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Almond Ridge's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Character Designs | #65 | 4.533 | 4.533 |
| Story | #65 | 4.333 | 4.333 |
| Log Line | #66 | 4.133 | 4.133 |
| Game Page Design | #75 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Sound Effects | #75 | 3.667 | 3.667 |
| Music | #79 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Overall | #84 | 4.133 | 4.133 |
| User Interface Design | #87 | 3.867 | 3.867 |
| Game Graphic & Logo Design | #94 | 4.067 | 4.067 |
| Halloween Themed | #97 | 3.600 | 3.600 |
| Voice Acting | #105 | 2.133 | 2.133 |
| Accessibility | #109 | 3.600 | 3.600 |
Ranked from 15 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
Had to stop playing because it was broken to a nearly unplayable extent, I didn't understand the stat system, and some of the characters' stories were so heart-wrenchingly sad that I broke down crying
Howdy! Can you please specify what bugs or glitches you had? We are so sorry that you didn't enjoy your time, and will will try to fix the game as quickly as possible!
You have nothing to apologize for. It's a very complicated game to code and has a lot to it, and it is nevertheless intriguing and emotionally moving. I'm sorry to say that I didn't keep a very good record of the specific points in which I got stuck on a Renpy error screen, but the main part I remember it happening was when I tried to stay with Lester and end the day early. It gave me the error screen every time I tried and I had no choice but to skip that scene and not do it. I also got stuck in an endless loop after the fifth day in which days kept going on where I wasn't able to go anywhere or do any actions. The save function didn't work for me either because every time I loaded a save I had the same stress and suspicion levels as I did before.
This was awesome :D Loved how you incorporated the investigation with a bit of randomness due to stats, and all the characters were great. I especially love how Bill found it in his heart to try being kind, it was nice to have a small ray of hope character development in the midst of all the sadness of the other characters well-being depleting over time.
I did encounter a bit of a bug, though--maybe it's just me, but when I was having the interaction with Lewis in his office about Susannah, I panicked that my suspicion maxed out at the end and tried to reload my save from the start of the conversation...only for my suspicion to now be maxed no matter what save file I loaded, even from earlier points in the game. I was only able to progress by restarting the game, saving, and then loading the save from Lewis' office again, now with both my stress and suspicion stats reset to 0 from the restart. It might just be my own dumb luck though XD
Overall: loved it!
Not just you. The save system was unhelpful for me because every time I tried loading my saves my stress and suspicion stayed the same. I wish I had known to fix it the way you did.
I enjoyed the exploration and the mystery-solving aspects of this visual novel. The game mechanics, including the dice roll, kept things fresh. My favorite part was a certain section of the game when I went to Susanna's room and something in there took me off-guard. I must've missed the explanation for what was happening there. Nonetheless, I was creeped out.
I solved the mystery through two slightly different endings, but I'm not sure I fully understood what was going on in the end. Perhaps I should've been taking notes.
Reading the list of canceled features was interesting. I'm wondering how different the experience would have been if the team pushed through with a few of these features.
I encountered a bug (not game-breaking) at the beginning when I was trying to save during the stat distribution portion. Also, I would sometimes notice that doing a random action (I can't remember which) would refill my points to five before the day ended. I agree with what what another commenter said about the text occasionally being difficult to read. Sometimes, the text would be too long for the text box (specifically some of the choices).
Thanks to the team for releasing this game. I had a nice time checking it out!
I enjoyed this game so much! Love the mystery and the characters, all of them really gave strong impression. I love the action and the stress/suspicion system, it made me think before I choose what action I'll take, and
I love micromanaging my character.I enjoyed this game quite bit! I was able to get into the final area before day 5 and was a bit bummed there wasn’t a bonus for it. Was definitely creeped out at certain moments in the game (Susannah…) but overall it was worth the challenge!
Fun game with an intriguing mystery! I enjoyed playing it a lot. The art and design were really solid. However, I do have a few notes. The text is difficult to read on the choices unless they're highlighted, I would consider changing it from grey. There was at least one instance where I didn't get the stress/suspicion listed (I believe this was the investigating the footprints). Finally, when I got to assign three points into attributes and then the checks were all four or higher, I did get a bit confused as to what specifically was going on with the checks? I think the system is a bit unclear.
Also, not a critique (since I used this method too in my build lol) but just a heads up, it looks like you left your 'jump to a specific day for testing' menu in the build. I'm not sure if you meant to or not!
Thats really weird, I have tested the released build a lot and haven't seen that issue. Was that on browser or download
I saw it on the Mac download. I did download it a couple of days ago, but I didn’t see an update button.
It was there for me too on Windows download
Really liked the game! Makes you think, but also makes you risk it.
Game design wise it's marvellously done, the game mechanics are pretty clear, you'll have to balance your actions and learn to know when to risk it and when to stay in the mold for another day. And it won't be an easy choice!
The music is really nice, and knows when to disturb your thoughts pretty well. The art is quite amazing, I really liked both, backgrounds AND characters.
Storywise? Nothing like a good mystery, and nothing like solving it undercover. Won't say much to avoid spoiling, but it's going to be a wild ride!
Nice job! I love a good mystery. This reminded me of Shutter Island meets Hotel Dusk. Great aesthetic, interesting characters, intriguing premise.
“You wink, do finger guns, and go ‘pew pew’” is exactly what’s missing from every other detective game.
That dialogue only appears on high APP builds, so glad you saw it!
Great background and character art, very stylistic and captures the gloomy, tired mood. I like the all the music, especially the more horrifying tracks, but I grew a little tired of the main theme towards the end of the game. The cosmic horror aspects are well placed and delivered and always caught me a little off guard.
The stress/suspicion levels work surprisingly well in the context of the game. It felt rewarding and hectic piecing things together. The story is well paced and plenty intriguing, the design leaves you feeling like you're missing out on story elements, but in a well thought out and intentional way. I really like Lester and Bill as characters, and the scenes with Susannah got under my skin. The disjointed text sections do a good job at unsettling you.
The webgl ran a little buggy for me (firefox), text revealing was choppy, but the download worked fine. I found quite a handful of bugs, gonna msg you on discord with the markdowns. I think I managed to get through to the end but my boss didn't believe me that I completed the investigation. All in all this is a super cool submission with lots of style, definitely original and engrossing, thankfully renpy gives you some options to work around the bugs but I think by the end I had ignored too many and broke a handful of things.
This game was legitimately hard to beat.
in a cool sexy way or a bad stinky way?
Mostly cool sexy, but I would make it a little bit easier.