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Hello! Thank you for this experience, well done for the work.

The main menu is surprising, I like the idea that we don’t have the possibility to save or load a game.
We have time to get attached to the characters, and the flashbacks from the past are touching and relevant, I think.
I really liked the endings as well, which break away from the usual perfect hero cliché. I like the idea that he becomes aware of his flaws, accepts them, and builds his own philosophy of life from that.
The narration is short and straight to the point, while still taking the time to develop the character’s emotions (I should take note of that haha, I now understand better what you were trying to tell me in your review).

In terms of areas for improvement, I would say:

- Create more of a horror atmosphere,  creepy ambient sound design that stresses us out. Creaking sounds (more than just the knock door you added). I also think you could have added echo sounds, and at the end, sounds that match the action you’re describing. Sound really has more impact than we think!

- For your backgrounds, I think using darker colors would have been more interesting , sometimes it feels like it’s broad daylight, which can contradict the story where we’re in a strange and abandoned place.


Congrats on your efforts, for now this one is my favorite. I really like this short novel format and this fast-paced storytelling (that’s a personal opinion in this case!).
See you soon!

Hello ! Hope you are well ! The idea of the story is nice with quite a few links that we can find in our own world. I think using fantasy to discuss these topics is a wonderful idea.
I don’t know what kind of feedback to give since it’s still in progress, so maybe what I’m saying are things already planned!
For the intro, I would have added a few visuals, even simple ones, to present the universe, the Shepherd’s fortress, for example, a map of the empire, etc.
The music is well-chosen to present the concept, I think.
The idea of the flowchart is good, I hope you’ll keep it for the rest of the game.
For the raven character, I would have added some onomatopoeia to characterize him more.
Good luck with the rest of the development!

Commentaire de ma review : 

Je viens de tester, félicitations pour ce travail en 48h ! Je trouve la qualité vraiment super. Les graphismes 3D fonctionnent très bien et nous mettent directement dans l'ambiance fast-food… mais pour des cellules souches ! En 48h, c’est vraiment impressionnant (l'UI du début est aussi sympa). Le tuto est bien réalisé (même s’il y a un peu trop de texte, mais on est en jam donc je comprends à 100%).

Je ne connais pas l’objectif pédagogique, mais en jouant, dans tous les cas, j'ai appris des éléments sur les cellules souches et leur fonctionnement ! La mécanique de jeu sert bien le propos scientifique.

En termes de design, le gameplay est vraiment compréhensible. Je me suis bien amusé à m’emmêler les pinceaux avec les va-et-vient dans le menu !

En axe d'amélioration (bien sûr, je sais que vous n'aviez que 48h), je dirais que la difficulté monte trop vite, ce qui peut parfois être frustrant. Et aussi peut-être baisser les cooldowns des cellules afin d'avoir un gameplay plus dynamique, mais pour le coup ça, c'est subjectif !
Je crois aussi que j'ai eu un bug quand les commandes s'enchaînent et s'empilent ; à un moment, je ne comprenais plus rien, j'avais ma commande de terminée mais ça ne voulait pas s'envoyer. Peut-être clarifier dans quel ordre il faut les traiter.

Encore félicitations pour ce travail, c'est génial en 48h !

Je viens de tester, félicitations pour ce travail en 48h ! Je trouve la qualité vraiment super. Les graphismes 3D fonctionnent très bien et nous mettent directement dans l'ambiance fast-food… mais pour des cellules souches ! En 48h, c’est vraiment impressionnant (l'UI du début est aussi sympa). Le tuto est bien réalisé (même s’il y a un peu trop de texte, mais on est en jam donc je comprends à 100%).

Je ne connais pas l’objectif pédagogique, mais en jouant, dans tous les cas, j'ai appris des éléments sur les cellules souches et leur fonctionnement ! La mécanique de jeu sert bien le propos scientifique.

En termes de design, le gameplay est vraiment compréhensible. Je me suis bien amusé à m’emmêler les pinceaux avec les va-et-vient dans le menu !

En axe d'amélioration (bien sûr, je sais que vous n'aviez que 48h), je dirais que la difficulté monte trop vite, ce qui peut parfois être frustrant. Et aussi peut-être baisser les cooldowns des cellules afin d'avoir un gameplay plus dynamique, mais pour le coup ça, c'est subjectif !
Je crois aussi que j'ai eu un bug quand les commandes s'enchaînent et s'empilent ; à un moment, je ne comprenais plus rien, j'avais ma commande de terminée mais ça ne voulait pas s'envoyer. Peut-être clarifier dans quel ordre il faut les traiter.

Encore félicitations pour ce travail, c'est génial en 48h !

Thank you very much for this feedback, especially since without your work this game would not have had the same flavor!

Thanks a lot! Glad you enjoyed it! The absurd moments were definitely intentional to add some contrast, so it’s great to hear they worked for you. Appreciate the kind words! 

Wow, thanks so much for the awesome feedback! 😊

Glad the third ending resonated with you, it was meant to be tragic yet poetic, so it’s cool to hear your take on it. And yeah, the idea of losing yourself to grief and vengeance was a big theme!

Really happy you enjoyed the timed minigame too! We wanted to break the usual VN structure and make things more dynamic, so it’s great to hear it worked.

A Danganronpa-style game with devil deals sounds insanely fun, definitely an idea worth exploring! 😆 Thanks again for playing!

I found the UI and graphics really nice, and the concept fits the theme perfectly! As for improvements, I’d suggest making the gameplay a bit simpler,maybe it’s just me, but in WebGL, it felt a bit tricky to handle. Thanks for this work !

Glad you liked it! ❤️  Thanks for playing!

Yes, in the case of Nanoreno, I think we’ll be less afraid to take the time to explain certain elements in more detail while still keeping a dynamic pace!

Yes, it’s a good idea to make two versions, even though I think the Nanoreno version will be the final one, as I prefer having a deeper story—just like you do as well.

Thank you, that’s really kind of you to offer to give feedback again! But please don’t feel obligated at all, what you’ve already done is already incredibly generous.😊

Hello! Congrats on this work! I was really impressed by the world-building / Visuals in this game, it’s really clean and smooth. The gameplay is easy to pick up, and once I figured out how to gain speed, I had a lot of fun. It fits the jam’s theme 100%.

As a minor improvement, maybe adding a line at the beginning of the game to indicate the crouch key (CTRL for me) could help players go faster more easily.

Once again, great job!

Thanks for this answer !

Hey! Just dropping another comment because I’m really curious, what game engine did you use to make this? 

Hello! Hope you're doing well!

First of all, thank you for taking the time to test the game and write such a detailed and precise review. I know that takes time, and I really respect that—I truly appreciate it.

I'm glad you had a good time, and I totally agree with you—there's definitely room for improvement!

Regarding your points

1️⃣ Ending System_We simplified the ending for production reasons (we only had a week). Originally, we wanted a system where if the player had a medium number of coins, they could choose their ending, but if they had too many, they would automatically get the bad ending, and if they had very few, they’d get the good ending. We even considered a special ending for collecting zero coins!

2️⃣ Descriptions & Emotion_I understand your point about the lack of descriptions to deepen the character’s emotions. Since this jam’s audience isn’t used to visual novels, we intentionally kept the text minimal to avoid overwhelming players. But as a VN player myself, I also feel that more descriptions would have made the experience more immersive!

3️⃣ Choice Clarity_You're right—sometimes, it's obvious which choices will spread despair, and sometimes, it's not. I thought mixing both approaches would create some surprises while still giving the player free will to spread misery or not. But I see what you mean—it can make the system feel inconsistent.

4️⃣ Lack of Emotional Attachment_I completely agree. The problem with using multiple universes is that players don’t get attached to the characters, making the moral choices feel less impactful. This is a shame because the game is supposed to make players question their morality. I’ll definitely take this into account for future projects!

5️⃣ Comedy vs. Seriousness_This is an interesting point—it raises the question of whether comedy and serious tones can blend together. I think they can, but in this case, it might be too 50/50 instead of having a dominant tone with subtle elements of the other. (It’s something we often see in theater, where heavy messages are hidden within comedies.)

6️⃣ Linear vs. Interactive Gameplay_You're absolutely right. I was worried that VN players are rare in a generalist jam, so I feared that if the game was too linear, people would lose interest. That’s why I decided to include more coin-related situations, but it’s true that this came at the cost of quality and emotional impact. Your suggestion is really interesting, and I’ll definitely share it with the team. The idea that suffering can become so extreme that it turns absurd is a great direction to explore. (While still creating a real dilemma of "Might as well finish what we started...")

Thank you also for the bug reports—I’ll make sure to note them down and fix them!

You're absolutely right, I need to work more on emotional attachment, whether through the art, design, or writing. In this jam, I limited the word count for my team, fearing that non-VN players would lose interest. But as a result, we probably disappointed the ones who were actually here for the story.

We might actually submit this game to the NaNoRenO jam, since we created it during that period! So, we may make some changes before then.

To wrap this up, I just want to sincerely thank you for your honesty and for taking the time to play and give such in-depth feedback. That’s incredibly valuable, and it's the only way we can improve.

Thanks again, and I hope you’ll enjoy our future games even more!

VISUAL NOVEL GANG LET'S GO! 🔥

Thanks! Glad you found it entertaining and liked the take on the theme!

Wow, thank you so much! That really means a lot! 😊 Glad you enjoyed it!

Comment from my review : 

Hello!

Congrats on this work! I had a great time playing. The difficulty is well-balanced, with levels getting progressively harder.

A big highlight for me is the UI and overall atmosphere, which are really well executed. I also really liked the narrative aspect at the beginning, as it gives context to what we're doing, always a great addition!

The level design is top-notch, and I love how the level names provide just enough information to guide us toward a solution without giving it away. Well done! 

Hello!

Congrats on this work! I had a great time playing. The difficulty is well-balanced, with levels getting progressively harder.

A big highlight for me is the UI and overall atmosphere, which are really well executed. I also really liked the narrative aspect at the beginning, as it gives context to what we're doing, always a great addition!

The level design is top-notch, and I love how the level names provide just enough information to guide us toward a solution without giving it away. Well done! 

That's awesome!  Really glad you had fun, especially as it's your first visual novel! And getting all three endings? That's Impressive!  Thanks for playing!

Really cool initiative! Have fun and good time !

Here’s the link to my game: PAINPAL.

Comment from my review : 

Hello!

Congrats on this work! The game's atmosphere is really dynamic and intense—I really enjoyed that!

From a design perspective, I think the flow mechanic with the shift key is really cool, and the FX make it feel super satisfying! The die-and-retry aspect is also smooth and well-executed, I must have died at least 100 times without even noticing! 😆

As a suggestion for improvement, I would make the early levels a bit easier to help players get used to the mechanics.

Hello!

Congrats on this work! The game's atmosphere is really dynamic and intense—I really enjoyed that!

From a design perspective, I think the flow mechanic with the shift key is really cool, and the FX make it feel super satisfying! The die-and-retry aspect is also smooth and well-executed, I must have died at least 100 times without even noticing! 😆

As a suggestion for improvement, I would make the early levels a bit easier to help players get used to the mechanics.

Really happy you liked it! 😊 It means a lot, especially if you're not usually into visual novels. Thanks for giving it a try!

Comment from my review : 

Hello!

Congrats on this work! I find the core gameplay really clever, and I love how you gradually made the mechanics more complex.

I also want to highlight the UX—it’s really well done! The way the text is integrated into the levels and the reminder to press "R" when stuck at the end are great touches. These small details really help make the experience more cool!

As a suggestion for improvement, for better comfort, I might have mapped the jump to the "jump" key to make it feel more intuitive.

Hello!

Congrats on this work! I find the core gameplay really clever, and I love how you gradually made the mechanics more complex.

I also want to highlight the UX—it’s really well done! The way the text is integrated into the levels and the reminder to press "R" when stuck at the end are great touches. These small details really help make the experience more cool!

As a suggestion for improvement, for better comfort, I might have mapped the jump to the "jump" key to make it feel more intuitive.

Comment from my review : 

Hello!

Congrats on this work! I really appreciated the immersion I felt while playing. It was super relaxing, and the music played a big role in that, it really made me feel like I was deep in the ocean. The graphics are also really cool!

At first, I thought it would be a game like Angry Shark, but it turned out to be something completely different! The gameplay is easy to pick up and very intuitive.

As for an improvement, maybe adding a full-screen option could be nice (unless I missed the key for it, or you simply didn’t have time to include it).  Also, it fit the jam theme for me !

Hello!

Congrats on this work! I really appreciated the immersion I felt while playing. It was super relaxing, and the music played a big role in that, it really made me feel like I was deep in the ocean. The graphics are also really cool!

At first, I thought it would be a game like Angry Shark, but it turned out to be something completely different! The gameplay is easy to pick up and very intuitive.

As for an improvement, maybe adding a fullscreen option could be nice (unless I missed the key for it or you simply didn’t have time to include it).  Also, it fit the jam theme for me !

Hello!

Congratulations on this game! It's really well-designed and feels super complete. There are so many different gameplay combinations, and the difficulty is really well-balanced, it starts off easy but gradually becomes quite challenging towards the end, giving players time to build up their skills!

The controls are also great, and I really liked the ability to customize the ship. 🚀

Thanks a lot! Really happy you loved it! 😊 I’m glad the suspense kept you wondering until the end!

Thanks so much! Really glad you enjoyed the ride, literally and figuratively! 🔥

The idea of spreading despair through different lives was definitely a fun (and twisted) concept to explore. No worries about rating, the fact that you had a hell of a time playing is more than enough!

Awesome! Glad to hear that! 😊 thanks for playing!

Glad you gave it a try, especially since it's your first visual novel! 

You definitely embraced the evil! And yeah, "fever dream" is probably the perfect way to describe it! 😂 Thanks for playing!

Haha, glad you had fun with it! And nice catch on "faze"! 😆

Getting the third ending means you didn’t spread too much despair, looks like you have a good heart!

Thank you so much for taking the time to test it, even if it's not your type of game, that's really cool!

I tested, rated, and gave feedback on your game—I really loved it!

Here’s the link to mine. I also made a game where narration is at the heart of the experience, but with a bit of gameplay as well! Link of our game : PAINPAL

Comment from my review:

Hello!!!

Thank you for this! I had a great time! The narration is mysterious and dark, making me question everything—I was really curious to see if that hallway actually had an end, haha. I also really liked the aspect of not knowing who you’re going to meet. The story about the family trying to reunite was really touching and fit perfectly into the game. Also the art feet well with the atmosphere.

In terms of design, I think the combination of the health bar and objects opens up a lot of interesting possibilities. It allows for different situations where the player has to make impactful choices, and it also adds a layer of strategy in giving the right object to the right monster. And it fits the theme 100%!

Hello!!!

Thank you for this! I had a great time! The narration is mysterious and dark, making me question everything—I was really curious to see if that hallway actually had an end, haha. I also really liked the aspect of not knowing who you’re going to meet. The story about the family trying to reunite was really touching and fit perfectly into the game. Also the art feet well with the atmosphere.

In terms of design, I think the combination of the health bar and objects opens up a lot of interesting possibilities. It allows for different situations where the player has to make impactful choices, and it also adds a layer of strategy in giving the right object to the right monster. And it fits the theme 100%!

I rated! L loved the atmosphere you created !  (more details in my review in the comments).

Here’s the link to my game: PAINPAL