Super challenging, beautiful looking game! I included it in a compilation video series of all of the Mystic Western Game Jam games, if you'd like to take a look :)

It's kinda difficult but I loved it! Very nice entry!

I love the backstory! It's the kind of equivalence that could only exist in a culture with 8-bit pixel art- the stars becoming confused with the brown speckles in the sand. The phrasing of the controls gives it a kind of mythic quality... "He would move with the arrow keys." He would, if he existed. Does he? Well, kinda!

And that's the definition of a juicy game. Very enjoyable.

Good work!

Whoa – really nice to see all this PICO-8 work at this jam. Big fan of that. I like the monster too, very effective!

This is really exciting and fun! The effect on that dust monster is insane, too.