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In the Shadow of Stars's itch.io pageResults
Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
Playability | #258 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
Artistic Style | #401 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
Theme | #653 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
Cleverness | #755 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
Ranked from 1 rating. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- Overall, decent game! Has potential to be a short-fun indie game on steam when fleshed out and completed! However as a game jam game its themeing is a bit lackluster on the shadowy side, the alchemy is there with the gathering and crafting of resources, but there is nothing that uses shadows as a mechanic. I would work on this more and expand on this on your own!
Did you include your Game Design Document as a Google Drive link?
Yes
Seriously... did you include your Game Design Document?
Yes
Is your game set to Public so we can see it?
Yes
Tell us about your game!
This is a sci-fi roguelite where the player uses space-age alchemy to create a new power source to survive in the light of the star they are orbiting. Players need to manage resources and fight monsters to get upgrades to become more powerful and save their crew.
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Comments
I wanted to like it, but it's too grindy. The cell batteries having the same sprite as the other type confused me, because I wasn't aware the inventory button was a button ( I thought it was labelling the bottom bar as inventory. ) I also was not aware you could melee enemies until much later. I'll try it again when you finish it.
Oh dang, I'm sorry you had those problems with it! It would be really frustrating without those features. Thanks for playing regardless
The intro was really promising! I did find the gameplay to be a bit unclear. Like there seems to be so much to do at the same time that I didn't know where to start. The art style is nice, but there is so much polish to be done (hit animations for enemies to name one). And one more small thing, let me replay the dialogue of the starting NPC. I tend to skip it quickly but in this game you really need to read it. So give a stubborn player like me the chance to replay it :p
But the concept stands, and your long list of bugs is a sign of the crazy big game you have made for this jam. Nice job!
Thanks! The NPC is actually supposed to repeat his whole thing if you talk to him again. I'm still trying to figure out why that doesn't work right now. I appreciate you playing!
This is quite a complex game, it has a really cool opening, a really nice plot, cool art and atmosphere, and lots to do. Will definitely make a great full release game. It's a liiiittle grindy, but lots of people like working hard for their progress so that's not necessarily a flaw. Overall, I think it's terrific, good job!
Thanks so much! Your game is great too! It's super pretty and addicting!
Loving the sci-fi setting. The intro really builds some good atmosphere and the permanent eclipse is something I haven't seen before, but is a really cool idea. Good job!
Thank you so much for playing!
Wow, I really enjoyed the title screen music! It's eerie and yet calming at the same time. The cutscenes are also really cool!
I share the sentiment of the others regarding the tutorial and grinding, so I'll list other aspects:
I really like the enemy designs, they're definitely on the creepier side of things. I also enjoy that you can outrun enemies and if you're far enough, they stop chasing you.
A suggestion I have would be to extend the collider that triggers melee attacks. It felt like I had to click super close to the player to use it, and it caused me to shoot my gun unintentionally at times. A melee attack to the other 3 directions (left, right, down) could also be a nice addition!
Another thing I noticed is that shots end up getting caught on enemy corpses. Noticed it when I'd have a group of enemies chasing me, would kill one in the front and attempt to shoot the others behind. My bullets wouldn't connect.
One thing I'll point out is that the game is able to create the dystopic ambiance and environment that it sets out to do. Things look desolate, the creatures are horrific and the music and ambiance helps to reinforce that, for sure.
Once you implement the rebalance, I can see this being super fun. Could also introduce different enemy types, places, amongst all sorts of things. The second area was definitely very pretty!
And don't be discouraged if things didn't turn out as you intended. You guys made a game and were able to submit it, so you're already winners in that department! It just needs a couple of tweaks that can elevate things a lot!
Keep making stuff!
Thanks for playing! I showed your comment to our artist and musician, they loved the feedback! Dispite all the issues and how sad I feel sometimes that the player experience isn't exactly what I wanted right now, we are all super proud of what we've done. You're game is super cool too! I'm working through it right now and loving it, very fun.
Finally completed the game, nice one. I was originally not liking the game much, but somehow the grindiness caught on me and I am enjoying it till the end. The game design and graphic are nice, and the progression system is great too!
I just wanted more direction on what to do next, may be more dialogue or signs explaining the game a bit more? Especially during the late game where you fixed everything, I eventually did stumble across the light area and got some sunflowers, but it was more an accident rather than an ah-ha moment, which take away a bit of the excitement. I also miss clicked numerous time, trying to harvest but shoot instead, wasting precious energy. Probably changing key will do.
Anyway, I think you did a very good job on the game! Well done!
Thanks for playing, and for the feedback! I agree, the tutorial definitely needs work. I wanted to make it a step by step guide with more hints rather than a wall of text, but I ran out of time. I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed it, after the judging period ends I want to lower the cost of the repair components, it makes the start of the game way too long and I want people to be able to mess with the power cell mechanic.I just played your game and really enjoyed it! Super fun, I love puzzles.
The premise is neat, and I wanted to like the game a bit more, but I ran into a host of pain points along the way.
Once I realized how to play around all the pain points (clicking my own character constantly for melee attacks and gathering, and kiting enemies vertically to get around the shifted hurtbox and inability to use melee attacks in any other direction), there was a pretty fun game to be had! The audio and visuals overall was pretty solid. I think if you polished up the issues above, made it easier to control, and added a bit more variation to each trip to the field, it would shine a lot more!
Thanks for playing, and for the feedback! You have some awesome suggestions that I'll totally implement, having the lazers lock up is brilliant, I've noticed a lot of people getting really confused with why they died at the start. It will also be much better to let the player use 'e' for melee attacks and resources outside too, I dont know why I didn't think of that. Having all these issues, especially the high cost of repair components and the lack of spiders make me feel really bad, but that's just what happens in such a short time span.
Your game looks so cool! I'll definitely be checking it out.
Hey everyone, we hope you enjoy! This is our first jam together as a team. Let us know what you think and be sure to show us any bugs you find!
Current bug list: