Bonus points for innovation here!! And the graphics aren't bad either! Was there sound, though? I saw options for it but didn't hear any. I'm using chrome on linux, maybe that's the issue. So, a few suggestions. One, the game is a bit difficult at points. I wonder if maybe having a health bar would be good to be a bit more forgiving. And maybe a way to replenish the "breath" (at least that's how I interpret it). This could give the player options to explore - maybe choose a different path. Also, I'm reminded of a jam game from someone a while ago where they told a story of sorts as you dove down into an underwater cave and discovered the remains of previous divers. Could something like that be used here? But then sometimes game are more about the mechanic than anything else (I'm imagining Bit.Trip Beat - though honestly I never played that one - so what do I know?). Anyway, it's a very good start, and like I said, I like the innovative gameplay here.
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Thanks! There is no sound at the moment, but I plan to add it. The level design is actually derived from the notes of Clair de Lune by Debussy (an easter egg moonshot interpretation) and I intend to add some ambient synth music based on the nearby notes. It's all coming, just wasn't able to find the time before the jam ended.
The game does get difficult. I also plan to add a story mode which will introduce you to a bouncing technique. You get bobbing in the water and hit the thrusters when you're as high in the air as you can get. Allows you to dive much deeper and makes progressing easier. Thank you very much for the feedback!