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At the Mountains of Madness is one of my favourite Lovecraft's stories, so it's really nice to see a game inspired by it.

The architecture was weird and eerie, I liked it, as it creates a nice atmosphere for a horror game. It also had some interesting mechanics, like using the ladder to reach far away areas or the pick to break the ice. The lore bits were really nice too, and it was well thought that you could write them down to check them later.

Some feedback:

  • The collisions of the stairs were strange: it didn't let me go upstairs sometimes.
  • Pausing the game to explain the controls was immersion breaking. Maybe is there a more subtle way to explain them?
    • With in-game notes (maybe they are a bit immersion breaking too though)
    • A smaller popup in one corner of the screen
  • I felt that there were too many equipments from the beginning, so starting the game with that many options was a bit confusing. Maybe you could can pick new items while exploring the ruins and add them to your equipment instead?
  • I forgot to pick up the ladder and I couldn't go back to get it again as there was a small wall that was preventing me to do so. Having to take care of your equipment is a really cool mechanic, but it could break the level design easily!
  • Using the ladder was a bit clunky sometimes. That is not bad by itself though, as it could be really interesting to have to use the ladder while something (aka Shoggoth) is chasing you, for example.

It was a really nice demo! It has a lot of potential to become a cool Lovecraft inspired game. Looking forward for more updates!

I forgot to mention, but I think it would be better that the ladder is limited to the areas that you need to use it. And/or maybe that you didn't need to select the inclination. If you could use it everywhere, it could easily break the level design or make players stuck on some places.

And mostly for your ease mind too, as it sounds like a pain to program that!

(+1)

My first test was with limited areas for the ladder, but it ended up being a mechanic a lot less interesting according to the early feedback I got. The programing has being a personal hell for me, but it is making the game more interesting, so I intend to keep polishing it until it gets to a better point. Thanks for the feedback!

(+1)

I would agree with you for another game. But in this one, you are an explorer, so, making people responsible for their equipment is quite a good aspect (in my opinion). The same is true for the limited pages you have at your disposal. It suits pretty well.

(+1)

I agree! Having to be responsible for the equipment was a really cool mechanic. It feels like you are a real explorer.

My feedback about that was more about it being a tricky mechanic to design, as the player could get stuck easily if they forgot the equipment in a unreachable area.

But definitily it's a mechanic that is worth polishing, as it makes the game more interesting.

(+1)

Aaah, I see ^^

(+2)

Thanks for the feedback! This section of the game is actually not the beginning, so there is actually a progression for getting each of the equipments (I made the demo this way so the player can have a little taste of each). About the rest, it has all gone to my list of things to polish, thank you very much!