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This was really neat. I love the drawings!!

I was going to ask, “How the ever-loving hell did you make this in Twine?” but then I made it to the end and found that you had consulted the wise Twine wizards such as GreyElf. Even still, I can’t believe I was able to fully play this on my iPad (even the tapping section, though I did have to refresh + retry once) complete with the sounds and music.

I went in completely blind, and I was immediately shocked by the striking visual style, the nice dialogue blips, and most of all the MUSIC!!! I didn’t realize there was such insanely good CC0 or 3.0/4.0 music out there. I’m always happy to see other creators who consider music a vital part of their process!

I laughed at every exeunt, seeing Frey slowly disappear from their portrait was AMAZING. You nailed the dingy, horrific industrial-ness of the setting but also the humor in the characters’ dialogues!

Here are some of the screenshots I took:

THESE were my favorite sections:

“Respectfully, Lord Petrei, I wasn’t asking you.”

GET FUCKING OWNED

I was so in the mood for a story about revenge, fueled by the emotions of the dystopian nightmare you talked about in the Extras, and this turned out to be exactly what I was looking for.

Normally when I write a review for a new game, there’s a couple typos/errors that I notice, but I didn’t see anything that stood out to me during my playthrough! The only “inconsistency” was that I didn’t tell ES my name, but then they called me Frey later on. It’s possible I just missed the line where they find that out, maybe during the boss battle. I was preoccupied with on button-pressing. LOL

Insanely well made and super interesting lore!! Thank you for uploading such a masterpiece for free; I felt extremely lucky to play it!

we love a good short sleeve button-down

bro got the australian elevator

First, I got ED 2: Hole.

After dying, I was a bit sad to know I would have to go through the entire beginning again... but then I DIDN'T!! I love that failing is an intrinsic part of the game that propels you forward anyway.

Then I got ED 11: NO SMOKING

Whenever I look at the poster wall, it wouldn't let me leave without dying from smoking again. But after that, the issue seemed fixed and I could use the Green Door button freely.

My next endings in order:

ED 10: HELP

ED 3A: DARK

ED 6: REJECTED

ED 8: STRANGER DANGER

ED 12: REAL

ED 5: RADIATION

ED 3B: EATEN

ED 9: FALL

ED 1: ESCAPE

I love the system of pressing the buttons; it's really satisfying. The rat part made me laugh so hard.

Using the function key to move the camera up and down was really interesting too! I enjoyed the mix of 2D and 3D elements a lot! It was something new and really cool to me.

Great soundtrack, amazing sound effects as always. Floor 4 freaked me out so much that I left it early before I could die to whatever was calling to me behind the door. Absolute nightmare fuel.

This was a crazy experience. I loved all of it.

During the line "That's not all there is to why I screamed!" the game froze, ironically. I had to close out and reopen, and then it worked.

I love Augustine 2.

HOLY SHIT I WAS NOT EXPECTING THERE TO BE A MONSTER.

That body-suit graphic is DISGUSTING. And the last-second eyes staring right at you... Jesus Christ. Really great job.

Fantastic music!! I loved all the tracks that were chosen! Perfect sound effects, too.

For your SECOND GAME EVER it has such strong style, character, humor, and scares that this could have been your twentieth and I would've had no idea! 

That makes so much sense with all the freakin' Goya paintings Vince has in his apartment lol

All my years of Penguin Diner have prepared me for this.

During my first playthrough, I accidentally stole cash from the register while mashing Z to see what I could interact with while noises were coming from the freezer... that little pinhole segment was FREAKY too.

It wasn't until the second playthrough that I realized I could sprint with SHIFT. Then the game got much easier. LMAO

The sound effects are spectacular! There was a bit with the TV that had dialogue? It was interesting. I especially like how certain sounds linger after an ending as the credits roll. ALSO THE MUSIC BANGS!

I LOVE that the main menu changes depending on the ending you just completed, with the snow and then the place looking a little crispier than before.  ; )

I really like Rody and Manon as characters. Vince's whole deal was kind of confusing; I'm not sure I fully understand his motivations for killing. But the art was amazing (10/10 job on the Catalogue), and I love each character's personality!

If you're looking to improve the game, I would definitely focus on streamlining the restaurant section. You have to press Z a lot in very specific spaces. Less actions to do the same amount of work would make things much smoother (e.g. you can take orders from a two-person table by talking to just one person). The place where you submit your orders isn't really clear at first either.

Additionally, I had to look up how to get any ending other than the 1st one. The steps to get there are kind of awkward. I would prefer talking more often to Vince than not.

Overall, I had a really good time! Played for around 3 hours, right on track with the estimated completion time. I also enjoyed the double Rodys even though it's just a silly glitch haha

Great game! My first run was around 7min. Spent a couple hours speedrunning and got the time down to 1:38:93!

I LOVE this.

The pixel art and the aesthetic in general are just beautiful. This screen took my breath away the second I saw it.

I loved the little bird character. It felt very relatable, speaking as a fellow corvid. :P

The ending is a drop of hope into the wistfulness. I really, really liked it.

This game showed me you can add audio to bitsy with hacks too! I was going crazy trying to make my own chiptune beats sound good haha. The highlighted tiles of where to go to progress were immensely helpful too.

This worked on my iPhone— sound, movement, and all! 11/10!!

oh gee thanks :’D I’ve been quietly hacking away at it, so here’s hoping I can expand on the demo soonish. And believe me, you WILL experience so many more vampire puns hahah

I really love the writing in this; it sets up the world in a believable and interesting way! I love how the ROs are introduced too, like there’s already something deeper to them that we should be exploring.

My personality was Whisper in the Sands! The little blurb about it is super cool. I’m tempted to implement some sort of personality system in my games now too.

Keep developing!! I would love to see more.

I knew I recognized that voice! LOL

Amazing write-up; I love seeing the development process behind these games. Thanks for the cool links to other SQL-related projects as well.

My next game will be coded in ArnoldC in your honor.... /j

Great game!! The soundtrack is excellent, and I laughed at so many dumb comments while playing it. Here's some of my favorite chat moments.

I loved the way the title transformed into different endings. I learned some SQL, exec horn(), and got odxny to seekLife. Fantastic art (especially the little custom emojis), surprised me with the voice acting too! I had lots of fun. :]

I played this on iPad and had a great time. Can’t believe I got to attend the DJ DECEASED RAT concert for free! Woohoo!!

Yay, I’m glad you had fun! I’ve been writing more and more recently, expanding on the characters’ backgrounds and personalities, so I hope to have a new update in the next couple months. Thank you for playing! ^^

Very good question! Keep that in mind as I update this and you will have your answer. :P

Thanks for leaving a comment!

Thanks for playing and leaving a comment! Sorry about that placeholder text, I didn’t finish writing those sections before I submitted for the jam. The next update will have some actual content haha

I survived 9 nights! Could have used more health/attack speed instead of going all for movement but I love being a speedster. :P Yes, the moth won against me too...

This was a fantastic game! Music is great and the art of the bartender is so cool. I would definitely play this if it became a full release. Time to grind to see if I can reach Night 12 :')

I just finished watching your stream VOD! Sorry I couldn’t make it while you were Live.  We seriously appreciate the time you took to play Shadowsand Defense (and highlighting some other Pirate Jam 15 games)! I’m Crow, the Narrative and Design (writing, music, SFX) person in the credits. This is my second Pirate Jam, and my fourth jam ever joined!

It was so surreal hearing my dialogue be voice-acted. The way you and your chat clocked the vibe between Lux & Umbra immediately. “Oh they ARE tragic enemies-to-lovers!” And “I choose Life… with you!” LOLL

To acknowledge this question from your playthrough:

“What’s the origin behind the shadow critters? Did they, like, go to the same magic school… I guess the Tower is where they learned their craft? …And like, Umbra’s come to ‘save’ Lux, AKA, get him to join him in evil, and Lux is like ‘noo, I want to use my powers for good!’”

At the end of Round 5, there is some dialogue between two unknown characters. One is a soldier of the Tower, the other is a high-ranking official of the Tower.

Tower Soldier: Lieutenant General! Have you any orders for us?

Unknown: Shadowsand, torches, and... what are these, pickaxes? What happened here?

Tower Soldier: As of yet unsure, sir. This must be the work of a dozen sorcerers or more; we've never seen so much destruction!

Unknown: ...It is a shame that so much harm must come to nature. 
Unknown: Send a messenger back to the barracks. I will take some scouts and venture out from here.

Tower Soldier: Understood, sir! I shall take my leave!
...
Unknown: Lux... I hope you're not alone. 
Unknown: I hope you are safe.
Unknown: I am coming to take you home.

I don’t want to give away all the answers just yet, but I can provide this. All creatures with spirit are made of a substance called “shadowsand.” It is basically the equivalent of quintessence in alchemy. Lux and Umbra have an unnatural attunement to shadowsand, allowing them to transform and even imbue objects such as trees or rocks with it. They were childhood friends, both sharing this otherworldly ability, but circumstances led them on separate paths. Now, Lux is a misunderstood altruist wanted by the Tower, and Umbra is a jaded old friend who just can’t manage Lux’s idealism.

If we ever add voicelines in a future update, I would be totally up for featuring you in it! Thanks again for the stream and your comments!

Oh I for sure see a tutorial in the future. You are a brave soul for having played it in this state hahah

Thank you so much!! I’m really excited to write more about Lux & Umbra. They’re a mix of some of my favorite tropes!

Woohoo! Thank you! I love the work our artists did. And it’s good to hear stories of Firefox cooperating 😂

Mm, minor war crime omelette…

Thanks for playing! :D

Thanks! I’ll try again!

Honesty sounds nice… let’s try that.
"Look, I'm just going to lay it out: I've noticed you here before, and I would really like to kiss you. So... what do you say?"

ABORT ABORT I REGRET EVERYTHING

thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it!! Future builds definitely deserve a tutorial LOL

You're crazy. Fighting enemies is a lot of fun though, and I love the SACRIFICE aspect and unlocking new skills :D

(bonus screenshot)

The music, art, and level design went OFF!! You guys did amazing!! It felt like I was playing a fully published game. The music felt very Undertale and the comedic aspects in this were unexpectedly wonderful. I can't believe I got Corolla'd.

Seriously looking forward to if you guys continue development on this. I had so much fun blasting up into space by holding down with my Explosion potions!

This was pretty interesting to play! I got kinda stuck in the Infernal Wastes and couldn't gather materials from the Crystal Caverns without dying. I restarted a couple times but couldn't figure out the recipes :'D

I think this is a really cool idea for a game, though! I like the idle-lite elements, and crafting things and having them work felt very satisfying.

This was awesome! I kept teleporting in the room with the key and I'm not sure why, maybe I followed the path wrong or something.

Apart from that, I really love the enemy designs and the twist at the end!! I had a lot of fun playing this, especially with such a unique battle mechanic. Feels like I'm playing a rhythm game and Punch-Out at the same time. :P

(take this as a reminder to hydrate)

Your backgrounds WERE awesome :D I think you can do it!

I love the little comments. Jumping around was so much fun. I want to print these screenshots and have them up on my wall for motivation.

What a fun funky track to gather Eggs? to! Thank you for so many checkpoints as well, I am terrible at platformers/sidescrollers and I loved starting right where I left off. 

(I found the secret easter Egg? too, but I won't post a pic of where it is c;)

More Egg? Please!

OHH that makes sense, thanks!

I died once before I understood the mechanics, but I beat the normal level!!

Love my cheese wizards. Fun game!

I tried as hard as I could to get my score to 69420, but I was a bit off...

I played this on what I consider "hard mode" with just a keyboard and mouse and it was still a blast. Beat the boss and won the game! I greatly enjoyed the enemy designs and my little wobblin' wizard. The music was a bit scary though.

This was fun to play! I liked wall-jumping especially. Having so many levels to choose from felt nice too because I kept messing up Level 4 haha.

If you add an in-game tutorial in a future update just by copying your YouTube video, I think this would be an amazing game!

This is super cool, I love the sandbox mode!

I couldn't figure out how to get past the AI (clicking everything) but I love the sound effects and music! This is such a crazy set of ideas but it's fun to mess around with.

nice and simple game with great visuals!