Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.

• PRESENTATION
  

  Graphics are custom made with various asset packs and RTP mixed in. It fit well together and nothing really looked out of place. The mapping in some areas was a bit bare and empty, but otherwise it was okay.

  The custom art assets are very nice and were interjected into the story very well.

  Level design was a bit weird in that you'd have some great little rooms where you could explore but other places were just a ton of enemies plonked in a room to dissuade you from exploration. Why even bother with the room if there was no reason to go in there?

  Sound was fine. There were precious little sound effects to help with ambience or atmosphere but what was used was used well, and didn't jar.

  When the music first came on I was puzzled by how weird it was for a survival-type game, but there was a plot reason so it made sense. The other music helped set a tone for the game and it fit quite well.

  The writing was overall fine, but there were a spelling mistake or two that I noticed. The font was legible, too. The story itself is very interesting with a lot of mystery as to what is going on, who the other character is and what's going on with both her and the main character. It's quite compelling.

  The characterisation is also quite well done, making you care for the main character and giving you a glimpse into her thoughts as well as her dialogue.

  The menu has some issues when it comes to the Equip scene which really should have been removed or left empty instead of what was done to it.

  GAMEPLAY
  Gameplay consists of running around and interacting with on-map events.

  The main component of gameplay is avoiding on-map monsters who deal damage every time they touch you.

  There's a stealth feature of the game which allows you to hide in plain sight from them for ten seconds, but at the cost of your walking speed.

  There's also collectable items which heal your health and notes to find that are the main characters' diary. The notes that I found in the town weren't working and only read the same as the first ones found.

  ENGAGEMENT
  The story and characters themselves were very interesting. I quite enjoyed the mystery that was building and was rather intrigued as to see where it would go, thus was a bit annoyed by it being a demo.

  The main issue I had was the lack of interesting interactions in the town (it would have been nice to have continued the characterised interactions with objects in houses) and just how easy it was to get trapped in a corner with the monsters hurting you from all sides, even in stealth mode. I got game overed a few times from that, especially in that one house with the cabinet.

  THEME
  The theme of the game was survival and connections, and the game story did a good job of presenting both of them. The mechanics of the game did a decent job with the survival part, too.

  63/80
  

• 44/80

  Equip screen is messed up. Grammar and spacing issues. Very short game. Invisible walls. Odd event text. 

  Overall seems like a typical zombie love story with the other person being potentially part zombie (or in this case, controlled by plants). 
  

• This is a cool idea but as it stands, there’s very little to it. The stealth mechanic was interesting and I liked the look of everything, but other aspects of the gameplay could be a little obtuse. It took me a while to realize I had to interact with the empty table before I could hide in the bathroom. It was engaging enough to make me want to know more about the characters but for now, it just leaves us hanging.

  Score: 43/80

• Theme

  Zombie apocalypse? HELL YEAH COUNT ME IN. The game is basically about a parasitic plant life that is afflicting people to turn into zombie like creatures. I think it works really well. It’s mostly a character drama.

  Gameplay

  Gameplay is mostly stealth. There are some sections that I think could’ve been designed better. For example, when I first enter a map back home, a zombie ambushed me and I can’t even move. Or when I was checking the tutorial I was being attacked. Zombies don’t stop when reading messages too and I’m not sure if that’s a bug or not. They also have weird patterns like circling around a journal, not really sure what to make of these monsters. I also got stuck at the intro when I couldn’t see what was on the table because of a bug and I didn’t know how to “comfort” myself.

  Presentation

  Compact and polished. Definitely they have their sights on the deadline. Some UI issues in the menu but very minor. If anything I think the mapping could be a lot better on some areas.

  Engagement

  Short and sweet even if incomplete.

  Total – 68/80