itch.io

thank you for the thoughtful review! the idea of certain objects making noises was one that i REALLY wanted from the start, but also one that was very difficult to implement and that i did not have any time to figure out what to do with after it was there. in hindsight, perhaps it should not have been a feature at all lmao. i think looking at your review and some of the others, the couch probably should've been another hiding spot, seeing as the levels were pretty hard. as for the bookana, it's supposed to be placed in the shelf in the hallway, but i can definitely see why you would be lost. the game doesn't really tell you much.

thank you for the detailed review!

i did get quite a few complaints about the gameplay not being explained properly, so i understand your frustration. this game definitely could've gone through a few more rounds of playtesting. the enemy only detects you if you are both in the same room; so if you are in the kitchen, but he is in the living room, he will not see you even if you are on the same floor. this wasn't explained very well, however, so it's definitely something to improve next time.

crafted items can only really be placed in specific places. in the first level's case, it can only be placed on the shelf to the right in the hallway. i really wanted to add more clear visual cues so you'd know where to place it, and also to provide more places to put such these objects in general. sadly, due to time constraints, this was what we ended up with lmao. i think my thought process at the time was that it would make sense to place the book + banana combination somewhere near where the book originally was, but obviously that was not very clear.

i think most of your issues come from these two problems. the fact that some systems were not explained properly led to you not being able to explore the house properly and understand some other mechanics (like more than 1 hiding place, the several different combinations you can make, the routine of the human and how to follow it, etc). also btw, the other levels take place in the same house, just with a different set of routines for the human.

again, thank you alot for your review, i definitely agree with you on the camera being too slow, and the UI being a little out of place. you made a really cool game and i'm glad that on some degree, we were both able to help each other :)

review is gonna be a little brutal because you asked for it lmao but i want you to know that i really loved the game and instantly thought it was very impressive. thank you for giving me the change to play, and well done on making it in such a short time!

LOVED the intro and the text presented there and was insanely hyped when the game loaded in and i got to see the amazing visuals! i was instantly reminded of doom ;) the recoil from the gun was a really fun and creative touch. i also really appreciated the thought that went into the tutorial: how short it was, how it didn't pause the game, how it let you figure out what you needed to do, how it only progressed when you did the thing you were asked to do. like those 5 seconds were enough to get the controls across to the player in a really fun and intuitive way, and i really appreciated that! 

i liked the player controller system, but i did feel like it needed a lot more tweaking. for one, the movement with the scroll wheel was too slow, and turning around was WAYYY too difficult for a game with a combat focus where aiming was crucial. 

coupled with the difficult movement and unusual control scheme, the game gets too difficult way too quickly. i couldn't get through the level directly after the elevator for that reason (along with others); it's fun to shoot enemies, but it's not fun to shoot 5 all at once when A) the only enemy you had encountered before was one that didn't move or shoot, so didn't give you the practice to deal with 5 at the same time. B) you couldn't adequately turn around in time. C) you instantly felt crazy when the difficulty spiked so quickly lmao. 

going back to the start of the game, the little doorway that you need to get through as soon as the game starts was a little too tiny for the wheelchair to fit in comfortably, even when using the scroll wheel for more fine tuned control. this issue can also be applied to how thin the gap between the elevator ramp and the wall was when backtracking after falling, and how tiny the elevator entrance was, and how small the ledge of the elevator was.

the elevator ramp itself was a really cool idea, but introduced too early in the game because of how much control you need to have the wheelchair placed correctly, then appropriately fire the gun in the right angle, then stick the landing, and then also manage to enter the elevator doors.

combined with the previous problem of how annoying the backtracking was, the entire thing slowed down the momentum of the action, and took a little of the excitement away as you were left trying to battle against the controls.

i think the main issue here is the sudden difficulty spike. after that, the second biggest thing is that you feel like the game is working against you with the first obstacle being a direct test of "how well do you know these controls" and "how well can you navigate these tight spaces". if these problems are fixed, i definitely feel like this could be a much less frustrating experience!

again - well done, this was quite a special game and definitely one to remember.

means alot to hear this from someone who made a game that i also really enjoyed!

tough game but SO charming and i think the fact that it's difficult works in its favor. it really reminds me of old Friv games that i used to play over and over again until i won! the art and sound and everything really are so charming so well done on making such a creative game :)

yeah sadly, it does seem like the lack of a tutorial or such is most people's biggest issue with the game. thanks for giving it a try either way!

this was fire! the premise of the game is very silly and that's exactly why it works so well. the minigames were generally great but the arm wrestling one had no controls or such so it took some experimenting to find out that i had to press space. well done tho, great game.

thank you :D

incredible game, honestly. first genuine horror entry that i've seen and a good one at that. i liked the pacing of the game and how the text messages never interrupted the gameplay. i like the sounds and music; they're always a very effective way at getting the tone and atmosphere of the game across and they did it very well. it was a little repetitive seeing as the room was kept the same each and every time. perhaps some moving furniture would've kept the player more engaged, but that is definitely a minor issue. well done on making such a great game :)

neighbours from hell was genuinely my entire childhood! i'm so glad i was able to remind you of it. i think if i could rework the game, i'd add some more instructions on what to do and how to do it as it seems the help text did not offer enough help. as for the pixelated art style, it works for some and doesn't for others ;) thanks for playing, i really appreciated your review.

thank you! :)

i liked the animation of the enemy looking for you over the bushes, it's a cute addition to a game with very solid art already. well done :) 

of course! it's a little late here so i'll rate it in the morning, but it does look very interesting. here's mine:

https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-15/rate/4311360

i love your totally original & very creative idea. it's pretty late rn so i'll rate your game in the morning! here's mine: 

https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-15/rate/4311360

i'll def check it out in the morning, here's mine!

https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-15/rate/4311360

it's pretty late here and i got to sleep, but i'll def rate yours in the morning, haven't seen a single fps so far in this game jam! here's my game, be brutal please.

https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-15/rate/4311360

thank you :)

this was amazing and i loved the ducks ;) the guy going 'oh' in the gas station was terrifying and i thought for sure things were going to go in a horror direction but i was wrong lmao. great game, the atmosphere was unreal!

yeah i would say that was definitely my biggest issue with the game when testing it out (after the buggy human AI, took some time to fix) but ran out of time to improve it any more. thanks for checking the game out!

i appreciated the fps counter on the top, it was a small but nice addition to the game. i ran it on my laptop that usually hates 3D games with proper graphics but it ran pretty well! the island has a very mysterious vibe around it, and the letters add to the intrigue. audio was great as well, and i loved that the letters were hand-written (also loved that there was text underneath to make sure i understood, came in handy a few times haha). well done!  

i did restart and come back!! it was genuinely magical and i loved the animation on the giant spider and the chirp of those flying creatures haha.thanks for letting me know how you did it. it wasn't buggy at all in my case ;)

thanks for playing!

this is FIRE!! the art style is amazing and the characters have a lot of personality. i loved how each character had their own frame outside their art when speaking it was a subtle but really noticeable detail. if i could drop a suggestion i'd say the feedback for pressing a button on the beat correctly was a little unclear, there wasn't a noticeable sound or reaction beyond the text and i feel like a more in your face response would've made it more engaging. great work tho i love the game :)

amazing game and i love the idea behind it! i read the previous comment and i think the changes you made and the extra instructions added helped alot! it was clear to me what to do and how to interact with everything, and again the idea was really interesting. well done!

a polished experience throughout. i loved the minigames and how they were integrated into each level. i loved the sounds as well, especially since i feel like in games like this, sound can add alot to the experience. i didn't run into any bugs throughout, and i found it to be a very smooth experience. the art was spectacular as well, and i could see your work reflected in how detailed it was, and in how many well-designed characters there were!! i think the only thing i can think to say is to perhaps decide on a specific art style to go for and stick with it. either to make the entire game pixel art, or hand-drawn, or to find a way to better integrate them together, as it did disconnect me a little from the experience when the characters would pop up and i would be taken out of the pixel art style. either way, well done on making such a great game in such little time :)

i got so excited at seeing the opening cutscene; i think it's the first time i've seen a cutscene in this game jam. the idea for taking photos really incentivizes  you to look around and explore the amazing world. the crab moving was INSANE, and the progression of your reaction to him waking up was really well done. everything i did felt like it had an impact and that felt amazing. i did get stuck while falling off the cliff with the jellyfish though. out of curiosity, how were you able to identify what objects were in frame of the camera so you could display the appropriate messages and advance the cutscenes?

hi!! your game looks very interesting. the mushrooms on the cover remind me of skyrim. here's my game:

https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-15/rate/4311360

reviewed and commented! well done, great game :) here's mine:

https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-15/rate/4311360

THIS IS FIRE!!! the music goes so hard and the gameplay really works well with the music. well done! it was a little difficult knowing how close i should be when opening the children's cages so i don't have to restart and do it again, but that was a very minor issue. if i could add something to the game, it would probably be more sound effects! hit sounds and attack sounds and damage sounds and maybe even some screen shake to really show you the oomf of the attack. either way though, great game!

the styleee the music!! this game just oozes classic jazz i love it

i love how no instructions were given at all. it led to the intuition of going towards what felt was the most interesting thing in sight.i do have a suggestion though: it doesn't feel very rewarding to actually get to the point you were walking to the entire time, and walking in itself feels a little repetitive. by adding more interesting audio (footsteps, music change for when you reach the goal) or some other indicator, it might help lessen the repetitiveness. good work!

THE INTRO WAS AMAZING the entire game looks amazing and i love your interpretation of the theme! well done

super creative idea i love it. i had a bug where i couldn't finish the puzzle because some of the puzzle pieces were offscreen but otherwise really pleasant experience

polished experience!! i loved the main menu and i loved the attention to detail with how smoothly the dialogue boxes popped up. well done :)

very strange game indeed. it's always very creative to hear voice acting/narration in videogames! good work :)

thank you, i'm glad you had fun :D

thank you for leaving such a thoughtful review! it's a little funny but this makes realize how important playtesting is for games; most of the things you noticed are things that i worked on and revised after i got a friend to test out the game! thanks again for your kind words

the player character had SO MUCH personality in his appearance, walk, and swagger i loved it!! the music worked really well with the visuals and i love the title of the game. great work :)

really creative experience and i loved the integration of the sound with the gameplay, it reminded me a little of the stanley parable, which is always a fun reminder.i'm unsure if the giant score block in the first part of the game was intended to take up such a big part of the screen, but it was difficult to see some of the platforms because it was blocking my sight. also, while jumping to next platforms, if i hit the wall while holding D, i would stick to it. other than that, great experience!

fun game! an enjoyable experience throughout but the intro does drag because of the constant dialogue interruptions, and having to restart them all when you die.