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A jam submission

Mail RunnerView game page

A silly platformer where you have to adapt to some crazy penalties.
Submitted by Noh (@Noh87945110) — 7 hours, 26 minutes before the deadline
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Mail Runner's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Creativity + Theme#34.5564.556
Fun Factor#44.2224.222
Gameplay#44.3334.333
Visuals#64.5004.500
Music + SFX#64.1114.111

Ranked from 36 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

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Comments

Submitted(+1)

Sticky feat is diabolically hard. Love it! Great work.

Submitted(+1)

I really enjoyed this one, and you really stuck with the theme in a unique way! 
I could see this working as a multiplayer as well.

I am not so sure on all of the effects are such fun though, l got sticky feet, heavy and a shadow and I died directly because I couldn't move quick enough.

Submitted(+1)

Really fun and clever use of the theme! I especially liked how I could choose which penalty I wanted to switch out, gave me some good player choice. None of the mechanics felt particularly unfair either, it was all enjoyable and clear what I had to do to finish!

Submitted(+1)

Really cool art, sound, and game idea with the theme! It was pretty tough for me but I had fun bouncing around. The penalties can be pretty rough sometimes haha. Might be interesting to link them to a timer if you can so if you really do deliver faster you get less of a penalty. The floating mail is very interesting too since it makes your health part of the world.

Submitted(+1)

The Yoshi’s Island save mechanic is really cool and fits so perfectly here very cute game and really polished, for me the game wasn’t too hard probably because i’m just that good at platforming so for that audience the difficulty is on point i’d say

(+1)

Great concept executed with a lot of charm! The concept of mixing different penalties is a great take on the theme. I really liked that there was multiple routes to explore.

Sound, graphics and animations are amazing and you've utilized the pico-8 platform to its fullest, really impressive!

My biggest critique is that I felt the game was treating me unfairly at times. I would get stuck in a loop of bouncing on trampolines and being hit by the evil shadow for example, all while my package is slowly losing health. I think with some balancing you could turn losing the package from being a annoyance  to a more fun chaotic moment.

I can see this core idea being expanded on further as well, with more level and penalty variations, but the game is really great as is with lots of replayability.

Developer

I agree with your critiques. Even when I playtest the game myself I sometimes get stuck in those evil cycles you talk about! Will definitely take this into consideration if I'm going to make a post-jam update. Thanks for the feedback : )

Submitted(+1)

I don't even know where to begin with this one!

The map design is awesome - gradually opening up additional paths between the two mailboxes made each section feel memorable. The map never grows, yet you constantly feel like you are exploring and building a relationship with particular jumps and platforms as you optimize your route.

The player movement feels pretty good and I was blown away by the love and care you put into the tiny animations. There were so many little details - dust clouds underfoot, subtle bobbing while in motion, fluttering scarf, etc

As a mediocre platform player, this was HARD. I only managed to deliver 3 packages. But the game is never discouraging - the first delivery without any penalty allowed me to learn the route at my own pace, so I felt more and more confident on each subsequent playthrough.

Some of the penalties felt a little more punishing than others, but none of them were unfun. They all added something to the gameplay, rather than taking away or limiting my ability to platform.

Submitted (3 edits) (+1)

From the few games I've played of this jam so far, this one probably makes the best use of the Penalty theme. I like how despite being given penalties, you still have a choice in which slot you pick. 

Visuals look great, especially given the Pico 8 limitations. My only gripe was that sometimes I thought I could stand on a bridge but it was a background element.

The game is challenging (I hit my limit with 5 packages delivered, 0 on my first attempt), but also allows you to choose the amount of challenge to some degree. I like the Yoshi mechanic of losing your mail.

Also the wacky jump + slippery shoes combination is pure evil, lol. Wacky jump threw me off, but usually not in a way that got me a game over. Overall the game has a well executed concept!

(+2)

dang that was clever. and mean! lol. once i got the evil shadow i was like... noooooooooo lol

Submitted(+1)

This is a really clever game. The depth in the movement is really enjoyable, it is a fun challenge to find new way to maneuver around the map. The art style is also really nice, great job!

Submitted(+1)

This is a really great implementation on the theme of the jam! The fluidity of the platforming is also very satisfying. Great work on the art and music. Loved the Yoshi Story-esque mechanic of losing the letter too!

Submitted(+1)

Amazing visuals, creative gameplay mechanics and concept, love the music and SFX, well done !

Submitted(+1)

love the yoshi Island mechanic when you lose the mail, i actually might be in the minority on that. visually great, not one complaint. great job

Submitted(+1)

like always noh is the best...concept is so cool and completely in the theme and also the execution is top! juicy gameplay hyper reactive.... love it! Pico 8 wizard!

Submitted(+1)

This game is a lot of fun! It is extraordinarily difficult though, and I only ever delivered 2 packages lol. The pixel art is really great and I enjoyed my time with the game a lot

Submitted(+2)

I love the vibes here! Fun music, fun art, some really nice juiceness to movement and the UI - impressive!

That said I agree with other folks that I found the start way too challenging. The package retrieval mechanic is pretty punishing and I found it I made a mistake it was easy to get stuck in a loop trying to recover the package and then hitting an obstacle immediately, which I found a little frustrating. I got stuck in the well a couple of times.

I think it'd be nice if the difficulty had ramped a little more gradually so that I had a bit more of a feel for the movement - I bet I could have dealt with my problems in the well with a little more practice.

Really nice one though! Feels very complete, impressive that you made it in a week.

Submitted(+1)

this is awesome! its super polished, i'm surprised it only took a week. the mechanic when you lose the package and have to go retrieve it reminds me a lot of yoshis island, and i like that you have to take so many different routes through the same level. i sometimes did not understand what some of the penalties did though, like weightless

Developer(+1)

You caught the Yoshi's island reference hah! And yeah I could've made some penalties easier to understand. "Lightweight" makes you jump higher, fall slower and gives you the ability to walk on water. while "Heavyweight" does the opposite. Thanks for playing and commenting : )

Submitted(+1)

ah that makes sense. i was wondering why i could walk on water, i didn't connect those dots lol

Submitted(+1)

This is fantastic, super creative spin on platforming and usage of the theme. I think it's way too difficult though! I wish deaths caused respawn by level rather than from the beginning.

Developer

Thanks for the comment! And yeah ive seen a lot of people say its too difficult. Can i ask how far you got / how high score you got? That would be super helpful to know ( for balancing and stuff later ) :D

Submitted(+1)

Got to the second penalty after 2-3 resets. Couldn't really get farther than that.

Submitted (2 edits) (+1)

really cool game, but controls are unusual which makes it way harder than it looks. wonderful idea though, really loved it!

* edited: alright, after playing it a bit more i got used to the controls and i gotta say - this game is absolutely awesome!! different types of penalties make you choose the best path to deliver that package which makes it really challenging, but incredibly fun!

Submitted(+1)

The game's fun, but difficult