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A jam submission

Zen StrikeView game page

Game Like Jam 8
Submitted by Henry — 2 hours, 28 minutes before the deadline
Rated by 16 people so far
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Zen Strike's itch.io page

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Comments

Submitted(+1)

It's a shame about the 3D models would've loved to play the game with those included as it felt a little empty without. That being said, the enemy sprites and music fit the vibe perfectly! Nice job :)

Submitted(+1)

Found it glitchy to play in web version but good game overall.

Developer(+1)

thank you so much for playing

Submitted(+1)

The models look really cool, shame about having to cut them for not fitting in the web version. The gameplay here is a bit rough-- enemies seem to suddenly appear and are surprisingly difficult, and then the level is actually really short in the end. The music and sounds are pretty great.

Developer(+1)

Thanks for playing, yeah  I wanted the game to be a bit short

Submitted(+1)

Super cool! I love the star wars intro and that you made a GLJ splash page on startup. It's a little glitchy and I'm sorry to hear that the 3D models were too big for the web browser, but it's a cool project!

Submitted(+1)

The game was good fun! Loved the Star Wars style lore drop introduction. The lore and concept you went for is a really cool too!

I have a spot of feedback,

I wish the enemies reacted more when getting shot (a small change in the sprite or some knockback maybe?). It’d make things feel way more responsive and satisfying, since right now it’s a bit hard to feel the impact of the gun shots.

With a bit more polish on that, I think you'd have a really great game! 

Developer

I really appreciate your feedback on my game! I can’t believe I overlooked those little details you mentioned. Thanks for playing and taking the time to share your thoughts, it really helps 💯

Submitted(+1)

After 7–8 attempts, I finally made it :D Unfortunately, it turned out to be a very, very short game. I followed some of the development progress on Discord — especially the weapon design and such — so I’ll try to describe my impressions as constructively as possible, from my initial expectations to what I experienced in the last ~15 minutes of gameplay :)

At first, I was really impressed by the weapon design and the early environment screenshots. I thought this had the potential to turn out really great. I was especially impressed that you modeled the weapon yourself. I have to admit, I’ve never modeled weapons in Blender myself, and I always appreciate when someone expands their skill set to improve!

As for the game itself, I feel like it’s struggling a bit with its identity, if that makes sense. The menu is appealing and fits the game well. The title image / cover art initially suggests a cool shooter in an interesting environment with a variety of assets. In the end, though, it was mostly the same wall texture repeated, along with enemies popping in. I’m always a fan of when the cover art truly reflects the actual game and sets accurate expectations — but that’s just my personal opinion and not a major issue.

Regarding gameplay: the enemies are slow, but the damage you take from hits is way too high. Since enemies sometimes spawn very close to you, it can be impossible to escape — especially because they have colliders that can trap you in corners and essentially lock you in place.

I also noticed that the weapon constantly drifts downwards to the right… all the time… not sure why.

There’s also a score system in the game. I’m wondering why I’m collecting points when the main goal is to progress through the level and find keys. That can work if the level design supports it, but here the level doesn’t really offer enough to motivate a high-score chase. Personally, I think it would have been better to fully commit to one direction: either make it an arena shooter in the style of Quake/Unreal with a Wolfenstein-like aesthetic, or expand the level design and exploration elements to keep the player engaged.

One very important aspect is action–reaction. Whenever I, as a player, do something — whether it’s movement, pressing a button, or triggering an event — I need a response. If I shoot, why not add weapon recoil? The more senses you engage — visually (recoil), audibly (gunshot sounds), and even haptically (controller vibration) — the more polished the experience feels.

When an enemy dies, play a sound and let it disappear with even a simple animation. That alone makes a huge difference and can significantly enhance the overall feel of a game. Action and reaction — at least visually and audiovisually — go a long way. If you keep that in mind, it’s hard to go too wrong ;)

That said, I still had fun during those 15 minutes, and the sound design is totally fine. I enjoyed trying to make my way through — that’s something that often motivates me.

Please don’t take any of this personally. I’m just trying to give constructive feedback. It has always helped me improve over the years, and I’d like to pass that on to others.

Best regards,
Marco

Developer

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your input. You brought up a few things I hadn’t considered, especially since I hardly play FPS games. Your feedback and honesty will definitely help me improve the game, so thanks again 😊

Submitted(+1)

Ok so I kinda get the vibe you are going for, but I feel like it was a bit punishing - too little ammo/hard to tell when I'm hitting enemies/too little lives/health but I like the posters and sfx all work well together! also the enemies seem to spawn on top of you at times

Developer(+1)

I actually did have bullets in my game, but for some reason they don’t show up when I export it to the web. Not sure why that happens. Thanks again for playing and sharing your experience, it really means a lot

Submitted(+1)

Nice short game lacks polish, but has good soundtrack. Keep up the good work with updates or next releases :)