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A jam submission

bio-SyntheticaView game page

A dark sci-fi adventure set in a post-apocalyptic world. Wishlist on STEAM!
Submitted by GrayBardGaming (@GrayBardGaming) — 2 days, 4 hours before the deadline
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bio-Synthetica's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Sound/Music#14.6674.667
Art / Graphics#64.6674.667
Overall Fun#94.5244.524
Controls / UI#124.2864.286

Ranked from 21 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

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Comments

(+1)

This game is honestly really fun! The sounds, visual effects, and look of the environment allow the game to feel extremely immersive. Searching around the map for items is never boring as you will always find something interesting, either it be loot or a document. The combat is extremely fun with a very intricate and unique system. Elements allow you to combo certain attacks and allows for every fight to be done un unique ways. The game is a perfect combination of both creepy apocalyptic and fun fights. I'm excited for what the full game will have in store!

Developer

Thank you so much for playing and leaving great feedback. Glad you enjoyed the combat. I spent a lot of time coming up with the reaction abilities, combos, and overkill system. Just need to find a way to have combat make sense after that initially 20-30 minute opening hah

(+1)

this game is so cool! the oppressive atmosphere is really immersing, sound design and vfx interaction really pays off here. the story, and the way it’s told, are very compelling, i’m very invested in finding out what has happened to this world. bio-Synthetica reminds me of the game Lone Survivor in the way it juxtaposes high-fidelity audio with impressionistic pixel art to sort of coax the player into “filling the blanks” by imagining horrific things.

not to say that the combat is bad, but exploration mode is a way more polished experience. combat is fun (and i am a big fan of RPG combat in general), but i do have a hard time imagining how the integrated experience will work without breaking some of the immersion of pure exploration mode. i’d be happy to be proven wrong here!

playing on keyboard, the controls aren’t bad but maybe a little finnicky. in combat, having to press left/right to select enemies that were arranged vertically was a little weird, and i found myself wanting a little more control over documents and audio: specifically, i wanted to page back and forth through documents, and i wanted to be able to stop audio.

i thought the voice acted notes added a lot to the atmosphere, with the exception of the son’s scared voicemail left for his mother which sounded very forced and fake to me (no disrespect intended to the voice actor).

overall this was super fun, extremely well-polished, outstanding atmosphere, interesting combat system. i’m certainly looking forward to a full release~

Developer(+1)

I'm honored to have you try my game. Gulch Guardian's is a gem of a game, so thank you for trying out my demo. To address a few things below...

1. I really focused on atmosphere: sound design, lighting, timing of animations, etc. Glad I accomplished this.

2. Combat is definitely something I want in my game, and once you unlock it... it'll be more common. I think my opening just throws people off, so I need to work on introducing combat sooner but not take away that opening "mystery/atmosphere"... I plan to go back and forth with combat, exploration, atmosphere, etc. My motivation behind this is games like Last of Us. You have those moments of exploration and peace... but then you battle/fight some. I just need to find a way to really balance that... or have it make sense. I'm working on this part, though.

3. I actually plan to get a script made where you can press left/right OR up/down... plus a setting to reverse these, as well. Hopefully that'll give players more options and make enemy selection easier. As for documents. Not sure if I have to way to go back... or that would require more scripting. I could always add it. However, you can review all documents again by visiting the Database via the Ring Menu. I can look into going back pages for certain documents, though.

Thanks again for playing! Good luck with your game, as well! Really enjoyed it!

(+1)

5 stars across the board!
I agree with other reviewers, it's clear that the story and world development are a priority for this game, and the investment the developer has put into this game for voice acting, and design was worthwhile. 

I've played other games by this Dev and they've all been great fun with stories I really were invested in and found myself laughing with. This one looks to be the same, I'm really excited to see where this story goes and if R3-M1 (the little robot you become) gets to leave the facility or not. 

I found the gameplay to be a good challenge, not easy but not overly difficult either. The chase scene was exciting and some of the monsters/bosses do require some forethought and planning in your attacks. 

All in all, it's a great game and I'm so excited for the full release. Definitely wish listed! 

Submitted(+1)

A wonderful and very polished game, I give it 5 stars in all categories!

It is really engaging and has some nice, surprising moments.
Both the sound and the graphic design create a great atmosphere.
Small things (like footprints and sounds) help a lot to bring the game to life.

There were just a few things that I'd like to point out:

- In the combat part of the game I encountered a bug. I was dashing through one of the rooms in laboratory when "Loading Error    Failed to load: img/characters/!Bot_00_Broken_dash.png" message popped up. It was popping up every few seconds and blocked loading of the next room. Restarting the game helped.

- changing targets in battle wasn't very intuitive for me - left and up arrows switched the target to the lower enemy, and right/down arrows to the upper one. I feel like it would work better reversed.

- I think that putting EXP count in the same corner as the rest of the HUD would work better. I found that that number is shown on the screen only after defeating the Brute, I didn't see it earlier because of this.

Despite these few small things I don't hesitate to give it the highest rating, this game definitely deserves it. Really great job! Wishlisted. :)

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for trying out my game, rating, and leaving feedback. I really need to start playing games again, and yours is one of them. I got behind working on my game's update, so I'll put yours at the top of my list since you took the time to play mine. Thank you! :-)

Thanks for reporting that bug. I know what's causing it, and that's an oversight on my end. I can easily fix it, too.

I'm actually going to request a script to make targeting enemies in combat better. It does feel like it's in reverse order. I'm going to have it flip. That or give a "target select" option under settings.

Good suggestion on EXP. So, you think it would look better in the upper left side?

Thank you for the kind words on my game, feedback and for taking the time to play it. I'll talk to you more on the server! :-)

Submitted

It was a pleasure! :)

Yes, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to move EXP to the upper left side, there are not many informations in the HUD anyway. All of them would be gathered in one place and I think it would make it easier to see and read (unfortunately, I can't do that for my game because there are too many things to show the player).

Do you mean some Discord? I have to say that I've never tried using it, but maybe I should try it sometime. Until then, I'm available on the Twitter every day :).

I will be very happy if you try out my game. Can't wait to hear your opinion about it!

Developer(+1)

Oh, yeah, sorry. I thought you might be on the Indie Questing Discord server. You should join if you ever decide to try it out. Great community with a lot of friendly people. :-)

Submitted(+1)

I really enjoyed your game !
I had some resident evil in 2D kind of vibe, the atmosphere is great thanks to a perfect sound design and gloomy art !
I started with the exploration part and tried the battle part afterwards and actually this is the only drawback I could figure playing your game. The combat mecanics are really cool and I find strange to separate the two. Maybe the Lurker could come a little sooner and the combat would be integrated to the demo itself ?
So that you play like 20 minutes thinking this is a puzzle game and then BAM !

But I had a really good time playing it, loved the voice acted audio samples, they really get you into it !

nice job !!

Developer

Thanks for trying out my new demo! I need to find a way to introduce combat sooner without removing that initial opening ambiance. Once combat is introduced, it does stay pretty consistent... so... I am currently trying to come up with some ideas because I don't want players to think my game is only an atmospheric puzzle game.

I'm glad you still had a great time playing, though! I'm really happy with the voice acting and got lucky finding who I did. Thanks again. Appreciate you playing and the great feedback!

Jam Host(+1)

VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/mayshing_vtuber/clip/SecretiveTardyArtichokeHassanChop-GFq...

The chase scene making me solve puzzle was brutal. TvT It was a good challenge though. 

I overall really liked the exploration mode, how there is a lot to interact with and the sound itself is superb. 

UI wise, might want to make the Crafting menu's arrow a tag bigger so it's more readable, it took me a while to realize it has categories. I think the horror/thriller element did work out for me with the voices build up and then eventually being chased. 

Developer

Thanks for the feedback and playing my game. Really looking forward to watching your VOD. I'll do that later tonight once work slows down! I'll look into the crafting menu... though, you can't cycle left and right on that... or did you mean inventory, database, or another screen?

Jam Host

I figured out I could cycle left and right but it was unclear to me it's there, with a tiny tweak to the graphic it will be a lot clearer to players and save them from confusion.

Submitted (1 edit)

I played the demo on Steam. This is an awesome game you have there! I am happy I found some time to try it. The focus of the game is clearly the atmosphere and story, and it is handled very nicely. 

  • I would agree with other feedback, that the sound is a bit sharp at times
  • Takes some backtracking without an Instaport. Not too much, but level transitioning takes some time, and it adds up in the long run
  • Could only open two safes. I have collected two other notes (the ones that partly reveal the combination - I assumed they both hint on the same safe, but haven't tried it). Hunting for clues is fun. having "code" option before "explosive' option might be more comfortable - right now there's a risk to blow up the safe if you click to fast, even if you know the code
  • The game waits for a very long time before it starts actually revealing combat mechanics. I wouldn't say that's something you would do "by the book" - the first impression the game makes is story-only puzzle game (like To The Moon or OneShot) without any combat encounters. A person that has less that 30 minutes to check the demo out might get it wrong. Then again, there are games that play much bigger tricks on players like that one card game :) Since the focus of the game is much more on the story then it is on combat, this is probably not an issue
  • That being said, combat mechanics are quite promising, I see a lot of potential with debuffs and reactions
  • Bonus points for being able to befriend a cat
  • The game seemed to crash at some point when switching levels (happened some time after I purchased a pet item from the trader and returned back to the entrance of the factory)
  • I haven't found any ways to upgrade my basic attack yet, not sure if I'm supposed to. I'm quite curious what you have in mind in that regard - My initial thought was the progression is strictly horizontal (just adding more options), but some abilities did offer direct damage upgrades

You have a great game on your hands, keep up the good work! I really enjoyed my time playing it, and I wish you the best of luck!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for playing my game and the great feedback! I actually have a big update coming for my demo in the next week or two that address a lot below:

1. Settings Menu that allows you to control brightness, individual audio (music, sound) plus some additional options.

2. The demo is getting cut back a LOT. So... it will now have 2 modes: Exploration & Combat. Exploration will now end after the Lurker chase, and combat is a small section of the factory where you fight some battles, level up skills, can get the ARENA-bot and ends after you defeat the Armored Brute. I got a lot of feedback that my demo is too long... so I want to ensure people play it LOL

3. But now players who want to experience combat first, or sooner, can :-) It is a slow burn, but once you upgrade to the battle version... combat will be pretty consistent. I'm thinking of having the opening path from activating to Lurker be much faster, too. Maybe lock some of the doors... and you can't unlock them until later. That way players don't spend 30-60 minutes before combat.

4. You can't upgrade your basic attack (light/heavy) but you will be able to learn and upgrade all F.D.M. skills, plus you'll be able to get new guns with additional abilities in the full game. Maybe I will add some additional mech-blades, though... still up in the air on that one.

5. You will be able to pet the cat eventually, too hehe

6. Do you remember the error the populated when your game crashed? Or did it just crash with no error?

Thanks again for playing. I have a discord if you'd be interested in joining. Just hit me up on Discord (Gray Bard Gaming) on the server, and I can send you an invite. Don't want to post that in here, though haha I can join yours if you have one, too.

Submitted

There was no visible error or crash report, the game just stopped.

Sure, I've joined your discord and will be sure to check out what's new from time to time! I have a server too, but it is still empty, I did a basic set up but haven't put my mind into bringing up a community yet

Developer(+1)

OK, thank you. I'll keep testing and hopefully find out what happened there.

I am going through all submissions to make all developers aware of an important Google form I've made.

I'm joining the IQ folks to help organize smaller events in between the main FQ event in order to help prevent us from getting too many games in main events. Right now, I have a planned structure for these events but I would like to hear from everyone who was in this event in order to tune things better. The survey is a bit long, but it covers as much as I could think of. If you can take the time to do the survey by June 1st, I would immensely appreciate it!

You can find the form here: https://forms.gle/P9LPYwERhJtpZzteA

(+1)

Bio-Synthetica

Hi! I'm part of feedback quest and I reviewed your game. I'm a Illustrator and a Twitch Streamer by name of "ILYA_N_O_K". we met in mid stream. I'm glad you suggested your game.

I really want to play the game again. Hopefully next time I don't run into problems again when getting it ready.

-Main menu problem. But when you click the "Link" it goes window mode.

-No window mode

-No ESC button when you try to get to the menu. Only when you made a progress in the game

-problem running it in OBS-Stream software. Cant detect on game capture. window capture not working.

- I really like the atmosphere. but then I re watched the vod it was too dark for the viewers.
but for me as the player is comfortable with it because i adapted to the environment very quickly.

- It seems i cant interact to some dead humans or animals on the way to inspect what it was.

- The puzzles are really cool to solve. I cant do number puzzles so it was fun as memory game puzzle.

-Overall Really like it.

Thank you for the hard work!

Developer(+1)

Thank you for playing. I really enjoyed watching you play. I'm actually fixing most of your suggestions below with my upcoming update:

1. There will be a settings menu on the title screen and in game to adjust brightness, audio, subtitles, tutorials, etc.

2. FULL controller support.

3. Links will no longer change you to window mode. It'll stay in full screen.

4. Plus some balancing and adjustments to make gameplay a bit more clear, so players don't have to wander around as much.

I'm not 100% sure why OBS does that with my game. Looking into that.

Question on the dead humans or animals. Do you remember which one you couldn't interact with? I just checked and tested... and I could interact with all the corpses. I don't have dead animals in my game... I was a bit confused on that feedback if you don't mind clarifying.

Thanks for the compliment on the puzzles and atmosphere. I wanted to make sure the game drew players in with audio and the game's overall look. Glad I pulled that off. 

Enjoyed your stream and I'll be sure to catch another sometime. Thanks for rating my game and leaving feedback! <3

(+1)

Hi! I'm part of the Feedback Quest and reviewed your game. The VOD is up if you're interested.

LINK: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1821909169

To put it bluntly and to start off, I genuinely have not a lot to say about this game. Frankly... its Objectively perfect. I know my VOD may betray what I say but I had some time to think about it. Games like these take a lot of time and investment to play. There's build up, atmosphere and story. The small glimpses of story I got told a tale. I remember praising the visual story telling as well. The atmosphere and sound design, I literally can't praise it enough. Its so well done, so well thought out and so immersive, I just was in awe and felt dread a lot. Its amazing. 

Literally, the only gripe I had was the audio being too sharp for my ears and I got tennitis very easily. 

Overall, you shoudl be proud of what you've made. This I feel is a great game. A Platinum Standard for what a game should strive to be. I know I didn't get to the combat but I think from what I've seen the combat works well too but I doubt that's the big selling point. I feel the story, the atmosphere and such are the big sellers here.

Personal Score: 5/5. This game is perfect. I rarely say a game meets my Platinum Standard praise but I guess this does. Maybe I'm overestimating it but I still feel you have a Gem of a game. With the only real problem being its not for everyone. It certainly wasn't for me but I can see myself playing this on a Switch or something alone and just getting into it. 

Streaming has a bit of a problem where long, thought provoking games that take a slow burn to get, are usually harder to play and to display it in a way that's entertaining. This game is one of those games that deserves an investment of time to play and understand. Again do not let my VOD betray you. As a game to stream, this might not be the best but as a game to experience, this could hit something very very hard and I wanna explore that, not as Aurora the streamer but Aurora the gamer. 

Developer

Thank you so much for playing. I actually watched your VOD yesterday and really valued your feedback. It does have a pretty slow start, which I'm working on in my next update. I'm making quite a few changes to help build up to the action/combat a bit more:

1. Demo is getting cut back quite a bit. It's too long right now, so I'm breaking it up into two modes: Exploration & Combat. So, you'll be able to test and check out combat a lot sooner. Plus, less wandering and backtracking.

2. I'm taking safes out of the demo LOL And I'll be reworking them for the full version. The combinations are a bit difficult to figure out and they're spread out/mixed together. So, figuring out each safes combo is pretty challenging and frustrating right now. They don't need to be in the demo anyway, but they'll be in the full game.

3. I'm adding a bit more visuals to help with transferring the power from room to room. People get caught up on that part quite a bit. They don't realize they need to click the transformers per room, so I'm adding a small red light so those boxes stand out a bit more.

4. Setting Menu! I'm finally adding this so players can control the audio for music, SE, voice acting... plus a brightness setting, full controller support, and other features.

I also have tinnitus, so I understand how some sounds can trigger that and make it worse. I'm really hoping the audio setting will help. I might also turn down some of those higher-pitch effects. I really enjoyed your stream and loved the compliments you gave. I actually worked really hard on the audio and wanted to make sure that stood out, and you kept noticing that, so I'm glad it worked haha  I gave you a follow on Twitch and Twitter. Hope to catch you on stream again! Thanks again for playing and leaving feedback!! :-)

(+1)

Those are decent improvements. I feel like other streamers will be able to give more insight than I can. I personally don't find much fault in the game. Even the safes feel alright. I mean I couldn't figure out the code but given time or maybe some minor hint I could've. However I'm quite ok with a game like this so frankly just keep up the good work. Some of my chat have called your game, Soma but in 2D, which I agree. I consider that very high praise that you could achieve that. Frankly, please do hit me up sometime if you ever want me to try out the game more. I'm definitely waiting for the full game to play as well. 

Developer

I'd love that. I'll hit you up once I do my update when my demo is shorter and split up into choosing Exploration and Combat. Then you can give combat a try and jump right into it. :-) Appreciate those kind and encouraging words, too!

Developer

Quick question. I'd like to make a TikTok of streamer's reactions to my game to help promote it. Would it be OK if I took a small clip of your VOD? I'd be sure to give you credit in my TikTok, as well.

Honestly, feel free. A credit would be most appreciated ^^ ah but in the future for things like this or if you want me to help with anything on your game, feel free to hit me up on Discord. Its much easier and faster.

Developer

I wasn't sure what your name was on Discord and didn't want to randomly message someone. I didn't see a Luna Aurora or Luna on the server. I see an Aurora White... is that you? haha

(+1)

oh RIGHT my bad XD yeah tahts me but Mayshing is also the database to everyone so if there's someone you wanna find, She's your go to

Submitted

Atmosphere and Story:
- The atmosphere was really well done through the entire runtime, especially the first sections of the industrial area, a lot of the scares worked effectivly (fallen body, rat coming out of body's head, etc...) and the general sense of dreadness was ever present. The story was pretty clear from the start, but the intrigue comes from how did we arrive to this situation and what is happening on the outside world, combined with the fantastical anomalous elements makes for a really strong mistery and makes the plot constantly move forward, not wasting time and every area having at least a degree of importance. The personality of the protagonist was also very funny and helped release some of this tension, especially the moments when it got anxious and would move rapidly from one place to another. The only thing that kinda kills the atmosphere are the fullbright combat backgrounds, I think adding a vignette effect or lighting to these backgrounds would inmensely help them feel more connected to the overworld gameplay

Exploration:
- The objectives and path to follow were a little bit obtuse at the start, but after figuring how to get the HUD modification and getting access to the first explosive it was all smooth sailing, with tons of clear backtracking and some really satisfying even if simple puzzles.

Graphics / Music / Audio:
- The pixel art in display here is nothing short of amazing, everything combines perfectly and really delivers the horror style the game was striving for, with lots of creepy areas and scares with the clever use of audio cues and small pixel animations. The only thing that feels out of place are some of the combat sounds, which again makes it feel more disconnected from the overworld. I would suggest making them a little bit more metalic-robotic like, cause they feel a little too gamey right now.

Gameplay and Combat:
- Gameplay was pretty simple but functional and wasn't really the main focus for a big part of the experience, but the controls still felt very good to use and the collisions of the background items felt concise, as it was always clear were you could pass through boxes. The combat is kinda rough but fun, needs more polishing to make it the same level as the main overworld but is already on its way to be even better.

Thing I really liked but probably a lot of people didn't notice:
- The wet footsteps after going through a poodle.
- How every container has a different animation for scavanging scraps and other items.
- The little pieces of characterisation for the MC which can be pretty subtle.
- How you can interact with every small piece of the enviroment even if they don't work (like lightswitches).

Things that would improve the game:
- Combat polish, a little more guidance for early objectives, adding some extra variants of boxes so they don't repeat so much.

Bugs:
- The Lurker in the chase scene can grab you the moment it spawns.

Submitted(+1)

I think this is a serious top 3 contender for this jam, with an amazing presentation, tight controls, and a fun and diverse game loop.

Visuals and audio are on another level, polished, and well thought. The main char is amazing, I love its little quirks and personality. The voice acting is really good as is the writing.

Really enjoyed the exploration part at the beginning of the game, but the RPG aspect didn't really click with me (I just unlocked the Arena Bot, so I still have to test it).

My only feedback will be the disconnection between the exploration art style vs the RPG encounters: I think that something akin to Chrono Trigger, where the party battles right in the overworld, will benefit the game greatly.

Overall a great entry, keep up the good job. Gonna give it another go because I want to see what's next!

Developer(+1)

Hey! TYSM for trying out my game! Plus from the developer of Sliding Hero, which is also a serious contender for Top 3. I really enjoyed your game and still need to rate and leave feedback. I'll do that today.

The RPG aspect kicks in a bit more after The Lurker when you can start upgrading and learning new skills. However, I would say this is, probably, more an Adventure than an RPG. Did you know you can learn and upgrade your skills at the KARN arcade machine? I did have a few people that never clicked/didn't realize they could interact with that... so I might need to add a cut scene where R3-M1 approaches it and activates it.

Sounds like you've played quite a bit, though, if you got the ARENA-bot! My demo is a bit long, so I'm working on shortening it. So, you're playing the longer version before I do that update haha Thanks again for playing and looking forward to seeing what you do with your game, as well!

Submitted(+1)

I played for about half an hour, got past the dilapidated factory, and was wandering around after that.

I liked the audio tidbits and lore scattered around. It reminded me of Horizon Zero Dawn and learning about the backstory that way.

I found the screen to be way too dark, especially at the beginning before the flashlight. When I went to the second room, I couldn't even see my robot for a while. I think having the brightness a bit higher would be good.

The music was creepy, as was the sounds of looting the corpses. There was one where a rat jumped out I think, and that was creepy too. I liked the overall sounds and feel of interacting with things, like the squishiness of stuff, the little beeps the robot would make. Even the switching on the monitor and keyboard sounded great. I found a computer that wouldn't switch on, and the disappointed sounds from the robot was good too.

Overall, I think this game is great, esp for people who like this genre! I'm not a horror fan, and I kept playing for 30 minutes, so that's saying something!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for playing and the great feedback!

I'm actually added a settings menu to my next update, which includes a brightness option. There will also be full controller support and more settings you can adjust mid-game (like subtitles, tutorials, audio, etc).

I'll go give your game a try tonight and leave feedback. Thanks again!!

(+1)

Retro puzzle adventure hits the nostalgia chord. Sound design is phenomenal. Great world/lore building within your universe. Many small details like muddy feet or a little wave rippling in a puddle of water really brings this world to life. Lots of interactive moments and puzzles which spark curiosity and engagement. Only a few minor irritations such as the save points being widely apart from each other. Suggest to add a save point before any story moment that locks in the player for longer than 30-45 minutes. Blue button generator room just needs a short tutorial about buttons on the floor. Overall, outstanding development! Your team should be super proud

Developer (1 edit) (+2)

Thank you for taking the time to play my game and stream it on Twitch. Really appreciated all the valuable feedback. All of this will be taken into consideration for the upcoming demo update. Some stuff that'll be added very soon (plus a lot more):

1. Full controller support

2. More quantum crystals so you can teleport back to the lab to craft & save more frequently

3. I'm going to take your feedback for the blue button puzzle room

4. There will also be a settings menu where you can change audio volumes, brightness (big one), turn subtitles/tutorials on/off & more

I'm also going to take your (plus other) feedback to shorten the demo. It is entirely too long. I think I was trying to showcase enough to gain an interest and following: exploration, combat, leveling up, dialogue, etc, but most people won't sit around to play a 2-4 hour demo... so this is a big suggestion I need to figure out. I might split the demo up into 2 parts... opening/exploration & a combat module (for those interested in combat) - just to get a feel for it

Thanks again, and see you in future streams, man!

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

This looks like a very well thought out game. Nice main character, nice graphics, serious story. I dig the 2d pixel art and mechanics. Perhaps a bit too dark for my taste, and turn-based battles are not my cup of tea, but putting my personal preferences aside, you did a great job here.

I played for about 15 minutes but it was enough for me to see how the game works and feels. What I played was was very professional. 5 stars.

Developer

Thank you for playing! Really appreicate that, especially since you tend to not enjoy games of this genre. Turn-based combat isn't for everyone. I will say I feel mine stands out from most other turn-based RPG Maker games, though (if you ever decide to try again)... combat is a bit more slow, meticulous and strategic, you push and pull enemies row by row, and I have a reaction system where certain skills can build off one another for more powerful attacks and effects.

Really appreciate you taking the time to play, score and provide feedback. Thanks a lot! :-)

Submitted

I dont mind playing games that I dont like, as I know what is a "me" problem and what is the game's problem. Sometimes it's a matter of mood as well. I love the 16bit aesthetics and the dept in the story. I hope it does well on Steam :)

Submitted(+1)

Even easier and more entrancing in the 2nd playthrough. Never got lost and it has a really good vibe in how it slowly reveals what happened. Not much else for me to say except that I want to see the complete game eventually!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for playing. Was there anything from the first playthrough that made it more challenging? Anything in particular you think I could improve on?

And thank you! So happy to hear you want me to finish. That gives me the motivation I need. I plan to finish this jam, and then the next step is Steam Next Fest in June. Once I do Next Fest, the plan is to continue working on the game. I'm currently working on a demo update which will include full controller support, a settings menu, some balance with combat, more nano-mend drops, and much more.

Submitted(+1)

I think a lot of the items are a bit more costly compared to what it does in battle. It could probably be cheaper, have a stronger impact in battle, or possibly gain the crafted items in bundles. Maybe some of the visible encounters can be easier to avoid.  It seems like you're on your way to making a lot of changes though so I can give it another go when you got it to its next polish. Ooh Next Fexst, well I'm most likely gonna be there so good luck, and remember you only get 1 shot at it!

Developer(+1)

I'll see you there. Is your game on Steam? I'll be sure to wish list it if it is.

Submitted(+1)

I'll see Bio-Synthetica soon too! Ah my game isn't on Steam it's too early in development for me to try. Thanks though.

Submitted(+1)

Love it! Top marks from me, from the opening audio and 80s sci-fi movie opening to the tricky puzzles to solve. The old-school no-hand-holding approach is something I liked too. You help me understand the basics of the game, but let me know I've got to do the work from there on. 

Well done on a great game, can't wait to see where you go with it next!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for playing. You telling me how much you liked it really motivated me to finish. I wasn't sure how good I did, so I'm glad I did Feedback Quest. Out of curiosity, how far did you make it? Also... I'll be sure to check out, play, rate and leave your game some feedback, as well! Thanks again!

Submitted

I played for about 30 minutes

Submitted(+1)

Really, really fun game. Once you start you can't let go haha. The sounds are great and in theme. And the art is nice, cute on one hand and scary gore on the other lol. The way everything plays, the crafting, switching things up and getting info from the pc when you begin. The first tutorial screens too, get you in the mood for playing. Really something to follow! will keep playing and be waiting for the next updates!

Developer(+1)

Thanks for the feedback and really appreciate you trying my demo out! Glad you enjoyed the music and sounds. I really put a lot of focus on that to draw players in and get them more immersed in the dark, dystopian world. Hope you enjoy the rest of the game. I'll be sure to check yours out later today!! :-)

Submitted(+1)

Been playing for about an hour, and I just love it so far! Too bad I got caught by the Lurker in the room with the switches because I suck ^^;

Anyways, the overall dark and intriguing atmosphere can be oppressing at first (especially when the mysterious voices start) but never overwhelmingly terrifying, aside from a few kinda gruesome details. :p You just want to know what happened there and what those "things" are. It's not full horror game scary, and that's why I like it. Oh and you really feel for that poor little robot guy!

There is also a lot of attention to details: I love the fact that you have to search every nook and cranny to get items, components, docs, and clues to keep you going. Exploration is very well done, engaging and rewarding, and so is the crafting element. Upgrading the main protagonist seems really fun and I can only hope it'll lead to a lot of customization options later on.

Just a couple of things: It seems some passageways for doors leading south don't have an animation, you just step on a tile and get teleported. Is this a known issue? If not I can tell you where that happened.

Would it be possible to bind a controller key to open the ring menu? Just more convenient for people playing with a controller.

In any case I'll keep playing to see everything the demo has to offer, and I'll be looking forward to the complete game. Great job!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for playing, and glad to hear you like it. Really means a lot to me. Glad I was able to pull you in with the dark atmosphere. That's what I was going for, so I'm glad it worked haha

The game actually really opens up after the Lurker: combat, skill system, new abilities, etc. If you do play more, let me know if you run into any issues or need help? I can be your strategy guide, as well :-)

To address a couple things:

  • The door south doesn't have an animation, but I'm thinking about adding one for consistency purposes
  • Full controller support is not included in this demo, but I just got it implemented and plan to update the demo very soon
  • Additional content coming in updated demo: settings menu, new behavior system, lighting in combat, and much more!

Also... are you a streamer? And did you play on stream? If so... I'd love to come follow you.

Thanks again for playing and the detailed feedback. That's what I'm looking for to improve on my game further.

Submitted(+1)

Oh nice to know that the game opens up after the lurker! One more incentive to get past it and complete the demo! And no, I’m not a streamer, wouldn’t even know where to start ha ha, I’m a game dev too. I submitted Turn By Turn Villain for feedback in this jam ^^. Anyway I’ll reply in this thread with more impressions as I go further in the game!

Developer(+1)

Thanks! I'll give your demo a try for sure then! Appreciate the feedback!!