Some fabulous graphics on show here!
That was a massive lore dump in the intro and I found it hard to follow.
Great use of game juice!
I felt like you were introducing the first few enemy types too fast. Give me some time to get used to one before throwing the next one into the pot.
That chicken bomb is everything I ever wanted. However, the boss was too easy. I just walk up and spam attack, then I'm basically guaranteed to win. I'm also not sold on self-damage for the chickens.
A lot of the jumps felt like they were right at the edge of my maximum jump height and range, which didn't feel very good.
I appreciated your level design and room variety keeping me using my different abilities and the different challenges, keeps things from getting boring.
I missed the checkpoint before going into the boss room, lost all my progress since the beginning of the game, then didn't want to redo it all so I quit, Pro tip: force the checkpoint by placing the room immediately before the boss, not as an optional room to the left of the boss.
I'd prefer more checkpoints in general, but I'm also the type of player who is averse to super difficult games. If it's working for your target audience, then fantastic.
You either must've crunched like crazy, or Construct3 is super fast, or both. Either way, this is quite polished and one of my favorites.
Solid art style and gradual introduction of new mechanics. I also appreciated that rooms felt well-composed and mixed up which abilities I needed to progress. It's easy to get that wrong and let the experience become boring. Your monsters help mix up the pacing, too, and you do a good job introducing them with AB design. Skylar is officially my homie my life is better for it.
Not sure why the blood splatters bounce you high into the air. These could use another pass taking inspiration from Nintendo's tendency to make function follow form; something like a spring would read much better.
Your damage sprites are super cool, and I'd love to see this with more game feel stuff (particles, screen shake, explosions, more knockback, whatever makes sense in your context). Also, thank you for using fair hitboxes, that's often overlooked in game jams.
The lock and key layout in this is smart, as a lot of the times in these jam games, I'd hit a dead end and have literally no idea what to do. Yours was clean enough and limited my options just enough to give me something to try while still not feeling lost or restricted. Nice!
I wasn't a fan of the backtracking back from the portal/double jump as it's boring. In level design, my mentors taught me that if you need to send a player back the way they came, send them down a different route or change the level in some way to keep the experience fresh. I suspect part of the reason for the backtracking here is scope (can only do so much in a month), but something to keep in mind for future projects. (I'm glad you included the portal later on.)
I think the Bigoofy boss could use another iteration. All I need to do is stand where there's no hole in the ceiling and I don't get hit. One idea to improve this: you could start the battle this way to teach the players the basic strategy, then after doing some damage have it spawn shockwaves that travel the length of the floor. This would force you to have to dodge even when under cover. You could take it even further by introducing some sort of projectile to keep the player on their toes as to whether they need to jump or stay grounded.
Excellent eye signifier on the ghost boss. Loved that. This one was simple and proved a fun challenge.
I was going to complain that for a combat system this simple, the regular enemies with 3+ HP felt like too much unless you included a damage upgrade. Then I got the damage upgrade. xD Well done! I would've preferred you gave me a little more time after that upgrade to introduce even higher health enemies, though, so I could enjoy the power.
I truly appreciate your difficulty curve. It is measured and fair.
The map system is simple but conveys just enough to be useful when trying to figure out where to go next or secrets I might've missed. Designing a useful map system that doesn't get in the way is hard and I think this is the best I've seen in this jam.
Nice final boss design!
Fun little story overall with some really solid design choices. This is definitely one of my favorites.
Thanks for playing! The team had a blast making this.
Definitely agree that some of the metrics are off. I didn't have time in pre-production on top of my other priorities to write out official level metrics, so a lot of these were done in a shoot-from-the-hip, personal feel style which didn't always work.
So that I have data to help in my improvements on the polish build, which rooms were you having trouble solutioning?
We're delighted you enjoyed!
This is a very "jam" concept and I'm delighted you went all in on it. The result feels very unique and I enjoyed solving the navigational puzzles.
You may want to adjust so that it world swaps only on jump, not on button press. You can swap while in air.
I didn't finish because the amount of progress you lose by falling made me give up.
I didn't enjoy the part of this where I got stuck in floors or walls, but that's a tricky issue to solve if you want terrain to be different between the worlds.
Also, great lighting. 👌
Great story hook with an nifty style. I did have a hard time telling what was a platform, a wall, or a background though. There wasn't enough contrast between background and mid-ground.
I appreciated the slime enemy design, that's some of the best enemy design I've seen in the jam so far. The randomized throw direction and arc makes for an interesting challenge that leans into your jump mechanic. Plus, they telegraph well, so it feels fair. The hitbox on the projectile felt too large to be fair, though.
I really have no idea where to go after reaching the second room. I tried all the way to the right, but it's a wall. Falling down = death. I'm lost.
What a unique visual identity! Plus, a nice, juicy punch sound and some solid music. Nice!
I'm going to borrow a comment I'd made on another jam entry because it's relevant here, too:
The levels feel too bland gameplay-wise because I'm walking in a straight line too often and it gets boring. If you ever get the chance, studying AAA level design would be really useful here. One of the things they do is constantly mix up which direction you're moving in (literally breaking up straight lines), the context you're moving in (combat, stealth, town, climbing), and which movement mechanics you're using to progress (walking, running, crouching, jumping, climbing, etc.) This stops the player from tuning out due to repetition.
Also, 10/10 start screen. Loved that.
The art style and music are really cool in this. I liked the various effects you put on the player abilites, too. That kind of stuff often gets overlooked in a jam.
There wasn't enough contrast between backgrounds, platforms, and the character so I often had a hard time processing what I was looking at.
Some nifty camera transitions going on there! Nice.
The wall jump didn't feel precise enough for me to use reliably, which made it difficult to move upwards in some sections.
Combat looks cool and would be better with knockback (both self and enemy). It feels almost impossible to land a hit without taking damage.
I seemed to die when I still had health in my healthbar, so I'm really not sure what's happening there.
There's some cool stuff here! Thanks for making this.
This art style is FAB and the level art is great, too.
Your save mechanic was also AWESOME. 10/10.
The vent opening confused me because I thought I was supposed to go into it. I think you're trying to foreshadow the arrival of the scientist character. If the GBC supports screen shake and maybe some falling particle things, I think that would be more effective for what you're going for without confusion.
I think your background doors need better signifiers for which ones can and can't be interacted with. That was throwing me off in the beginning. (3D games signal this by either blocking unusable doors, or removing handles from unusable doors .)
Combat felt broken; my tailwhip seemed to do nothing. I don't know what's actually happening behind the scenes, but that's my perception as a player due to the lack of feedback on hit.
The levels feel too corridor-heavy and thus bland gameplay-wise. I'm walking in a straight line too often and it gets boring. If you ever get the chance, studying AAA level design would be really useful here. One of the things they do is constantly mix up which direction you're moving in (literally breaking up straight lines), the context you're moving in (combat, stealth, town, climbing), and which movement mechanics you're using to progress (walking, running, crouching, jumping, climbing, etc.) This stops the player from tuning out due to repetition.
Loved that you leaned into Die Hard but with cute animals. That's a game I didn't even know I needed in my life. With some additional level, mechanic, and sound effect work, I think this could be really cool.
Alas! I am unforgiven!
Definitely agree with you on the directional input; it needs some buffer time. It's on the list for our polish build.
If we ever make a commercial version of this game, we'll definitely include more platforming challenges. I'm right there with you. For this release, I had to ease players into trickier platforming sequences to keep difficulty manageable. Because it's such a short experience (and because of my choice to focus on varied gameplay for pacing / player retention), I couldn't really start doing tighter platforming until the end when player skill is high enough to compensate.
Thank you for sharing your experience with some of the narrative bits. I put a ton of work and iteration into those to make them as impactful as I could with the time that I had. There's more I plan to do to make them even better, but that'll be for the polish build.
Thanks so much for playing!
Way to make a 3D first person shooter in 30 days!
I feel like I'm unlocking upgrades too fast. The timing on the sequence where I have to hit 4 buttons in quick succession feels too tight and I couldn't do it.
This game won't start on Mac unless you download it through the itch app. Our game ran into the same issue. If it's the same cause, make sure you send the app to a compressed zipped folder before uploading to itch.
Great graphics, love the floaty Celeste hair. I wish I knew how to do that.
I appreciate the amount of attention you put into the level art as well as the dialogue.
Such a cool mechanic! I wish you'd introduced it in a more contained area, as it was overwhelming falling into the sky right out of the gate.
What a reveal on the shadow monster! Love that.
I feel that you're ramping up the complexity in the quantity and amount of enemies, as well as the mechanics too fast. I'm going to borrow a comment I made on another jam entry because it's relevant here, too, for solving this issue:
With something this unique, your average player will need you to start simpler, and very slowly ramp up the complexity. Portal is an excellent example. First room: walk through a portal; you win! Second room: grab a box and put it on a switch; you win! Third room: walk through a portal (at the right time), pickup a box, walk through the portal again (at the right time), put it on a switch; you win! It seems dumb when you look at it laid out like this, but there's a reason Portal is so widely acclaimed. By ramping up complex/unique mechanics over time, you ease the player into understanding the playspace possibilities. Then you can do all sorts of fun crazy stuff as the game goes on and player skill increases.
Also, please add an in-game tutorial for my sanity.
I really like this concept and world. I'd love to play a full version of this game if you choose to continue development.
Neat way to introduce the Gambit-style ranged attack! Also liked your character design and animation.
The ranged attack seemed superior to the staff attack in every way, which I wasn't a fan of. The staff doesn't seem to have any special effects and is limited in range while the Flight talisman is ranged so I don't have to put myself in danger, it seems to do the same amount of damage, and there's no limit to how much I can use it. Later, the Freeze talisman is better than the Flight one because it's effectively a one-hit "kill" by removing the danger. (Although, you can't aim in multiple directions, which doesn't make sense from a gameplay standpoint as I can aim omni-directionally on the other attack which looks and feels the exact same.) Typically when doing weapon design where you have multiple choices, the goal is to have interesting tradeoffs that make each suited to a particular set of playstyles or situations. Right now, each one is effectively just an aesthetically-unique "key" to open its matching lock. There's an opportunity for more engagement by exploring your system design further. Alternatively, just do straight upgrades instead of a weapon select system.
I enjoyed your rock enemy with the fast, hard-to-dodge projectiles, but with clear and fair telegraphing. That was solid design work that created fun challenge. Whenever I failed against these guys, it felt like my fault because of your telegraphing. Well done, it's a small thing, but I haven't seen a lot of people do that kind of thing in this jam.
Side note: I wish I could use frozen enemies as cover from their projectiles, that would be super cool.
The slime guitarist boss on the other hand felt unavoidable and not fun to fight. If there is a way to dodge, it's not clear to me while playing, so you'd need to find a way to teach this.
Your blood locks (sections where you need to kill all enemies to progress) need signifiers. I'm trained in the beginning of the game that switches open doors, not killing enemies, so it's confusing and unintuitive whenever I get stuck in a situation with a blood lock. Including a number by the gate, some form of light-up locks, or something to convey this would help tremendously.
I like the miner boss fight design significantly more than the slime, but felt it had way too much health for how difficult it is to hit.
I enjoyed the weapon effects on the environment, and I'd love to see you explore those more if you keep developing this.
Yay for Mac versions!
What a COOL aesthetic. Love it.
I did not see a point to the pot pickup and throw system.
In general, I feel like there's too many snakes to feel like a fun, fair challenge that can be overcome with practice. It often just feels chaotic (which is totally fine for a one-off moment, but it's often like that.) The problem is exacerbated when a snake is right by an entrance to a room. You can solve this by learning from AAA shooter / action / stealth game design; they always provide some form of cover (be it high ground, darkness, or literal cover) when you enter a new area to give you a safe spot to survey, map, and plan how to tackle the challenge ahead.
I really enjoyed your ending naviagational puzzle, that was a nifty "A-ha!" moment.
You could definitely make this into a full game if you wanted to.
Pretty graphics and use of foreground elements. Some solid sound work, too. I also really enjoyed the world interaction like breaking pots and grass.
For your combat, I'd suggest introducing enemies one at a time to let players learn how to deal with them before mixing it up. More knockback (both self and other) would be nice, too, so I don't accidentally hurt myself after landing a hit (that's one of the reasons Hollow Knight has a smidge of knockback when you land a hit).
Having the camera raised so high makes platforming difficult because where I need to land is constantly out of view. I wish areas where falling meant death were better signified, as it's not always clear where's safe to fall and where's not. I would suggest teaching this without the enemy first, too, again so players have time to learn and get good.
The pixel jitter on the main character was bugging me. In Unity, you can usually fix this by switching the Rigidbody to interpolate, but I'm not sure how to go about it in Godot.
I gave up on the boss after dying twice. It was too difficult for my tastes and it felt too loose due to the lack of knockback and the fire rate. I probably would've kept trying if those two things were addressed, but because it didn't feel fair, it didn't feel like I was losing due to skill (even if I was).
That musical transition on the boss is a nifty touch of polish. Nice!
There's a good mix of challenges here for the kinds of player that enjoy overcoming difficult obstacles in games. I particularly enjoyed the one where you have to use the vertical outcroppings to jump an arrow in a tight corridor. That was neat.
I died a lot on tiny obstacles I could barely see, so some bits could be improved for readability.
Great call to make this in Pico-8. It forces you to keep scope small so you have a higher chance of delivering a quality product.
Your level design is some of the best I've seen in this jam (I do not say this lightly as I've played roughly half the Mac-compatible games submitted so far; plus, I'm a perpetual student of level design and it's an easy thing to get wrong). Yours is laid out in a clean, well-composed way and I can see you put thought into your choices. You're difficulty curve is measured and intentional. You introduce challenges one at a time, giving the player time to understand how they work before mixing things up. You're using the Pico-8 frame-size limitations to tease exploration. Your lock-and-key progression is solid, often introducing the lock before I get the solution. Good choice to use narrative as a reward for exploration between power ups; this frees you from having to introduce more complexity through other kinds of gamist pickups. Nice mix of verticality keeping the level shapes fresh. Solid level metrics keep the space from ever feeling cramped and jumps feel good. Using houses and other unique sprites aid in mental mapping to keep players from getting lost. You've got this large enough to allow for exploration, but small enough that when combined with the previous point keep it navigable without constantly referring to the map (until mid-game). The biggest downfall is navigation during the mid-game. After the map really opens up in the second area, I did get stuck and was unsure how to progress. When you have this many tiny rooms and a map that doesn't give detail, it's difficult to remember where potential leads are for progressing.
Transitioning upwards with the wall jump is hard because you'll instantly teleport up out of the level, then fall right back down with no time to react. It's disorienting. Take a look at how Celeste tackles this problem. Platform edges immediately after transitioning into a new screen are also harsh; you can possibly solve this by disabling input for a brief moment after transition to give the player's brain enough time to process.
I sincerely hope you're proud of of your work. There's good stuff here.
