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The boss thing was partly due to necessity (a jam probably isn't enough time to make four unique bosses) but it worked out well from a design perspective as well. I'm glad you noticed the backwards cast, I was proud of that detail.

I agree that activating the upgrade is a little awkward (some other commenters have brought it up as well), but it's how I tried to fit the game to the theme (you have to COUNT your DOWNs to trigger it), so I couldn't really bind it to another button. If this were a non-jam game I definitely would have had a different button for each.

Thank you for playing!

Probably not; I don't personally think the main mechanic is interesting enough that I'd be able to get a full game's worth of mileage out of it, and I have other projects I'd rather work on. That said, if you want something with a similar concept, you could try an older non-jam game of mine called Ups and Downs, which has a similar gravity-switching mechanic (Downcast's mechanic is somewhat inspired by it.)

Thank you for playing!

Thank you! The flying monsters (which are referred to internally as "Mouthballs") are probably my favorite thing in the game art-wise.

Although I personally found it a bit tedious, I think that's just a matter of it not being my kind of game; I can appreciate the simplicity and "satisfying-ness" of the mechanics, and how well the tone is set.

I like the music and visual effects, although there were times when the visual effects made it hard to tell what was going on. It's also possible to get stuck against a platform (in the area with thin platforms above spikes, near the beginning) and you can't do anything except wait for the timer to run out.

How do you know there isn't a secret to find? Maybe it's just very well hidden.

(Joking, sadly; I did think it would be interesting to add a secret area or two but in a jam there usually isn't time for extra stuff like that...)

Thank you for playing!

This was really good! When I was told that the mines "reset each night", I thought it would be a roguelike like Spelunky, using my abilities in a randomly generated cave each run. I was slightly disappointed when I realized it was a linear series of steps; my main criticism is that sometimes the next step is too obvious and straightforward ("get these exact ores and buy the upgrade that lets you pass this exact obstacle to continue"), but there were some moments that made the mechanics into an interesting puzzle, like (spoilers) digging out the ceiling to make room to dash over the tall ledge just down-right of the starting area. So, my main feedback would be to have fewer obvious solutions and more puzzle-y moments. I also liked how the ending was a sort of gauntlet where you had to use every upgrade you'd gotten.

I felt that the minigames got a bit tedious after repeating them several times, but playing a mini-jam as part of the jam is a really fun idea!

My intention was that that was the "count down" part - you have to "count" your "down"s to trigger the upgrade - but to be honest I'm not really happy with it either. I wanted to create situations where it would become part of your strategy and you'd have to plan around it, but in practice you can kind of just spam it.

Still, thank you for playing!

Thank you for playing!

The HP bar thing should be fixed now - it was bugging me too. I believe it was only an issue in one room (the "central" room of the upper area, accessible soon after you get the upgrade), so I moved the platform there up by one tile.

I have to agree, the current systems could use some tweaking for less confusing mechanics. I attempted to balance the difficulty as you suggest using a system called "complexity"; each mechanic that gets generated is labeled with a complexity based on the behaviors that make it up, and mechanics and levels with higher complexity get pushed to the end. Ideally this would mean that the first few levels would be "antepiece" levels that introduce you to a mechanic in the simplest way possible, but in practice it doesn't seem to work too well; perhaps the numbers simply need adjustment.

(I should point out, though, that the 150-move puzzle doesn't necessarily mean you need 150 moves to beat it. A lot of those 150 inputs during generation involve aimlessly wandering around and bumping into walls and such. A 1-or-2-move puzzle would probably be won on the first turn.) 

Thank you for your feedback!

Golemancer is a free isometric strategy roguelike where you'll need to build up a team of golems to defeat hordes of monsters. Recruit new golems by bringing statues to life and use scrolls to enhance their skills!

The v0.2 update features several new mechanics, an overhaul to the way turns play out, five new golems, six new enemies, and some other changes too! A full changelog can be found here.

Try the game out for yourself here. Please let me know what you thought with a comment, and follow me if you want to be notified about new devlogs or updates!

This banana keeps saying my BEAUTIFUL artwork looks like a trumpet...

This is a really fun idea and great execution!

The puzzles in this game are really interesting ways of playing with the theme! The fact that it's grow/reset instead of grow/shrink adds some variety and prevents the puzzles from being too easy. I especially like the final level twist.

This is a really cool idea! I like the dedication to emulating the old PC graphics, and the detail of how the text auto-wraps in one level. My only criticism is that it's a little too easy to accidentally squish the player with a misplaced window.

Thank you for playing! I'm glad you liked the graphics and screen transition, because I wasn't too sure if they had come out well.

Thanks for playing! I enjoyed watching your video. Having rewards for battles is something I plan to add in an update.

Against the boss, I would recommend killing the Rats as quickly as you can, since the Rat King will keep making them stronger and they can quickly get out of hand.

Thank you for the feedback!

I think Snipe stands out a lot because every other method of attack works only at close range, which leaves you vulnerable to counterattack. Line-of-sight is a change I had considered making, so I may do this in a future update. But I think the real problem may be the nature of the basic Step/Strike, and how so many units know it or some variation.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the game!

Thank you for the feedback! This move-or-attack dilemma is a flaw I've noticed in the game as well. 

As it currently is, if you wait a turn, the enemy AI will have them simply walk towards you, allowing you to hit them. But if they were smart, they wouldn't do that, and they'd wait for you to approach them instead - resulting in a stalemate where no one wants to approach first.

In future updates, hopefully I'll find a way to resolve this design problem!

Thank you for the detailed feedback! I had noticed some of these issues myself, but it's good to know that they aren't just in my imagination. (In particular, I find it annoying when the game offers me nothing but battles many times in a row.)

The AI and path generation are both very primitive in this version - I plan to improve them both in the future. I'm glad you enjoyed the game!

In this isometric strategy roguelike, you'll need to build up a team of golems to defeat hordes of monsters. Recruit new golems by bringing statues to life and use scrolls to enhance their skills!

This game is in open beta, so currently only the first area is included. As I keep working on the game, I'll share updates and discussion posts on devlogs, so make sure to follow those if you're interested!

Play the game for Windows or in the browser here:  https://brian-nether.itch.io/golemancer

In this fast-paced arcade game, your gun doesn't harm enemies directly. Instead, you'll need to manipulate their gravity to send them to their doom, and keep an eye on your own gravity to find safe footing in a constantly-changing arena!

This game can be played for free in the browser.

This is a cool idea and a really fun game!

Extract the .zip file, then copy the folder that was inside it to your Baba Is You levelpacks directory.