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All the levels are excellently designed. They maintain a strong pace and punish mistakes well. I think that’s exactly how levels should be in high-speed games (like Pizza Tower and its P-rank system). The fact that you managed to create levels like this in such a short time shows that you truly understand how the game should work and that’s awesome! <3

I think I’m playing the wrong Uma Musume XD

I’m tired. As soon as I saw the leaderboard and the developer’s name on it, I decided, just for fun, to try and take first place everywhere. Beating the test level was easy, but the campaign of three levels really made me sweat.

Along the way, I also learned a new mechanic. Maybe it was mentioned in the tutorial, but I don’t remember anymore. Because of it, the test level became even easier to beat.

Overall, it’s basically a parody of SpeedRunners. It feels great to run in it. The levels have multiple paths to the finish, and the music really "slaps" at high speeds. It’s a bit of a shame that you lose maximum speed fairly quickly because of parkour sections or walls getting in the way.

Now about each level:

Test Level: Loops and turns, and you can spot some boxes that weren’t used in the other levels.

Level 1: Lots of different paths. You can even skip the tutorial section and jump straight down. Precision matters here - one perfect jump can save a lot of time, while another can ruin everything.

Level 2: The longest level of them all. Also has several paths  at the beginning, middle, and end. You can think outside the box and climb up a wall near the end. There’s also one trap a latex pit and a few others along one of the paths to the finish. They’re easy to bypass with enough speed and a good jump. A very enjoyable level.

Level 3: A joke level. The most annoying one for me. Right at the start, there are two paths. One is full of latex traps and a wall that practically wants you to fall into yet another trap. The other has spikes that drain your "stamina". There’s also a big pit where, after falling, your stamina usually runs out and you have to do a QTE. I never really figured out how to fall there quickly.

I probably spent more time on this game than on all the other game jam entries combined XD

Love boss fights in Undertale, so this game hooked me right away. The bosses are varied and immediately show what kind of attacks to expect. The restraint mechanics actually affect the character during combat, which is great.

The only issue I ran into was a softlock when I tried to remove the blindfold (I tested it 2–3 times in a row). Also, the bosses don’t seem to be arranged by difficulty - the last one was surprisingly too easy in terms of attacks and the amount of restraints.

XD

The Locked Valkyries - a sister game to the excellent The Lost Vikings. Our three valkyries are trying to escape yet another laboratory using the power of friendship (especially in the final area, where we recruit a robot to the team to finish the game).

An interesting take on the puzzle-platformer genre. It’s a shame there are so few levels, but respect for the idea and the nostalgia

Alright, this is the first actually challenging game I’ve encountered in this game jam. The little ball of yarn is adorable. The tutorial is clear. And the first (and only) boss is cool and dynamic. Thankfully, there’s plenty of HP, so I beat it on my first try.

Some attacks do feel unfair at times, but they’re very readable if you keep moving constantly. I might’ve even cleared phase one without taking damage if I hadn’t been playing in a browser. It’ll be interesting to see what the game turns into in the future - it really feels like they initially wanted to make a platformer with enemies, and only later the boss.

Paigebound - We play as PAIGE BINDER (a deaf heroine, since we can’t hear anything — so I just had Rip & Tear playing in the background) who descends into hell to capture damned souls using magic!

It’s a bullet hell where we bind enemies with magic. At the end of each wave, you can steal a new spell page from one enemy, which you’ll use later. The biggest downside is that you can’t skip a spell - you have to use it, and when picking up pages, they block enemy bullets (which are released upon death).

The Helltaker-style aesthetic is very appealing, and the game has huge potential

The Godlocker - SEA ADVENTURE! GIVE ME A BOTTLE OF RUM AND A BUNCH OF ROPES - A GREAT HUNT AWAITS US.

Story-wise, we play as a CAPTAIN who must conquer not only the sea, BUT THE GOD OF THE SEAS HIMSELF. Get ready to capture 3 types of mermaids and 3 types of captains to sell them in the local bay. Along the way, you’ll be hunting for 3 artifacts, each guarded in different locations: one by another great captain, one by a powerful mermaid, and one hidden somewhere deep in the ocean. Build your own Queen Anne’s Revenge. Upgrade your ship. Gather your crew. Improve your cannons - and become a legendary pirate.

The game is very simple, but I got completely immersed in it and really enjoyed wandering across the “endless” ocean. The art is nice, the music is properly pirate-themed, and the rum isn’t expired. 5/5 🍻

P.S. The developer really likes the number 3 XD

Busa's Misadventures: The Game - an adventure about the unlucky warrior empress Busa. The game is essentially an escape from a laboratory where the heroine is subjected to brainwashing whenever she gets caught.

The location is nicely designed. Even though some objects (chairs, machines, cabinets) lack collision, it doesn’t really interfere. I understand that the first trap (I wanted to clear it with a clicker, but got lazy) is meant to force the first rollback to zone 2, but in zone 3 the trap can be safely disarmed, and because of that it doesn’t disappear. I realized this during my second playthrough when I wanted to see what would happen if I didn’t try to free myself - in that case, it disappeared. The gas room and the boss are buggy, as others have already mentioned. The boss doesn’t have time to leave, and the dialogue can be retriggered if you run around in circles. And if you stand right in front of the room, you get stuck in the doorway :D

Now let’s move on to combat and enemies. I love how during fights you gradually get restrained! It limits your attacks, but at the same time the most effective move is always the kick. That’s a bit disappointing - I’d like to see some attacks being less effective against certain enemies. For example, biting should deal more damage to humans than to robots or similar enemies. That would give a reason to sometimes free yourself in order to keep your stronger attacks. Also, enemies never (or at least I couldn’t manage it) fully restrain you. You’re never fully restrained there’s always a tail left, and eventually you lose due to HP depletion.

And yes, in 100% of cases you will lose and get sent back. However, enemy HP does not reset, and I really like that as a gameplay feature. Once you’re pushed back, you have to escape the restraints again, but this time with a timer, which adds tension. I checked all defeat variations and I’m glad they differ.

The main boss fight cannot be won, but since a proper defeat system isn’t implemented, you can technically “complete” it. Still, it feels like a fire attack is missing :D

Overall, I like the character design. Heels are a personal weakness of mine :3. The visual design of the enemy restraints is also well done, but the bugs slightly spoiled the overall impression - though that’s understandable for a game jam.

P.S. There was also a bug where I could freely move during QTEs and fights, but it only happened once

Control Drone is a fun DOOM-like shooter. There are three weapons that complement each other well. The slime pistol is great for stunning enemies (if you land two headshots) and finishing them off. The rifle is suited for long-range combat and dealing high damage. And the web thingy works great for binding enemies while they are stunned

The main character, Tick-201, looks cute, while a captured target resembles a machine built for “killing.” There is random generation of enemy models (a Fluttershy-inspired style i tried not to lean into it too much :3), and three difficulty levels (Recruit, Officer, Captain), which differ in attack types and HP. Enemies can be pretty inaccurate if you keep dodging, but if there are several of them, they can easily trap you in a circle of bullets.

The level design is simple, similar to the early levels in DOOM, but that’s not a downside. The weapon-based binding system is particularly impressive. Usually, games don’t pay attention to such details, but here, switching weapons doesn’t completely reset the bindings (except when an enemy is already fully tied up).

If the levels were fully randomized, it would be even cooler! There’s even a stats system where you can compete to see who finishes the game faster. Speedrunners, go!

There is one drawback: bullets tend to fly slightly above and to the right of the crosshair. However, it’s easy to adapt to and only really noticeable in long-range fights.

For a Game Jam project, it’s a solid 5. It’ll be interesting to see how the game develops in the future.