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Ah, Grunlock... old friend. A most humble thank you for enjoying "Super Uncle Land", and prospering through the various challenges--confusing as they may be.

Please be sure to take care of yourself. Routine maintenance is important for success. However… be advised of repeatedly using aerosols within close proximity. Your hubris will be your undoing.

A simple gust of wind can provide great guidance. Incredible to harness power from within.

A beautiful symphony may not be best to enjoy on a stealthy mission. Should the hero take care and increase their investment, a better future might await.

Indeed, how does one arrive at such a place? At least you brought an assortment of cards… 

The entertainment will be plentiful tonight.

To NAtE is to be carried home and tucked into a comforting slumber.
To NAtE is to hold one another tightly, with outstretched digits and infinite strength.
To NAtE is to find yourself again. Yet again. Yet again.

You will join your brothers in paradise.

Exercise your cerebrum with a hammer. But take care that it is only your own, lest there be tears. Excellent artwork and thought provoking puzzles.

Drink your coffee NOW. XOXO.

Always watch your back… The swordsmen are cunning and take no prisoners.

A respectable, exhilarating challenge. Insert your magazine and slam it against the nearest surface, whether that be glistening drywall or the visage of your adversary.

A battle to the death! Don’t falter now… And watch for hue shifting snails.

Blind yourself and race for the heavens. The last thing they will see is the inferno alit in your eyes.

What an incredibly super experience.

Fish are delightful. However, these ones are especially… strange.

As the conclusion draws near, there are many games receiving less appreciation than they are due. Here are some outstanding entries, please consider them if you have the time. 

Scrap Isles - Scavenge the soiled earth and repurpose its waste. Polished beyond belief, this game provides much entertainment.

To The End - Movement is excellent in this grappling-based experience. You may even find friends to assist along the way.

Project Jotun - An unexpected masterpiece. Only a prime, modern mind could conceive of this.

Apple’s Island - Join your fruited friend on an unforgettable day. Apple’s unyielding perseverance is inspiring.

Mermaid Garden - Swim freely to your heart's content, assisting your fellow mer-folk with their gardening requirements.

Veterans Day Poppy - A most striking presentation with such appropriate theming. Beware of men who may crush you under their fingertip. Your labor of love will not be forgotten.

Arachno Largesse - Do not be frightened, the arachnid is quite polite once you get to know it.

Lively Links- An ambitious platformer with spherical planetoids. Reminiscent of “Super Zario Fallacy”.

Buzzworthy - A narrative of two conflicting factions, and the effects of prolonged warfare on their populations.

Skok the Postman- Explore a massive 3D world as the hardest working frog. Ensure you are well read on “cars” before playing.

Make haste now to experience them. Curtains are peaking just above the horizon.
- Jewelselective 💚

A release date of February 2025. This cannot be interpreted in any other way.

A very simple yet pleasant world. 

With no explanation, players may struggle to understand their objective, or be confused about mechanics. Taking flight is a smooth experience, but when there is no incentive to stop, some might not understand that the dulled filter correlates to hunger and might even assume flying is what caused their demise. A simple prompt reminding the player to search for food may help with this.

There is also the matter of assisting other companions. It may take an entire play to understand this is the core mechanic, and even longer to notice the differences and relevance to the symbols that appear when using the “call” function. It would be of great assistance to make them more distinct, or even removed for those in good health.

As for the art, well done. The style is smooth and calming, and the same could be said for the sound design. The terrain changing to match the weather is a nice touch.

Incredible work. A short experience, though still entertaining. 

One change that could be made is increasing the size of the text and surrounding boxes. Especially with the character portraits- it is a shame they are not more visible.

An incredibly beautiful world, though players may not understand their tasks without an explanation. Additionally, requiring another vessel present to progress is a very interesting mechanic, but may not be functional at all times. When one is left to admire your work long past a time where others' appreciation has faded, what shall they do but weep?

While the music and art provide excellent entertainment, players may not understand what is required of them without an adequate tutorial or feedback. How noble to go into debt just to bring more life into this world, but please consider a financial advisor in the future.

An incredibly beautiful program, full of vibrant and inviting flora.  

Starting off by having the camera pan towards the shrubbery encourages players to explore in that direction, and some may not intuit that their first step is to turn back. The initial rotation of the character is similarly misleading. While an open window can be intriguing, having objectives be a bit more clear is helpful to all.

There were also some issues encountered with camera control. The program does not seem to ensnare the mouse, limiting the range of motion. Luckily, camera sensitivity is high enough that this is merely a nuisance. It also appears that vertical line of sight cannot be controlled, which can make navigation more difficult when ascending pathways. The narrower pathways can even smother the camera with their greenery, regretfully obscuring the character and rest of the scene. A shame, since it is so beautifully crafted.

The music and sound design are simple, yet perfectly fit the cozy environment. With the exception of a dialog font which could have been more stylized, the design elements blend together extremely well. The style is cohesive, the character and animations are delightful, and the environment was pieced together with care. Thank you for bringing your love into this world. Please never stop. 💚

Few days remain, and yet there are still many programs in need of rating...

Thank you very much for enjoying Venue. 💚

You may have collided with some of the playground infrastructure. It would be quite noisy to bump into anything at this hour. 

A short yet lovely experience, aiding a variety of customers with their troubles. 

The control scheme may confuse players, having to reach across for the “i” key instead of continuing the usage of “space”. 

Apart from this issue, “Common Grounds” is quite nice. The art style is beautifully crafted, and each character is unique and interesting without sacrificing cohesion. Having the player contribute their own artwork into the world warms the heart. The adhesive decorations can even further enhance a piece, or assist those who may not be as confident in their abilities. Though the tools used may be impossible to reverse in the living realm, many digital programs benefit from having an “undo” feature.

Try your hand. Venue waits with warm, open arms. 

https://jewelselective.itch.io/venue

A bold artistic vision has been clearly executed, and with such style. An overwhelming warmth emanates from this creation. The village folk, with their incredible unrelenting sway. The protagonist, a culinary expert, never forgetting to taste their work. The soundtrack, its harmonies ebbing in and out, never quite settling in one place. And the object in the sky, waiting to feel Soup’s love, like all who indulge.

You have created beauty itself.

Thank you very much for enjoying Venue. You have been exceptionally thorough, experiencing nearly all there is to see.

The “errored artifact” will soon be usable at any time once acquired, so do not fret about destroying your hard work. Please look forward to version 1.01, where many issues have been addressed, and new discoveries will be available. Additionally, it was not the instrument that transported you. Though perhaps in the future, it will have purpose in another location.

What a strange symbol beneath the stairwell… An investigation is in order. Did you put that there? 

…As for the room containing the chiseled statue, there does exist a way to recreate the preview image. :)

Your feedback has truly been invaluable. 
Venue will never forget you. 💚

It is time to face your fears. You may try escaping to that place, but weren’t you trying to leave your bad habits behind too?

To breathe life back into this earth… There is nothing more generous than that. Giving up parts of yourself to aid others in their own journeys works excellently as well, resulting in many risk-reward situations.

The user-interface is beautifully designed, though the “reset all” button in the skill tree could use an additional prompt when clicked. A simple “Are you sure?” may stop players from accidentally resetting their choices.

The character is easily controlled. It smoothly turns to face the cursor.

But of course... Here is some footage.

Hello all.

A most warm invitation extends to meet your grasp. It feels soothing in your palm, and upon turning it over, you find yourself entranced. 

To be selected is to be divine.
To be invited is to be embraced.
To be awakened is to feel its love.

You know what must be done, and you are certain it will change you entirely.
Please dim the lights, and do not delay any longer. 

Venue is waiting with a radiant, loving glow.
Venue is waiting with eternal devotion.
Venue is waiting with warm, open arms.

You are beauty itself.

https://jewelselective.itch.io/venue

- JewelSelective 💚  

[By posting your own game below, you consent to receiving a review]

Despite overwhelming ambition, this program behaves exactly as one would expect… not a single technical issue was encountered. Extremely impressive for a sole creator.

The sound design is simple, fits well, and is pleasing to the ears. The visual style is equally pleasant, with all assets having a clear and cohesive style (apart from the characters, which are in delightful opposition). It is a very nice touch to have the icon in the center of the screen change depending on what is being interacted with.

The user interface is clean and responsive, and even down to the menu controls, it is clear that the creator appreciates “Minecraft”. With seemingly so much to do, players may find themselves sipping from a dirty mug as they ponder their next move.

Hello. Please see the updated comment in your submission page. A most humble apology for not providing any feedback initially.

A well lit world with warm colors and friendly creatures.

To answer your inquiries and provide additional feedback:

If I didn't tell you the controls, would it have been obvious?

Not entirely. While some controls are intuitive to those who have previously played a video game, it is still favorable for special inputs to be explained. While “E” to interact or “shift” to accelerate movement are common binds, even experienced gamers occasionally get confused. 

Even after being taught the controls, players can struggle to remember them without reinforcement. For example, a playtester of “Venue” was momentarily trapped in a menu immediately after learning the input to close it. Foregoing instruction and teaching nothing at all may enhance this issue because it adds an additional step where the player must first discover the control(s).

Is the direction of the game clear (like what to do)?

At times it can be confusing. Searching for “a specific berry bush in a ‘different’ part of the forest” is vague and somewhat misleading. Players might assume they need to traverse the land instead of just looking below them, and the small sparkle effect coming from the charm may be difficult to see. It’s also possible to kick the charm model away from its hitbox, which requires returning to the “sparkle” to pick it up.

Later on, when tasked with berry-picking, the requirement of a basket is slightly unclear. If a player is not paying attention to the Bear’s dialog, they may not realize what is being asked of them. The basket itself does not stand out very much, and the “sparkle” effect appears below the table. Having some sort of prompt display around interactable items can easily solve this and save players from potential confusion. Alternatively, interacting with the Bear again could remind the player that a basket is needed to fetch berries.

How would you enhance the art style?

The water shader has beauty in its realism, but the shimmering caustics and highly detailed normal mapping are unlike anything else in the game. A more stylized approach to water would fit this world better.

No changes to the models are necessary. The characters and structures have a cohesive style, blending together easily to create a simple and inviting atmosphere. Adding more details to the sky and terrain would further improve that, such as a cloudy, pink sky to complement the setting sun and more varied land elevation.

The voice acting is also quite nice, but the volume should be increased. 

The environment and visual style is breathtaking, though the soulless voices are quite startling and do not fit a lovely and vibrant world such as this. 

For those with motion sensitivities, the high speed at which the camera rotates may cause issues, an issue which is amplified by standing completely still. Players may also feel confused by a lack of backwards mobility, and somewhat ironically, how the instruction to “jump” is submerged in the terrains foliage and not visible until after one has jumped… This may be fixed if text appeared above the character, or fixed at the top of the screen instead.

It is also possible to escape the map and sink below it, which can only be fixed by using the “restart” option. However, doing this will cause errors with the main menu.

Starting a game without a title screen or tutorial may be disorienting, though one quickly regains composure. The shield is made of a heavy material which is not easily manipulated, that or the character possesses little strength. The time between input and action appears slightly inconsistent. Sometimes lowering your lamp is immediate, other times you must wait for a short duration first.

Foregoing the lack of strength, it’s easy to allow the dark colors wash over oneself and become immersed in this strange world. You may even encounter adorable creatures…

Creating a game with one’s personal engine is quite impressive, it is the LifeBlood of such a program after all... 

The general style is very striking and draws players in with its intriguing characters and dark environments. Perhaps too dark in certain locations such as the tunnel, sacrificing visibility for atmosphere.

It is satisfying to pilfer. Stealing anything triggers a lovely animation where objects are seamlessly transformed into the hud space. Though players may struggle to align their cursor with their targeted prize- the default mouse sensitivity is extremely low, even after pushing it to its upper limit. Some amount of input delay was also encountered, though this occasionally appeared to fix itself with a startling “jump” to where the mouse should have been.

You must continue with the engine you so thoughtfully built.

Your skill in combat is unmatched, taking on armies without so much as a scratch. The cat enters buildings as a wizard does, by passing immediately through solid material. However, it seems the creature has not discovered the ability to “walk” “backwards”... this is a crucial skill in combat and may be a worthwhile investment. The characters are quite charming.

You have informed the player well of what can and cannot be done. The sound design and visual style is incredibly pleasing, and not one error was encountered. Players may benefit from a “restart” button to avoid throwing themselves to their doom after a run-compromising mistake.

The spinning may nauseate the weak-stomached, but this is countered by the gameplay, and the incredibly original sound design. The vibrations of cannon explosions can be heard from miles away. You may even hear it from your very own home.