Skip to main content

Browse GamesGame JamsUpload GameDeveloper LogsCommunity
Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines
keyshooter6 days ago

This is quite the solid game but it has 3 main issues that stick like a sore thumb at the start, and in two specific cases, in every loop, the first one would be the long amount of dialog at the start of each loop, it does deliver some cool "lore pieces" but they could be perfectly be fit with all the other pieces of lore you already have to read due to the puzzle nature of the game, the second issue lies in this two rooms in particular:





It doesn't matter how many iterations i was in, i 6/5 times would faceplank on the wall regardless. or be force to do a sharp u turn, making me waste time, better level design is needed in this parts, the bridge controller is also extremely far away for the amount of times you have to spin it, once you reach the end of the game is a sensible the location, but that's WHEN you already know how to solve the game, which leads me to point 3, puzzles are extremely harsh for such a low timer.

I want to give the benefit of the doubt and believe that the developer REALLY wanted to make it feel like you are running out of time, but the puzzles resetting themselves is already hard enough, and on top of the extremely low timer, the whole level design you have to learn, and the interactions between elements, is a lot of information to digest all at once and in a low time frame, I would had made the timer been 5 minutes and the puzzles reset on player command, that been by a button you can push that resets the puzzle or by leaving and entering the room, the developer even acknowledge this by making one of the hardest puzzles just pause time,which it could had been avoidable by a 5 minute timer and a reset on command instead, after all, these puzzles are disposable, and once you know the answer and got your reward, they are not worth going back to, in this sense they become pushovers rather that problems that you have to solve and that you felt worth solving.

In summary, better map design to avoid your players getting frustrated, manual resets on puzzles and a longer timer since there is a lot to take in, quicker resets to allow me to fail faster and learn from my mistakes, aside from that, is a really solid game with a quick emotional gut punch, and leaves you with many question left unanswered about our protagonist, which i think is a good thing actually, great work for a 4 day game
Reply
ColeDuck6 days ago(+1)

Those rooms are a little annoying I agree, especially the room to the left. That one was originally a large maze (that was mainly designed to waste time), but it was kind of annoying so I simplified it. During my playtesting I wanted to remove the little U-bend, but I didn't have enough time to change it. I never had any problems with running into walls, but I can def see that being a problem if ur not the person who designed the levels lol. I also agree the machine should be closer. I also wanted to move it closer, but I thought it might break the balance of the final challenge to reach the end, and didn't have enough time to test it, so I just left it as is. 

As for the puzzles, I didn't pause the timer for the first one because I figured it's so close to the beginning room that it didn't really matter. And like you said, once you solve it once you're done, so any annoyance wouldn't really matter. I agree this was probably a mistake. As for it resetting itself, this actually makes the puzzles easier! They used to not reset, and if you made a wrong move or two, it was extremely difficult to recover from. I would get stuck for minutes trying to solve it. By making it so the puzzle always resets to a stable state, it ensures that you never get too far off track. Now.... obviously this does have side effects, like making it hard to understand what is even going on for the first puzzle, since you can't easily see the effects of stepping on a switch. And I wanted to change this! But also ran out of time. I also agree that adding a manual reset could have been helpful, but I thought maybe players would not use it properly. Like, the puzzle on the left is meant to be solved in two button presses, so it resets on the second press. The puzzle on the right is meant to be solved in 4 button presses, so that's how much you get. If I let players manually reset, they might reset too early or too late, y'know? Maybe this isn't actually a problem, I don't know! 

The reason the timer is so low is because the whole main idea of the game is that you have to learn your way around the map in order to make it to the end in time. Each little nugget of information is supposed to make the game faster to traverse on the next iteration. If the timer is 5 minutes, the timer becomes basically meaningless. I might as well just remove the timer completely at that point! I do agree though that all the puzzles and the locked door rooms probably should have paused the timer. They did at one point, but I removed it because I kinda... didn't like pausing the timer? I thought it took away from the story of the game. I probably should have just left it though. I do agree the game can be extremely punishing if you keep running out of time and can't figure it out. I actually wanted to add an option where you can temporarily have infinite time just to test things out, but I didn't have time to add it! Again!

Anyways, thank you for your feedback! I may make a post jam patch where I fix some of the issues I and other have with the game. I'll probably implement pretty much everything you said lol (except for making the timer 5 minutes, I'll probably just add an option to increase the timer for a single loop or something)

Reply
keyshooter6 days ago

I understand that the idea of a 5 minute timer might as well ruin the experience, but i think that maybe a middle ground would had work out instead, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, maybe a successful puzzle gives you 10 seconds on the clock, small things that makes you go "ok, i get it"

Reply
AboutFAQBlogContact us
Copyright © 2026 itch corp · Directory · Terms · Privacy · Cookies