Very Challenging!, the spritework and GUI are really well done and there's lots of small details like coyote time I noticed that make the gameplay feel really fluid, it felt like there wasn't enough downtime from fires to manage repairs and heartrate so sometimes its super stressful, but other than that good job!
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Days of Descent's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Graphics | #17 | 4.474 | 4.474 |
| Audio | #122 | 3.632 | 3.632 |
| Game Design | #182 | 3.658 | 3.658 |
| Overall | #253 | 3.469 | 3.469 |
| Fun | #463 | 3.158 | 3.158 |
| Innovation | #467 | 3.079 | 3.079 |
| Theme | #707 | 2.816 | 2.816 |
Ranked from 38 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does you game fit the theme?
You are chasing a goal that is not real, increased stress causes you to hallucinate.
Did you write all the code and made all the assets from scratch?
Yes, besides audio creation.
Comments
So the visuals, sound and concept are all great and I really enjoyed my time with it but there are two big gripes I had with the gameplay:
1. No indicators of heart rate while in the sleeping quarters and repair status while reparing. I see the game design with only showing those in the main room while stuff is going down, but I would've liked to know when I'm good to advance to the next task I needed to tend to, instead of just blindly guessing when my heart rate was lowered enough or the repairs were finished
2. The button layout feels straight-up awful to use on a qwertz keyboard. I haven't used the x/c/z buttons for main interaction since flash games in 2015 and there is a good reason why q/e/r/f have become the default for doing stuff. Especially without on-screen button prompts when holding the fire extinguisher I think I dropped it instead of using it like 60% of the time. (Also, why is drop/pick up on separate buttons?)
So sadly, I couldn't really enjoy the game to its fullest because it just felt like a chore designed to wreck the bones in my right hand without a gameplay justification for doing so.
Don't get me wrong, the level of polish in all respects (audio, smooth movement, visual fidelity, etc.) is staggering for a game jam! But that doesn't help when most of my mental load while playing is occupied with thinking about which buttons to use :c
Submitted
Complexity Shiftthanks for the feedback! Originally I had plans for each “station” to have some kind of indicator of its condition (there were 3 lights on the generation I planned to use for example), but eventually I decided to just have everything in the center because of time constraints, hoping someone would find it fun figuring out how each each stat changed (clearly it wasn’t fun) Game design is definitely something I need to improve in the future. Also the reason I went for the z x c controls (I shoulda combined z and x) is because I was fresh off of playing hollow knight and I thought it was best, I had no idea what you suggested even was an option😓 thanks again!
Great game, I think.. Was not able to come so far as I didn't understand what to do.. Might have skipped to reed too though :/ But I love the graphics but would love more control knowledge here, maybe some hits after a bit of time. But overall, I think you have a great game, just need people to playtest it to get alot of perspectives on it :) I will give it another try when I have the chance and can play it a bit longer and with more chill. But nice game and keep it up! :D
Submitted
Cubic GhostPuzzleI honestly didn't expect to get whole lot of game time out of this but I stand corrected. It's an advanced game of "spinning plates" and I love it. Can be quite challenging (I got stuck on "Dank Depths", day 7 I think), but captivating try to balance everything just right to make it through. Well Done!
Submitted
Am I Seeing Things?Pretty graphics. There is a lot of back and forth between the same situations, but I think the setting on a submarine fits that fairly well, given it is naturally a cramped space. Throughout the game I kept thinking it's not the heart rate that'll kill this guy its the smoke and CO2 from the extinguisher. Overall it's well put together and a decent challenge, GJ.
Submitted
Dream ScapeWay. Too. Difficult. This is the first game in this game jam I've played I'm not going to finish.
I'm clearly missing some kind of hidden mechanic strategy, but I've tried I think it was day 9 (first non-tutorial for torpedoes) like 4 times, I couldn't get through. It's just too much, and I can't imagine how much harder the levels are after that.
At first I was going to leave a comedic "Please for the love of god get me a new sub.", but genuinely, with the stress the game introduces I got extremely frustrated with the mechanics. Why isn't the button that drops things the exact same as the button that picks things up? You can only carry one thing anyway!
Please keep in mind that the player does not know what you know, the game will always be unfairly easier to the developer. Players don't know the hidden mechanics. They don't know if it's smarter to keep something burning, only to fix it later. Or if they should even bother with the torpedoes. And forcing them to go through it by trial and error (instead of a more direct UI, or not being able to repair anymore when something is at 100) is extremely disheartening to anyone who isn't a tryhard.
All that harsh critique aside. This game is flatout gorgeous, I enjoyed the story, and felt like it could've been taken further, though perhaps it was, I will never know, as I can't finish the game.
Submitted
Accident at Faux Passoh my god why didn’t I make the drop the same as the pick up button… not allowing to fix after 100 is also something that I probably coulda easily implemented 😭. Thanks for the feedback genuinely, I had playtesters play the first few 5-6 levels but didn’t have time for the last ones, so my balancing was all wonky (because I could pretty much 1-try everything). My intention for the game design was for players to slowly realize which things set on fire more often, which don’t so they can balance leaving fires on, putting things out, repairing etc. I originally planned 22 levels for a smoother difficulty curve, but I have kind of an unhealthy urge to make my jam games hard(it’s something I’ve noted to try not to do next jam). Thanks again, and I’ll check your game out when I can!
Really challenging game, but you build it up nicely! I wasn't able to finish the game yet though :). The graphics very well made.
Submitted
Witch is reallove the pixel art of this game. the game also feels really well made and polished.
Submitted
Claude OculosVery well polished game! The UI click noises were great and the graphics, in general, were really really nice.
Submitted
Panic PlexI really enjoyed playing this game, it all felt very polished. The strongest suit is it's graphics, I very much liked the art style, especially the color palette of the background. The gradually increasing difficulty and the introduction of the new mechanics is also spot-on.
One thing I would change is to invert the movement of the day counter so it would add to the feeling of going downwards.
Submitted
Simulation SimulatorI had a lot of fun with this one!! nice difficulty ramp and I loved the level select and little blurbs before each mission. really polished and impressive for only a week, super well done!!
Submitted
GhostographExcellent game and unique concept! I loved the pixel art and lighting!
Submitted
Escape The UnrealThis game is superb!
There is nothing I could complain about on this game, it's lots of fun and challenging!
Although I wonder why you need to use the mouse to click buttons instead of pressing a button, at least for entering levels.
You already need to use buttons to move the ship, why do you then have to use the mouse?
It just doesn't feel right.
Other than that, this game is a must-play!
Submitted
To the SummitIs the game bugged for me? The arrow keys don't move the submarine for me.
Submitted
Great Grey Dreamless Sleep
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