Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
Tags

The attention to detail in the game is ridiculously high. The camera, animation, combat, the core concept, is excellently executed. It's all so well thought-out and well tuned. I say that as someone who has struggled endlessly with getting these things right before, even in non-jam settings, and never really succeeding. I'm in disbelief at what you've achieved in 48 hours.

The torch is central to the game, literally. It allows me to see, which I can immediately tell is important, given the large percentage of the screen that is pitch-black. I love that your torch level IS your health bar, making it so much more significant to the core gameplay, rather than just being aesthetic. I feel this sort of significance of mechanics is something that Mark talks about in many of his videos.

Dashing feels so good. As I used it more, I slowly realized that I was using my precious light. You've woven everything together in this game, which gives it a wonderful clarity.

If there's anything you could work on, I would say it's teaching the player, through level design, about why the torch is precious to you. Make a long hallway with no refill stations, then just as the player is about to run out of light, give them a torch-on-a-wall. Make a maze of gaps that forces the player to dash a lot, maybe even run them out of light. Don't be afraid to kill the player. I should mention that I never even died once, even though I knew I was messing up. Eventually I figured out the cadence of the combat, but there's really nothing stopping me from mashing the attack button relentlessly while I'm near a torch, which is really easy given the high density of torches on the map. I feel like you could push this game to create moments of greater excitement.

Thank you so much for your awesome compliments and feedback on the game! I really enjoyed the process of weaving all the mechanics together and how interrelated they are to one another! And I couldn't agree with you more, as the game's level designer, I realized afterward that there needed to be far fewer torches scattered throughout the map. In playtesting (after publishing the game) I found out that if you stand by a wall-torch that you'll literally never die (unless you agroed like 5 enemies). So definitely something I will take away from this experience to use in future projects! And if I continue to work on this project after the judging is over I'll definitely make the appropriate changes. Thank you so much for playing our game!

Thanks for the kind words BTW. We used some of your advice for finishing up version 2. You can try it out now, it's mostly a refinement of the graphics, sound, music etc. of version 1. If we ever move forward with a bigger scope we will do what you suggested in your final paragraph :)