, about this harold in particular. Incredible. Thank you, for this wonderful experience
My goodness, i passed along your feedback to my friend as we both wrote this together and he was really happy/a bit emotional at your detailed feedback and reception.
I'm so glad it resonated with you, honestly we are both over the moon :D
We couldn't ask for anything better and i'm so glad you were able to connect with Harold and that some of the dialogue and themeing has really stuck with you. We've been tweaking the script and are gonna put out after the jam a more complete version just for that finality, but honestly thank you very much for your detailed and honest feedback it means the world.
This is amazing. It is very easy to see the love put into this. The art although seemingly simplistic, is actually really detailed and well done, and the scene transitions are timed to perfection, with the music and the great writing bringing it all home. Keep up the good work! =)
Thank you very much Den, it means a lot! I think musical ques, sfx, gestures and the lot are key to a good cutscene. Not everything should be told but also shown especially in a game medium. Although there are a lot of areas where the art is unfinished or a rough sketch, it still helps paint a scene and i am glad you enjoyed it! :)
You win the award for my personal favourite game! Even if you don't win any category, this one is the best in my eyes!
Much love, thank you!
I cannot wait to play your game dude oml
Thank you! :D