❤️ What I Loved
The first thing I noticed was the itch.io page. Having GIFs that immediately showcase the game is a really nice touch. You don't have to watch a video just to understand what the game looks like, and I think GIFs are perfect for this kind of presentation. I really appreciate the effort that went into making them.
The controls are also presented immediately, both on the itch.io page and when you start the game. That's something I really appreciate in Game Jam games because it removes any unnecessary friction.
I also really liked that there are actual settings available before starting the game. A lot of Game Jam games don't have that, so taking the time to include them is definitely something I appreciate. In particular, having the option to control the background music is a great quality-of-life feature. I've had people specifically mention in one of my own previous jams that they wished there had been an option to turn the music off because they liked the sound effects but found the music too repetitive, so I know how useful something as simple as that can be.
The core gameplay loop is really satisfying. You start on the surface, descend into the mine, collect ten ores within a limited amount of time, return to the surface, and choose an upgrade. The three upgrade paths — pickaxe power, light radius/time, and rope length — create a very simple but effective progression system.
I especially like the rope mechanic. You need the rope to descend, but you also need enough rope length to actually reach deeper areas. That creates a very natural progression gate without having to artificially lock the player out of areas.
I also really liked that the controls are directly tied to the movement buttons. You can essentially keep your hand in one position and play the entire game comfortably. The fact that both WASD and the arrow keys work is another nice accessibility detail.
And the fact that the entire game can be played with one hand is a really nice design decision.
The game also remembers your previous progress. The tunnels you've already dug remain there when you return, which makes your progress feel persistent rather than making every run feel like starting from scratch.
I particularly liked the grid-based movement. Because the player and the blocks operate on the same grid, the controls feel very deliberate. If movement were freeform, you could easily end up in situations where you destroy the block beneath you while hanging from the rope and then can't move sideways to mine the next block. The grid-based system avoids that problem completely.
The automatic return to the surface after collecting ten ores is another design choice I really like. You don't have to manually navigate back through everything you've already explored, and you immediately get access to your upgrades. It also means that if you discover a huge ore vein deep underground, you don't have to remember exactly where you started your descent.
The little details are also really good. I like how the rope attachment point at the top moves along with you and spawns exactly where you're currently standing when you start descending. It's a small detail, but it makes the whole system feel much more coherent.
The sound effects deserve a special mention as well. I particularly like the rope sound. Mining also feels satisfying, especially when you've created a large network of tunnels and then get automatically pulled back to the surface after reaching ten ores.
I also really like the decision that it doesn't matter which ten ores you collect. You don't have to hunt for specific resources; the goal is simply to collect ten of them. That keeps the core loop straightforward and prevents unnecessary complexity.
The background music works well for me too. It's not overly repetitive or annoying, and it fits the atmosphere nicely.
The balance between the upgrades and the destructible blocks also felt solid overall. I never felt like the game was throwing impossible requirements at me.
I also initially wasn't sure what the actual end goal was, especially in relation to the "Celebrate" part of the Game Jam theme. But as I continued playing, I started finding more of the signs pointing toward the Heart of the Swamp. That was a nice way of gradually revealing the actual objective without putting a giant quest marker in front of the player.
And ultimately, I really like that the game actually incorporates all three Game Jam themes: Ten, Level Up, and Celebrate. Nothing feels like it was simply added as a checkbox. Collecting ten ores drives the gameplay loop, upgrading your equipment represents Level Up, and finding the Heart of the Swamp gives the whole thing an actual end goal.
I also really appreciated the developer information on the itch.io page. Seeing that the developer created the large Frog sprite themselves and handled the game design and programming, while their teammate handled the music, is really cool. You can tell there was a lot of personal work behind the project.
💭 What I Wished
The biggest thing I would have liked to see is a little more variety or an additional layer to the core loop.
The mining and upgrading loop is already very satisfying, but after playing for a while, I started thinking about what could make a longer run even more rewarding. One idea would be some kind of inventory or bag upgrade that allows you to carry more than ten ores.
Instead of automatically returning to the surface after every ten ores, you could eventually stay underground longer, collect a larger amount, and then return to the surface to spend several upgrades at once. I think that could create an additional sense of progression and make deep exploration even more satisfying.
I also think the game could potentially benefit from a few optional discoveries or side objectives underground. The signs already do a good job of giving you a reason to explore, so expanding on that concept could make exploration feel even more meaningful.
One very small thing I was curious about was why partially mined blocks lose their visible damage state when you start mining another block, even though their actual mining progress is still saved. That's not really a criticism — I'm mostly just curious about the reasoning behind that decision as a fellow developer.
Similarly, I noticed that the cracks on blocks remain visible even when the surrounding darkness/Fog of War changes. I actually think this works surprisingly well because it lets you remember where you've already been. I don't know whether that was intentional or simply a layer that wasn't affected by the visibility system, but either way, I liked the result.
I also wondered why the background music pauses during the upgrade screen. Again, not a major issue, just something I noticed while playing.
🔧 What Needs Improvement
My biggest criticism is the upgrade progression.
On my first attempt, I focused heavily on upgrading the pickaxe and basically ignored the rope. My strategy was to systematically dig down across the available grid and clear everything I could reach. That worked really well for a while and was actually extremely satisfying.
Eventually, though, I reached a bottleneck: I had cleared everything within my available rope range and couldn't reach any new ore. Since I couldn't progress further, I essentially had to let the timer run out and restart.
On my second attempt, I understood the importance of the rope much better, but this exposed a larger design issue for me.
The game presents the player with three upgrade choices, which makes it feel like you're building your own character and deciding what kind of build you want. But in practice, I felt like you eventually need all three upgrades.
You need rope length to reach deeper areas. You need pickaxe power to mine the stronger blocks. And you need light radius because it also increases your available time, while making it easier to actually find the resources you need.
So while the game technically gives you a choice, I didn't always feel like I was making a meaningful build decision. It felt more like I was deciding which necessary upgrade I should take next.
That's not necessarily a bad system, and it's just my personal impression, but I think there could be more interesting trade-offs between the three upgrade paths.
The time limit is another example of this. At first I wasn't really sure why it existed because I always had enough time to collect ten ores. Later, when the blocks started taking longer to mine, the purpose became much clearer. It creates pressure and makes pickaxe power and the light/time upgrade more important.
However, that also reinforces the feeling that you ultimately need to level everything.
Another thing I would improve is the communication around what the player should prioritize. If the player chooses to heavily invest in one stat, they can potentially end up creating a progression bottleneck without realizing it. I think there should be a little more guidance that helps the player understand the long-term consequences of their upgrade choices.
The UI positioning of the upgrade numbers could also use a tiny bit of polish. The numbers fit well when they're single digits, but once they become two or three digits, they start extending outside the intended box. It's a very minor issue, but it becomes increasingly noticeable as your stats grow.
I also encountered what felt like a potential issue with the final progression. By the end of my second attempt, I had a pickaxe with 4,096 mining power, a light radius of 13, and a rope length of 102. I had explored down to the bottom and mined essentially everything I could find, but I still couldn't find the ending. Eventually, I ran out of time again.
It's possible that I simply missed something, so I don't want to claim that the game is impossible to finish. But after spending a significant amount of time systematically clearing the map, not being able to find the final objective left me unsure whether I had actually missed something or whether there was a progression issue.
And that's probably the main reason I wanted a little more of a payoff at the end. The game genuinely hooked me. I kept playing because I wanted to know how deep I could go and what was waiting at the bottom.
After two attempts, though, I still didn't get to see the ending.
⭐ Overall
I genuinely had a lot of fun with this game.
It's one of those Game Jam games that hooked me much more than I initially expected. The core loop is simple, but there's something very satisfying about systematically expanding your mine, collecting ten ores, choosing an upgrade, and going deeper on the next run.
The controls are clean, the grid-based movement works extremely well with the mining system, the sound effects are satisfying, and there are a lot of small design decisions that show real thought behind the mechanics.
I also really like how the three Game Jam themes were incorporated. Ten is directly tied to the core loop, Level Up is represented through the upgrade system, and Celebrate ultimately gives the player a reason to keep going and find the Heart of the Swamp.
My biggest recommendation would be to look at the upgrade system and make the player's choices feel more meaningful, while also making the progression toward the final objective a little clearer.
But overall, this was a really enjoyable experience. It genuinely kept me playing much longer than I initially expected, which is probably one of the best compliments I can give a Game Jam game.