itch.io

Genuinely spellbinding game you have made here. Exact perfect amount of polish on everything from the character designs to the art to the music (upsettingly excellent soundtrack btw), all of it has the exact right amount of love put into it and vision put behind it. 

Found myself engrossed by the heartfelt melancholic story, and while I have yet to get all the endings (only have gotten 4,5, and 6) the ones I have seen so far are wonderous and pitch perfect. 

A small detail that I positively adore is starting the piece off with a point of view account from the main character that leads into choosing the characters' names and genders. Such a simple addition that instantaneously forms a connection between the person playing the game and BOTH of the characters they will be following throughout. And the fun jovial dialogue and overall moody but happy tone helps with the engendering too. 

MOREOVER: The game is a perfect example of the two most powerful tropes to engage someone to a new fantasy setting. 

• Step 1: Do something weird to the moon 
• Step 2: See step 1

Genuinely terrific job. Loved every second of the game, absolute winner this one is. 

It should be noted just how much life and personality you are able to give to the characters and world WITHOUT animation, which already  is a lot. 

I hope you and your team is as confident in the quality of your full game as I currently am, which also is a lot. 

Happens to only the best of us! I know exactly how anxious you must be to fix it and I am excited to see it happen! 

Fantastic heavy atmosphere that hangs over your head like the Sword of Damocles or another moody metaphor. Everything is purposely poignant and intricately designed that encourages critical thinking and engaging with the world and story. 

Wonderous artwork all throughout as well, prefect for the tone you are aiming for.  Great job on it all, such a clear and concise vision executed excellently. 

Far and away the best part about the game is the atmosphere. Immaculate tone setter for the adventure, and every element of the presentation from the music to the UI engages you. 

When tackling such a well worn genre as you've chosen, its important to understand how to successfully execute on the subtlety's of the genre, which is a very long very kind way of saying you should have the option to continually shoot if the shoot button is held down, ESPECIALLY with enemies and obstacles that take more than one shot to destroy. Similarly I would say the most glaring determent to player retention is a lack of noticeable progress. The environments changing mid level is gorgeous but it seems to happen at random as just another thing that happens. Something simple like a countdown timer showing how long the player has to survive for or a progress bar would go a very long way for player engagement. 

The core game and how it is presented is absolutely solid and you should be proud of the work you've done, but small details are oftentimes just as important as the big picture. 

Excellent tone and direction as a whole. I think more could have been done to play/toy with the audiences expectations, there was so much tension and buildup and dread and it kind of fizzled out by the end with not much of a conclusion. With meta works like this it can be easy to rely on self awareness as a crutch for a truly gripping plot or any kind of shock value, but as these kinds of stories have become more and more common, its important for them to really try to play with what they expect from a prospective audience. 
All the same however, It's clear you did a lot with what you've been given and wanted to get out of the story. The presentation similarly is all top notch and I was very compelled all throughout. Good Job. 

So good its actually kind of obnoxious. Every single one of the 720 hours you spent working on the jam is on full display.  The characters are as fun to interact with as they are stunning to look at, which is very. 

Kind of difficult to come up with constructive criticism not gonna lie. I feel like the battles can drag sometimes but since the core gameplay loop is all about building up to them it seems appropriate, even if they can feel a bit tedious at times. I will say for a piece that is positively exploding with life and energy I do wish there could have been a bit more Juice put into some of the presentations. Mostly the character designs and text bubbles which feel much more static than they should, especially with such vibrant characters on display. Even a gentle float or squash and stretch animation would go a LONG way. 

Other than that though its quite difficult to come up with anything I would change or add. Its a clear and concise vison executed almost perfectly. Great job, you and your team should feel proud. 

Very cute game. The character designs and overall duologue make the world and stakes very easy to enjoy. Love the contrast between the player's in game character model and the lovingly crafted designs of everyone else in the world, makes the entire experience very endearing I feel. 
Not sure If I'm missing something but opening the mindscape seems to do nothing except make a loading bar appear with nothing to trigger, making a very critical part of your core gameplay loop largely guesswork. Otherwise aside from that (what I assume to be) glitch its still a very simple sweet game. Kudos. 

Offensively good visuals and presentation, and their wonderous moody dreamlike quality extend to the theme and gameplay as well. Simultaneously entranced and on edge playing through it and exploring the environment. Few games (let alone freshman efforts) can have such a strong tone that engages the player, let alone managing to balance TWO simultaneously. Kudos. 

The art is beautiful, but at times it can feel overwhelming, especially with a core gameplay loop revolving around searching for small details in such a vast area. The overwhelming and overpowering art design does make the game more challenging, but in doing so simultaneously risks it becoming annoying and aggravating which thankfully your game (mostly) does not! It works okay when it comes to searching the environment, it works less than okay when trying to read and decipher a very thin wispy font. 

Truly A+ tone and world design, dreamlike in the best way possible. 

Love the psychedelic dreamlike tone of the game and the world explored. Its clear you put a lot of effort into the character designs and the story. Everything seems very deep and busy but in a (mostly) good way! I feel like you wrote a lot of really interesting lore we are only see a small part of, but even that small part can be overwhelming with a lot introduced very quickly. 

Loved the character designs and all the art for them, but if I had a genie in a bottle I'd wish for some more dynamic poses with them, not just on the battle screen but with the normal conversations as well. 

Still, good job with what you've made, it's clear its a passion project filled with so much passion its positively infectious! Keep it up! 

Loved the presentation to bits! Gorgeous color palette and very cozy aesthetic. You really do feel connected to the house by the end of it. Really do like it a lot. I wish there were more cute minigames similar to the cooking one (Which is still engaging and expertly presented) about tidying up the environment to really connect the player with the world around them and the feel what Rutile is going through. 
Still though, gorgeous job! Could stare at the art for hours no matter how messy the home is!

I've been wanting to start working with the RPG Maker game engines for a while, and I see this jam to be the perfect opportunity to start and meet people smarter than myself about the topic! 

I am an accomplished game designer and game artist with tertiary experience with game writing and production. I've studied  game design while I was in college and have participated in a variety of collaborative  game jams projects. I am familiar and comfortable working on a collaborative remote project and have a fast turnaround time on game ready deliverables. 

Skills include but are not limited to...

• 3D Art/animation
• 2D Art/animation

  
  

  • Pixel art 
  • Spine based animation
  • tile sheet creation
• Game Design
• Game Production
• remembering to routinely drink water

For further reference feel free to check over my online portfolio or look over my itch.io page.

To contact me directly, feel free to message me here or add me on discord. 
Discord ID:  radiovillain

I genuinely mean it when I say this is in my top two games named "Blackout" submitted for the 2024 Spooky 2D game jam. 

Love the little guy and the little noises he makes. 

Barely any videogames have me sit staring daggers at the screen while I shout "LET ME LOVE YOU!" at the characters....

Quality job. 

Simple and inspired design. Feels like a classic that has stood the test of time while simultaneously having a modern coat of polish. Kudos.

You know its a good game when your failures make you feel genuine shame and a desire to try again and again and again...

you also know its a good game when the graphics are pretty.