itch.io

Edit: Now that the second build is up and most of the kinks have been smoothen out, it became much more fun and I was able to make it to the end. I particularly liked the first and the last level. The puzzles are very engaging and they each have a unique solution that is built on top of previous levels. You did a banging job at writing as well and managed to capture the talents' tones perfectly!

Got stuck on the Bae level and wasn't able to reach the yellow button, but still enjoyed it. The art and writing is especially on point. I can see that a good amount of effort is spent on the dialogue system. Having a 10 second timer is an interesting mechanic and helps me limit what I need to think about.

Not sure if it's a bug, but I did not hear any sound while playing it. The platforming is a bit tight for a puzzle platformer, and I died to the spikes on the second level way more times than I would admit. I like the difficulty curve of the puzzles up until I got stuck.

Great job on the game! It's an amazing submission considering that you worked solo.

Thank you so much for the support. Great job on your submission as well! All the best with your future gigs and Brackey’s gam jam, if you actually decided to go for it.

This is a tricky one to rate since I'm playing it alone. The gameplay feels like a typical bomberman-type game with the option to push bombs. Maybe it was because I wasn't able to change the type of the bombs. The main menu design is cool and the logo uses an 'interesting' color. Great job on the submission!

The puzzle mechanic and levels are creative, and the difficulty progression is actually pretty well balanced once I've learnt the controls. I think a lot of the friction can be removed by having only the relevant controls in the first few levels. For example, the first level will only teach about the power meter and shooting. 

Either way, great submission. It would be interesting to see how this game expands.

A pretty simple concept but it's cool that the bullets reflect off walls. Gameplay and controls are easy to learn. 

There are 2 main issue I faced:

- Inability to distinguish between bullets that will hurt me, and those that don't

- I don't know how much health I have left

My main strategy is just to spam clicks in random directions at the start, and dodge the incoming bullets, which gets dull quickly.

Still, great job on the submission!

The hand-drawn tutorial and intro drew me into the game right away (pun not intended). The gameplay itself is short and sweet, with a funny plot twist at the end. Moves are telegraphed nicely, but the timings for all attacks are pretty much the same. Controls are a bit complex for a jam game and there isn't a reason for choosing between left and right punches. Difficulty feels right as I was able to get to the end on my first try. One big thing I can see being improved would be the responsiveness of the player input. Right now, it is difficult to know if Doki got hit by the enemy, and it feels underwhelming when she lands a hit. Things like sound effects, visual effects, and screen shake will add a lot to the game feel. 

Great submission overall. I can see a lot of room for this game to expand.

Having both movement and attack tied to the mouse made for an interesting gameplay where I have to sacrifice one for another. The different attack options also added another twist to it. I can see this concept expanding into something much more. Great job on the submission!

A pretty unique take to a roguelike! The gameplay is simple, but it is interesting how you included left and right movement as well. It's cool how you're able to implement so many guns, each with a different effect. I can feel an improvement with every upgrade I take. One way you can juice this up is to add a 'hurt' animation to the enemies so that they don't appear unfazed after getting blasted by an RPG. Great job on the game!

Great submission. The art and writing is very charming. I'm suprised with the amount of endings you managed to implement. The main ending sure did exceed my expectation. It would be better if the bad endings bring me back to the previous choice, but I guess saving and loading does the same thing. If I am to nitpick, the combination lock can be made more responsive by adding a sound effect for each input. Either way, it's still a well executed game. Good job!

Thanks for the long review, I'm glad you liked everything this game has to offer. Quite a few of the events are added around 2 days before submissions, but I'm glad we managed to put aside time to get them implemented. Money and rent is there to prevent the player from choosing trainings without thinking, so it's good to know that you're able to overcome it.

As for the bug, seems like there's some issue with the screen transition and it got stuck in the 'blackened' state. Thanks for bringing it up.

Very fun game with simple mechanics. It really captured the crazy chain reaction of upgrades in roguelikes and add to the replayability. Art is great as well, and it's cool that you animated Doki 'taking' and the squishy dragoons. The only few critiques I have would be that the sound effects for text is a bit distracting, and the shop choices are a bit too limited. Overall, it's a great submission. Good job on it!

I think my dragoons became sentient during one of the rounds.

The art direction is great and really stands out. Animations are well done as well. Music and sound effects fit the theme, and the intro is funny and was able to give me the required context of the game. 

For most part, the game is works fine, but there is always some confusion the first time I start a sticker minigame. It is also easy for it to spiral into a game over, but I do like how all sticker minigames have the same mechanic/objective, which is to avoid them. Another problem I had was on understanding the goal of the "Appease him" challenge. I was able to get the "pretty lady" to overlap with DAD, but nothing was happening.

I still really like how this game was able to delineate so much from the typical RPG maker game. I probably wouldn't even have realised it if you changed the start UI sound. You did a very good job on the game!

A difficult but fun game. The itch page is nicely decorated and the art is very well done. Gameplay loop is simple, straightforward, and fun. Enemies are varied in a creative way. I was not able to get pass the chonky dragoon, but it was tense in an enjoyable way. The only suggestion I have would be to add some slow animations, like cloud moving in the background, or an occasional tumble weed. Good job on getting the game this polished!

Gameplay is short but it's surprisingly polished for a first game. It's nice to have the tutorial written on the floor so the player can't miss it. Controls is pretty responsive with the moving hands, reload, and dash animation. The minimap is also a great addition. There are a few things that can be improved, like juicing up the hits and death, and adding more sound effects to enemies. Great work on the game!

cloudlime did most of the writing. He handled the UI, art direction, additional pixel art, and part of the design as well

Thanks for the review, I’m glad you like the game so much. From our playtesting, we found out that there were 2 types of people; one who min max the heck out of one stat, and another that only chooses the random event encounters. The ending issue wouldn’t happen to the first type of people, but I guess I have to figure out how to make it intuitive for the others. Thanks for pointing that out!

Thank you so much for the detailed review. The game did end up needing a lot more writing than I initially planned, and we did not have a dedicated writer, so I’m glad the dialogue still turned out enjoyable. I have to thank the playtesters as well to allow us to polish the core gameplay to this degree. As for the music, I don’t have much to say. I just told the composer what we’re looking for and almost everything just fits perfectly. I’m sure he has some secret references hidden somewhere.

We don’t talk about the username

Not sure if I'm missing anything, but it seems like there is no 'correct' solution sometimes, and Crowki is rarely useful since my health doesn't go above 10. The gameplay is actually interesting though. I can see it becoming a puzzle game with increasing complexity. It would be interesting to see if you can expand on this idea.

The art is great and gameplay is straightforward, but it can be a bit frustrating to play. Maybe I'm not the target audience, but I don't enjoy having my momentum reversed after hitting a scarecrow, and getting launched backward. I'm also not a fan of the fall damage since it discourages flying high, even though it's what I need to do. Progression is also pretty slow with the amount of money I'm getting. On the other hand, I very naturally understand the objective. Having randomized levels is cool as well, but I find it a little odd to make it optional. Overall, the execution can be improved, but I can see a lot of potential. Everything I've said is just my opinion, so don't feel like you actually have to do anything.

The writing is my absolute favourite so far. From the intro to the ending, everything is funny and nothing feels padded out. I seriously marvel at your choice for the final boss. I would like whatever the writer is on when developing this. The gameplay is pretty snappy and polished as well. Controls are smooth and responsive, bombs feel impactful, and the overall difficulty is nicely balanced. It's nice that DAD is actually helping. If I am to nitpick, I don't like how the enemies spawn right on me sometimes, and I often die without noticing my health bar. There's also the slightly buggy music loop. Overall, it's still a very enjoyable game to play! Great job on this.

Seems like many have already talked about the HP bar and tight controls, but I want to point out the crazy amount of polish in the visual effects as well. The explosion effect is really well done, impactful, and conveyed the blast radius well. Actions like shooting, getting hit, and running are accompanied by plenty of effects. The level design is also polished, never felt repetitive, and things like HP and enemies are well placed. Another cool feature is that the aiming is not completely 2D. It took me a while to realise it, but it nice to be able to hit the dragoons that are otherwise unreachable. Good job on the game!

Thanks for playing it for so long, I’m glad you found it fun. Good catch regarding the typo in one of the most seen dialogue. I have no idea how we missed that.

A fun and interesting mix between puzzle and 'resource management'-typed games. I spent more time playing this than I would expect. Things became much more rewarding once I figured out how to plan my moves. There are plenty of flairs like the drinking minigame and crow that really breaks away from the main gameplay in a good way. The only thing I dislike would be how I get one-shoted by the hardest boss because I did not get the health upgrades, but I guess that's intended? The tutorial level was very helpful for figuring out the gameplay, and having one this tightly integrated into the game is a big plus. Great job on the game!

I collected everything except the last bomb and time ran out when it was right in front of me. Anyways, here's what I think. Keep in mind that my review is going to be biased towards what I like to play.

First of all, there is a weird delay when clicking on button in the main menu. The intro is kinda long. All the player needs to know is that there are bombs, city gonna explode, mayor gone. Writing is not really my thing, so I can't say too much other than to make it shorter.

The map is way bigger than what I would prefer. I like how you have a center piece for almost every part of the map, but is there really a reason to split them out? I spent most of my time running around, so I would cut the 'boring' parts out and make only a  couple of maps, with multiple of those center pieces in each map. When opening the map, it also took me some time to find where I'm at. Consider making the indicator more eye-catching.

Controls are simple and straight forward, which is always good. There are some nice details like making the roofs transparent to not hide the characters, and making dragoons react when bumping into Doki. Dashing feels nice, but it doesn't really serve a purpose since there's nothing to evade. If it's just a matter of making the player move faster, then maybe the stamina bar is not needed.

I've got to say that this game is much better than the first few that I've made. Great job working on this and looking forward to see what else you'll come up with. (Also, the secret is cursed)

I always like seeing the theme interpreted literally, and you managed to make it work. Gameplay is slightly more complex than an idle game, but still easy to learn and have the same vibe. I especially like how you designed the character system so that they can be used in several different places. One small criticism I have would be that it takes a bit too long to unlock everything. Overall, you did a very good job with the amount of time you had!

Great submission! Even though visual novels are not my thing, this game is short and funny enough that it made me try for all the endings. The pacing is good, with the background and characters always changing so I don't feel 'stationary'. I have to admit that I didn't understand the riddle. Maybe the hint could have remained in the dialogue box when selecting the options. Good job on the game.

Thanks for playing. Balancing this game is tricky. We ended up using rent to prevent spamming the same training and different endings to encourage focusing on one stat each run. I’m glad you had fun either way!

The UI, art and opening sequence are great. There's even a dragoon screen transition. That said, I could not fully understand the gameplay. I know that I'm suppose to connect the bubbles together, but I have no idea what I am supposed to do from there. Things like whether I should click on them or let them pop by themselves, when to use skills, and what does the opponent's skills do. Not knowing the strats made me lose to the sage dragoon without learning what I can change in my next round.

Great job on the game. I'm surprised with how complete the story feels, along with the crazy level of polish you have. It stands out aesthetically from the start with that game page and intro. Gameplay is straightforward, easy to learn, and flows smoothly. There is a good amount of environment art as well, and I like how some of the walls and floor tiles are curved. One unusual decision I noticed is that the screen shake applies to the whole 3d rendered screen, rather than the game screen. Made me curious if there's a deeper reason around it.

Overall, the game is very well polished. Movement is a bit too quick and slippery, which was not an issue for me most of the time other than during some of the platforming sections. It was a little confusing when the path branches, but I made it to the end fine. Difficulty is on the easier side and I would much prefer that for a jam game. The dialogue system stands out the most here to me, with plenty of character variations, responsive controls and humourous writing.  I can see that the tilemapping is a bit of a rushed job, but you've still managed to avoid creating similar levels. Sound is balanced nicely and I like how dragoons squeaks when shot. There could be better use of the chain reaction mechanic, but still great job on your submission!

My feedback here is more or less similar to what the others have mentioned. The control scheme is similar to celeste, but the movement feels too heavy and unresponsive for a precision platformer. The character does not stop immediately after I let go of the arrow keys. The smallest step I can take is around the width of the whole character, which is way too much. There is also issues like the player continuing to move forward while jumping even though I've let go of the arrow keys. Dashing doesn't feel powerful enough since you fall down immediately at the end of a dash, without retaining any of the momentum. Oddly enough, there is screen shake implemented when you land, but none when you dash.

On the visual side, I like how the dialogue box jump when talking. The text also appears in a cool fashion, and you have inserted pauses alongside the text. The respawn/rewind animation is pretty interesting, but I would also suggest to shorten it if possible. The backgrounds seems to be unfinished, but adding a moving noise texture made it more distracting than just without.

With that said, you wouldn't really be able to tell if your controls are good unless you keep letting different people try it, and then iterate over it again. Good luck with the concept and hopefully you'll be able to polish it up!

Everything about this is so polished. From the hit effects and sound design, to the animations and writing. Art direction is consistent, the control feels snappy, and the levels are designed very tightly. Each block feels intentionally placed. My absolute favourite part of the game would be the polish during Mint-mode, where the controls feel natural, interactables are highlighted, having Mint 'face' the direction of the cursor, and using wisps to indicate the number of things that can be moved. The only criticism I can think of would be to snap Doki onto a grid, so that the number of places she can shoot from is limited because I felt like I was not solving the puzzle the intended way towards the final levels. Great job on the game!

It's a simple, short and funny game to play. Sound effects can be overwhelming at the start, but that's really all I can complain about. There's even an ending song. What's not to love.

Mouse sensitivity issues aside, I like how there is a complete story in the game. It may have a surreal plot, but that just adds to the game. It's good that you have a different sound effect for when the player runs out of bullet. While the game is fine, I think the theme interpretation is too loose for this. I didn't even know there is a slide button and the game works fine without needing to use it. I suggest trying to integrate your unique mechanics more deeply into the core gameplay so that the players need to use them to progress.

Still, great job overall!

Great execution on a seemly simple mechanic. I like all the little details that can be seen in the levels. Each tool is well designed to have their own use cases. I did not use the roller skates that often, but I like that you are rewarding the players with medals to encourage experimentation with the tools. Explosions are cool, and the tutorials are well designed. One thing I want to point out from the level design is that the levels can be a bit too big. Some buttons are a bit too far on the edge of the screen and have inaccessible tiles on the edge. Having a clearly defined boundaries like the yard stage will make the final levels look neater. Overall, it is a fun game and made me play it all the way. Good job on the submission!

Great interpretation of the theme. The tutorial animations and levels are a great help to understand the main mechanics. I like some of the finer details like achievements and having the cursor change color when aimed at something. One of the things I'm not a fan of would be the need to exorcise the wisps to unlock further levels. I can see it being an extra challenge, but adding precision shooting into a puzzle game doesn't fit very well to me. The objectives are also not shown before finishing the level, so I don't know what to aim for at the start of each level. 

Overall, I think the game is executed nicely, especially after considering the limited time available. Good job!

Good job getting an entry submitted. I have to admit that I don't understand the controls and what I am supposed to do. I was able to change the gun somehow to an AK-47 and completed one of the missions, but I'm mostly confused on what I should be aiming for.

Great submission! The controls are intuitive and shown very clearly on the screen. Gameplay is creative and the gameplay loop is snappy. I think more can be done with the difficulty curve. Just the first stage took me some time to clear and I'm stuck at the beginning of the second stage. Some tutorial stages that teaches the interactions between each element would be a helpful addition. Good job on the game.

Nice little game you've made. The gameplay is simple but you still managed to made it fun. I don't fully understand how the grapple is intended to be used, but I still had fun upgrading my speed and ramming into stuff. The main thing I think that is lacking would be progression. The upgrades did not change really change how I played the game  and I ended up staying in the same main square every run. Having some hidden areas that requires certain upgrades to reach (and reward the player for doing so) would be a cool addition. It would also be nice to have a countdown towards the end of each run. 

All in all, great submission and good job on it!

Thanks for the compliments and for playing the game all the way to the end! The artists and sound designer did a very good job on the assets, so much so that I barely was able to catch up on the programming side. The writing is also one of the main focus of this game, so I'm glad you liked it as well.