This is a fun little game that merges undersea exploration with horror quite well! As a collaborative project, with many members involved creating a first game, this is well-done. It is a genuinely difficult thing to project manage together, and I hope you feel you've made something you're proud of.
The environment scanning and exploration as a means to tell the story from the environment is a great idea, akin to Subnautica and similar games. It helped set the scene as the player delved deeper into the depths of the ocean, although a few more eerie things could have been scanned.
The level design is nice and linear which I think is appropriate for a game of this type; the effect of the animated seaweed is really pleasant. I think you chose a nice and neutral colour palette, noting that the chromatic aberration and screen distortion effects were already in play.
The ending was very well done! The shark rousing from its aquatic slumber shows a great potential for mesh animation, and I hope with experience you build on your animation skills to make the environments you design more lively and responsive and full of motion.
Just some thoughts for constructive criticism:
- It was super nice to have graphics/accessibility settings, because the chromatic aberration effect doesn't play very well with text, although it looked great in terms of other aspects of the game. It's so colourful!
- When designing linear path games, be sensitive to player speed and the extent to which the levels have engaging audio/sprites/interactive elements. With too few discernible features, players can get the feeling that they're lost, going nowhere, or not particularly engaged with the level, especially at the start with long empty canyons.
I made a playthrough video of the game below:
This is a fantastic achievement for a first-time team to co-ordinate; I hope you enjoyed creating this game, participating in the jam, and most importantly are keen to continue creating games!