itch.io

Thanks a lot, happy you enjoyed the progression! And good catch on the hold click, it's too subtle right now. Holding it makes your pull much stronger, so things fall in faster and from further away. It also costs a little mass and bar, which is why it can feel like nothing happens. It pays off when something big is just out of reach. I'll make it far more visible after the jam.

Thank you, that means a lot! I'm really glad the soundtrack landed, it was written just for this game. You're right about the background. With only two colours, the far stars, the dust and the things you can eat all share the same ink, so it can get busy. Thanks a lot for playing!

Hey, hold space

A few tips if you feel lost:

- Hold Shift to dive. The deeper you go, the further back in time you are.
 - Talk to people in town. They often mention something they lost or need.
- Things you find below can be carried back up with E and given to the right person.
- What you do in one year doesn't stay there. Help someone long ago, then come back up and look around.
- Your notebook (J) keeps track of what you heard. Known bug: if it doesn't open, open the menu, switch the language and switch back to English.
- The past remembers what you did.  So does the town.

Thanks for playing!

Thank you so much! Yes, FATHOMS was my first real test of the engine, and a jam was the perfect deadline to see what breaks. Glad you enjoyed the dive, and thanks for taking the time to read through the comments too!

I want a fully deterministic engine in C++, with my own ECS system, highly optimized loading times, and the ability to style my game however I want, without the complexity and bloat of Unreal Engine, while staying in C++ (so no Unity or Godot), etc.

I’ve been working on it for about a year now. I now have a fairly complete editor and the ability to do many things. In addition, it is not just a 2D engine; it also supports 3D very well.

Yep I'll check your game

Yes this is my custom engine. I just noticed that the journal is broken, you have to change the language and comeback in english to have the journal

Hey thanks! You have to hold shift 

Thanks! Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to make more puzzle

Thanks for the feedback, and sorry about the web build. Browser support is still pretty young in my engine, I'll keep pushing on it for the next jams :)

Thanks for playing! The flip takes a few runs before it stops being a decision and starts being a reflex. Once it does, the whole thing opens up. Happy it got there for you

Contexte : 40 minutes de jeu, jusqu'au 2ème boss.

Ce qui fonctionne

Ton core loop tient la route. Les contrôles répondent bien, la lisibilité obstacle → transformation est claire, et la difficulté repose sur l'exécution plutôt que la réflexion — exactement ce que tu vises. L'effet de rémanence sur le personnage attire l'œil et donne une identité visuelle immédiate.

Points à adresser

Le manque de gratification

J'ai battu le premier boss sans ressentir de satisfaction particulière. C'est difficile à expliquer précisément, mais quelque chose manque dans le payoff — peut-être le feedback visuel/sonore de victoire, ou la montée en tension qui précède.

Les singes bananes cassent le rythme

Ces ennemis ne sont pas difficiles, juste longs. Le pattern est simple (attendre, sauter), mais il force à patienter. Pour un jeu qui vise la nervosité, c'est un point mort. Soit ils doivent mourir plus vite, soit il faut une méthode alternative pour les gérer.

Les spawns surprises

Des ennemis qui apparaissent soudainement et tuent le joueur posent question : c'est du design "apprendre par la mort" assumé, ou de la frustration non voulue? 

Feedback de dégâts

Il y a un retour visuel et sonore quand on prend un coup, mais j'avais pas remarqué ma barre de vie avant un moment. Une animation progressive sur la batterie qui diminue renforcerait la lecture.

Bugs et incohérences

Animation au sol qui indique "en vol" (notamment sur le rocher à droite du panneau Special Y)

Le panneau indique Y mais la touche était R pour moi

On peut passer l'obstacle sans casser le rocher — c'est intentionnel?

Parfois le personnage "court" sur les bords des plateformes

Questions de design

Pourquoi le spécial fonctionne au sol puis en saut, mais pas si on l'active en l'air? Cette asymétrie me semble arbitraire.

T'as considéré le tir vertical (haut/bas)? Ça pourrait ajouter du dynamisme, à tester pour voir si ça trivialise ou enrichit.

La spatialisation du son aiderait-elle à lire l'espace?

Avis subjectifs (à valider avec d'autres testeurs)

Le son de saut m'a paru légèrement agaçant à la longue

Les patterns de boss peuvent sembler robotiques quand ils se répètent plusieurs fois d'affilée, ça manque d'organicité

Résumé

Les fondations sont solides : contrôles précis, lisibilité claire, difficulté bien placée bien que certain point de frustration. Le travail à faire concerne surtout le ressenti, la gratification, le rythme, le feedback et quelques bugs d'animation. Ton core toy fonctionne, maintenant il faut le rendre beaucoup plus satisfaisant je pense.

Thank you so much for your reply! Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to fix certain bugs, so it’s entirely possible to get soft-locked

Thank you so much for your kind words! 

I really like the principle, too bad about the music cut, but good game GG

I really think the game is beautiful :D

The music is really incredible and the gameplay really fun and in keeping with the theme. Just a little slow to get into a challenging game but really lets you go wild :D

I think the zombie is very stylish and I really like the level design. I think the game is pretty fun

At one point in level 3, there are hooks on the ceiling that you have to click and hold to attach your rope and climb. There are a total of 5 levels :D The last of which is really challenging.

Thank you very much for your comment, to use the rope you need to be close enough to the hooks, click on them and hold the mouse click.