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Sunk Labs's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Metroidvania | #8 | 3.933 | 3.933 |
| Overall | #15 | 3.583 | 3.583 |
| Enjoyment | #16 | 3.533 | 3.533 |
| Execution | #19 | 3.333 | 3.333 |
| Sensory | #19 | 3.533 | 3.533 |
Ranked from 15 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Engine
Godot
Team/Developer
Falcon Nova
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Comments
The level design was really good on how the maze evolved. Just a little bit lacking for direction visually(though there were some high point). I wish there was a bit more focus on the scanning mechanic that I found great and I hope you dive deeper on that. The acquatic play was a great touch(loved the dodging lasers underwater).
Good game and music too
I'm stuck after getting the pulse. Saw a giant sea snake, but can't open the door. A few high spots I don't have the height for,, a few water ways I don't have the breath for. Not sure what scanning the vents does.
Thoughts so far. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Great atmosphere; I like how the music muffles when underwater. And the platforming and laser/breath retention puzzles are good, if a little fiddly to pull off. There's some weird respawning bugs here and there, but they're hard to articulate. (Maybe be clearer in the videos.)
Climbing out of the water was a little fiddley to work out. You have to hold up and right/left but you need to be slightly below water for it to work. Spent quite a bit of time in the first room trying to figure that one out.
It took me a while to figure out what scanning does, and conversely how to use the med-kit. You should either put a medkit in the first room, so you have something to scan right away, or move the scan prompt to the room with the medkit.
I'll upload my videos, but I'll try to finish the game if you can point me in the right direction.
For directions after seeing the sea snake: there are two rooms below that one (you can check the map if you're confused). The lowest of the two (do not go to the third, at complete bottom right) has a big water area with a bunch of lasers into it. Pass those lasers, scan the terminal on the top of that room, exit through the right and scan the terminal in the room just above. That will open the door and allow you to progress.
I'm still very clueless about those bugs to be honest, I've heard a lot of those cases and I'm still confuse as to why they happen. Will have to do further testing. Also exiting the water not being intuitive is known.
About the scanning mechanic: actually, the first thing you could scan were the spikes right in front of you in the first room. I get it can be too subtle, but I thought messaging the player that scanning stuff out of the ordinary gave you XP increasing your stats would be enough to push them to action. For the rest of the gameplay, do look for scannable stuff; hazards, warning signs, terminals and sometimes background props will definitely help you. If you feel you are short on health or breath, do go back to scan stuff.
In any case, thanks for playing and giving so much feedback!
That does make sense about the scanning. By the time I figured out how to climb out of the pool, I guess I forgot about the XP boost. I never had enough air, so maybe that was the reason.
Though on the door, I could have sworn I scanned both of those things.
Maybe I died and forgot to rescan the first one.
Is the Spider the end?
Nop, although having encountered the spider for the first time means you're about half-way through.
Well, I'm gonna have to call it quits there all the same. The game had been closing itself every few deaths up to that point (which made recording a pain in the ass XD) but it also crashed as soon as I escaped the spider. I took that to mean the game was over, but then I began to wonder. Anyways, I'll upload the recordings any day now. Crappy internet withstanding.
WRONG!!! FALSE MEMORY YOU FLAILING BABOON!!!!!
So, as far as I got, my only additional thoughts are, maybe put the pulse on X and Scan on S. X is in a more comfortable resting position, the EMP requires more reflexive use, and I used it a lot more often than scan.
(Also S stands for Scan. So it all really works out.)
Sorry I didn't play further, but the bugs were really wearing me down.
Maybe the game just doesn't get on with my computer.
Here's the playlist: MM21 Sunk Labs
Yeah the bugs happened to a few other people, although they seem to especially like you. In any case, thanks for pouring in a whole hour and recording your playthrough! I'm glad to see a couple people got to the first chasing scene, including you. Your advice was useful, and I'll be watching the vids!
Enjoyment 4/5: Hampered a bit by a couple frustrating sections. That last segment is LONG! But contrary to what I said on stream I think mostly fair.
Execution: 4/5: Hampered a bit by some crashes but mostly awesome. Maybe a bit of refinement on the area designs / elimination of unnecessary waiting would be nice.
Sensory: 4/5: Graphics are great, if a tad simple. Music is fitting.
Metroidvania 5/5: Props for using some very un-"Metroidvania"-y abilities as hard/soft gates for movement.
Honestly IDK if you're allowed to win your own jam, but if you are, this is a contender.
beautiful game... the swimming mechanics definitely made this stand out.
btw at the beginning of the game, if u swim using the water to the left... the player just falls into the abyss, might be fun to add an easter egg there.
The swimming mechanic was super unique, and I love the scan mechanic (kind of reminds me of classic Metroid Prime but 2D).
Musically it sounded like we were in water which immersed me even further (pun intended).
Definitely found this one challenging but not unplayable/unbeatably so!
That was a fun gauntlet. The character design was great and the game felt great playing. Like the others have mentioned getting out of the water is a bit difficult and I did end up locking myself by swimming down to the right. I would drown respawn at the door but not have enough air to get to any safe spot. Overall great job!
Great metroidvania game with its own unique feel. The focus on swimming mechanics was a nice twist and the platforming with timing the emp and lasers was fun and challenging in areas. The chase scene gave me a surprise since everything before had a mellow vibe lol. I did run into some of the same bugs as the others and had a few crashes though but still very enjoyable, good job!
Thanks for playing! I'm glad to know someone got to a chase scene haha. I hadn't really done anything like that before so I hoped it wouldn't feel too out of place, but I put in some effort to leave hints that there are creatures lurking in the game. I'm glad you enjoyed!
Thoroughly enjoyable game! The graphics, particularly the water effects, added a unique touch to the platformer genre. It evoked memories of playing classic Mario or Sonic titles, which was a delightful nostalgia trip. I did encounter some hiccups getting stuck in the water and had to restart, but overall, fantastic work!
nice game. also had trouble getting out of the water. took me a minute to figure out some of the mechanics as well. overall enjoyed it solid execution and cute artstyle
Pretty neat! I similarly had issues getting out of the water, but I figured it out eventually. I did eventually get soft locked loading a save point right before I drowned lol but otherwise pretty cool, challenging design.
Wow, great game! It is challenging but very cool design with the swimming and scanning. Took me a minute to figure out to exit the water in the beginning but I figured it out lol. Also if you enter the water to the left at the start of the game your character falls offscreen and you're forced to reload, then a few times when entering a room the character would spawn inside a wall(I think it was most often the top left corner of the room) which would cause me to reload. Other than those small bugs I had a great time, I especially liked how the music muffles underwater and the sound & art are great overall.
Thanks a lot! Yeah getting out of the water was a bit of a challenge to figure out haha. That's honestly the best I could come up with without having to add foothold to literally every shore in the game. It was also explained on the game page that you could exit by doing a ledge grab. For the first room offscreen falling, two missing tiles in the wall lol. Reloading bugs is weird, I might have to check it out, but I'm glad it didn't impair your experience too much. Thanks for playing again!
Insanely hard! You are a mad man my friend :) But the game is rewarding if you manage to avoid some traps. The character is moving very fast, which make it super hard to avoid things sometimes, but I assume its intentional. Game is super challeging but those challenges are kinda addictive. I liked it! Also traps are well design, because apart from their hardness seems fair and beatable if you learn how to do it.
I noticed a bug if you swim to the left from the begining of the game, you are falling off the map.
First I also drowned with no chance to continue, but I read your comment about the healthkit spawn, and continue. I stuck in the room, where it was unable to jump because i got celling near my head (I think I has to be made with some other power up). Maybe later I will try to continue, but for now i need to rest to calm my nerves :D
If you found this one hard, do not play the prequel hahaha. I'm glad the difficulty didn't throw you off, I was scared it could happen. You're right about the first room, there's just tiles missing off-screen. For the room with the ceiling too close, I'm actually wondering which one you're talking about, perhaps if you could describe it a bit I'd be able to help you! Anyways, many thanks for playing and glad you enjoyed!
Well, it was the one after you avoid collapsing floor by activating the blue platform, then you can detect message, that the floor is not stable. There is no way to jump into next platform. I guess it means i need to turn back (seems like thtere was some things to do in this room with for arrows with letters)
Yep, you need an upgrade for continue there!
Look around, especially to the right of the big grey room in the center of the mapHad a really fun time with this! You very rarely see swimming as a main traversal mechanic in this genre. The metroid prime scanning mechanic was also really cool, I would have liked to see it used for more things! I got to the first EMP upgrade then ended up stuck in an underwater loading zone where I drowned whichever direction I went, but I'd love to see this game expanded! Also the music was super cool :p
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! The scan mechanic is used for a couple other things later in the game (it's actually complete!). Level designing with water is hard haha, figured softlocks could happen. I uploaded a build that lets you load from a medkit in the UI menu, feel free to play it again if you'd like to! In any case, thanks for trying it out and glad you liked the music!