Skip to main content

Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines

I kept this session to about five to ten minutes so I could play more jam entries and give more developers useful feedback. I played with mouse and keyboard, although I can definitely see why a controller is recommended.

The movement system is genuinely neat, especially the spinning, and it gives the game an interesting puzzle-platformer hook. The overall vibe is surprisingly chill, the music fits well, and the sound effects do their job. I would like a little more animation from the fish while it is idle, though. It is in water after all, so some gentle floating, fin movement, or current response would help it feel more alive.

Platformers are not normally my thing, so take the difficulty criticism with a grain of salt, but even the first level felt fairly demanding. Be careful with the visual perspective too, especially where the waterfall overlaps the map, because it looks cool but also makes it seem like I should be able to travel upstream. I would also let Escape return to a pause menu during gameplay. Finally, if fish colors are purely cosmetic, showing little stat-style ratings beside them is confusing because that presentation strongly implies gameplay differences. There is a cool idea here, and with more polish and clarity, I would absolutely play it again.

If you have two minutes, swim over to BEAT BAES and test-drive the spinning mechs. I would be happy to trade catches.

Swim into BEAT BAES ยท Send the catch report

(+1)

Thank you for checking us out! Pretty much all of that is on our list of things to improve once we grow past our "48 hour game jam" version. The current framing is limiting, but sufficient for "testing the waters" for player interest. This also explains why the difficulty curve is so aggressive; I want to showcase the full potential of the game idea within our single 20 minute level. That said, I've seen some people struggle hard and others breeze through it in 10 minutes, so the perceived difficulty is very sensitive to experience level too.

Maybe strange, but something to consider. I donโ€™t play platformers typically, BUT I would be more likely to play this on my phone.

That's actually something we were considering... It's already totally playable on mobile if you ignore the compatibility warning on itch, but it's missing some important features like air control and quick respawn, hence why we don't advertise it. I've done a full game run on my phone before, so I can at least guarantee it's winnable.