Nice game! I don't know if I missed something, but I couldn't evade the monsters attacks. Beside that, it was a nice atmosphere, with good sound and animation, congrats!
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Branch of Omen's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Graphics | #3 | 4.333 | 4.333 |
| Audio | #6 | 3.750 | 3.750 |
| Overall | #7 | 3.714 | 3.714 |
| Accessibility | #9 | 3.417 | 3.417 |
| Controls | #19 | 3.458 | 3.458 |
| Originality | #22 | 3.667 | 3.667 |
| Fun | #22 | 3.375 | 3.375 |
| Theme | #26 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
Ranked from 24 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Godot Version
4.2.1
Wildcards Used
Trash Everywhere
Game Description
A short horror game about a girl trying to recover some photos from her great-grandparents' estate.
How does your game tie into the theme?
The candle is used to illuminate the scene...the more candle you've exhausted, the darker things become! Creatures shape shift and become dangerous as it gets darker.
Source(s)
N/A
Discord Username(s)
gammagoat1990, kaishido, mehfruits, BackAt50ft
Participation Level (GWJ Only)
12
Comments
This is a sidescrolling pseudohorror in which you ignore the things trying to hurt you, look for a key, health, and candlelight, get to the picture in the attic, and then leave.
Competently done, but horror generally permits you to be scared while progressing. I found that I couldn't progress at all without going through the monsters, so I ended up ignoring them while exploring. Luckily for me, I found the health and candlelight, meaning that I would make it to the end.
There are lessons to be learned from this. Take stock, and come back in January!
I appreciate you making the effort to play and rate every game this jam. With respect, your standards you're imposing on people's 8-day jam games is incredibly off-putting, not supportive like you may think it is. I am sure you mean well, but it is coming off as elitist and condescending. Take stock of your attitude, and come back in January.
Wow incredibley polished, everything fits as if it was from the same world/setting, I especially like the menu theme and the poem at the start, the pixelart is very detailed and cute. I guess the only thing I can say is that it ends in a weird state, I can only restart with f5 which isnt a huge problem. Great music and safe room music, same for the sfx, good job!
Submitted
Lights Ghosts and SpikesI like the ever present and dwindling candle in the UI - it really adds to the tension as you're reminded of your limited resource. I did find it slightly problematic that the candle was constantly lit, as it feels like I am being forced to move along the game instead of having the chance to explore the room and soak in the ambience. A possible improvement for the candle mechanic may be having the option to choose to put out the candle to conserve it for later and then relight it with another limited resource (e.g. matches) to add to the resource management aspect.
I'm not sure if there was an in-game effect, but does sprinting affect the rate that the candle burns down? It could affect how a player deals with the second and third stage creatures as well as general exploration.
I like that the candle affected the enemies' behaviours depending on how bright it was burning. The third form of the the creatures did feel impossible to dodge though, so I did feel like I had zero chance of surviving when going through long chains of rooms where there were no candles. The animations for the transformations were really well done, as well as the accompanying sound effects.
I like the "safe" room and the alternative music it has. It reminds me of the Resident Evil safe rooms. There appeared to be a hidden doors throughout the manor, but I couldn't find a way to reveal them - were there more areas planned initially?
It feels like a demo for a much larger survival-horror game. Its a good setting with a fitting mechanic and suitable protagonist. The candle itself could open up a range of puzzles and interactions within the game world itself.
A short game about fetching a photo within an ill-lit manor.
Submitted
LighthouseThank you for playing and leaving a very detailed review! I didn't have time to balance how long the candle stayed lit with the thresholds the the enemies transformed in, if only there had been 2 more days! Extinguishing and relighting the candle sounds like a neat idea for sure. Sprinting did not effect the actual amount of wax decreasing, but I did have the candle flickering rate change with the walk vs run speeds. I could have probably had fewer enemies to allow for a bit more exploration, something that I'll certainly consider if I decide to continue this project. Resident Evil had a massive influence on the design of this game, from the idea of safe rooms to the piano easter egg in the stairwell, I've always wanted to pay homage to it in some way.
As for the hidden doors, each door has a corresponding switch. One is in the hall on the opposite side of the first floor, and the safe room switch actually has a polarity. If left alone, the safe room near the attic key will be open. If you flip the switch on the third floor, that safe room opens instead, which is a mechanic I couldn't use more cleverly in time.
There seems to be some interest in this being developed further which is truly inspiring. Thank you again for playing!
The game was very enthralling. I was literally on the edge of my seat lol. The music definitely helped to set the atmosphere. It was fun exploring when I still had candlelight left but I kind of softlocked myself by going the whole loop and not leaving any candles behind. The exploration reminded me of when I played Castlevania: SOTN. Very good!
Submitted
IcyAn indisputable work... a very engaging adventure that fully captures the theme of the jam. I played the game till the end. Compliments to the team that developed this concept, and best wishes in further developing it... well done.
Submitted
Spot the JunkVery solid pixel art and music as always! I especially liked the character designs.
Submitted
Red SilverWow I am impressed of the work got into this game. The sounds and graphics fit perfectly together. It was fun to find all the switches. I found it a little bit to easy but better to easy as to hard.
Submitted
LightMinerThis is a really good and polished entry with very well made art, music and atmosphere! Nothing much to say beyond well done! I finished it and loved the attention to details. I was hoping there was a way to restore health & candle and there actually was! And I loved how the enemies got tougher with less light.
Submitted
Light Lane JumperLove it. The pressure of limited light I was unsure of at first but watching the monsters change shape in front of me when it got low enough was cool to see. I was expecting more when I did run out of light, that felt a little lack-luster, would have liked a final form for the monsters that really ramped them up.
Otherwise fantastic entry and great game, would love to see a larger version of this.
Submitted
Hoard the Lighti jumped off my chair with the first monster and then again when he do the metamorphosis thing... it was excellent. i love this side scroller game. Couldn't figure out how to pass the first monsters. I took a bit of damage but could over run them.
Submitted
Monster's PathI like the atmosphere and how the monsters change depending on your candle level, great work!
Submitted
The Night is DarkReally reminds me of clocktower I think it was called. Just missing a guy in tiny shorts chasing you with scissors
Submitted
Dungeon Janitor
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