Yep, just tried it and it works! I've only beaten the first level so far, but it's a really interesting concept, and it'd be neat for me to see how it would look if it were developed some more.
The platforming was pretty buggy. I would get caught on corners pretty often.
Nitpick: The sounds didn't seem to have any identifiable purpose. (Although they were pretty interesting, and I know that's just how game jams go.)
The font is hard to read and there is a text bug when the movement keys are [ and ].
Eventually I got stuck at an un-makeable jump and subsequently fell through the bottom of the world.
What I liked:
The premise is simple and straightforward. I like that you include some keys in the rotation that are otherwise kind of taboo to use, like the function keys.
The platforming controls themselves were perfectly serviceable.
I think there's some weirdness with picking up boxes when you're trying to do it frantically. I didn't quite pin it down, but it was either picking them up when I didn't press the button or it was NOT picking them up when I DID press the button.
There's a bit of collision glitchiness when you hit some edge cases with conveyors and boxes.
What I liked:
The concept is sound and it's well-executed. A lot of games in this jam that steal control from you seem "random" and annoying, but the spinner gives you enough lead time that it doesn't feel like a surprise at all, and you can prepare your next move as a result.
The game feel is basically perfect. The entire thing is very polished and tightly controlled.
The tutorializing is also perfect. I was able to pick up the game, figure out what's going on, and complete the first level on the first try, all without reading the description. Good pacing for sure. I haven't even been able to beat the second level yet and I already know that the strategizing and positioning involved makes this a neat sort of frantic puzzle game, and that's really interesting.
The art is very well directed, and the audio is serviceable (but sadly no music).
Overall, for a one-person project, this is everything you'd like to see from a game jam game. It's a game you could probably sell on a storefront with a bit of extra development. Great work!
Nitpicks: The Unity game screen doesn't fit the browser window properly, and there are a lot of audio panning bugs. Also, the chromatic aberration was more distracting than anything.
There's no indicator of which off-screen kids are fighting or crying, and where they are, besides the audio cues. Setting aside the accessibility issue, it's just not very fun IMO to be clueless as to where the bad stuff is happening, but I understand why you'd design it that way.
Ultimately, despite all the production value, it's just not super fun to run around and press the spacebar on kids. Given more time, it'd have been interesting to add some extra layer of depth to kid-management, like maybe balancing your measly publicly-funded budget to choose between hiring an assistant, adding fire safety barriers, etc.
What I liked:
Extremely well-done Edmund McMillen-inspired visuals and audio. The music is a legitimate banger. The game has a very strong Binding of Isaac vibe and I'm sure that's intentional.
The premise just works well. The little monsters really do get out of control faster than a pangolin plague.
The toilets don't even have freakin' dividers.
Overall, this one is well worth a try. Great work!
The controls are floaty for a game that's supposed to be about carefully controlling your character. Buggy Unity physics means that you can get unfairly killed when you meet an enemy at a ramp. It doesn't help that the hitboxes are extremely unforgiving, thanks to the player's jump velocity being seemingly half that of their lateral velocity.
What I liked:
The premise is very straightforward and interesting! I like that the entire instructions screen could have basically stayed on the screen for the entire game. It's a sign that you can most likely take this idea pretty far forward.
The assets all work together serviceably and there weren't any "strictly gameplay" bugs in the code.
I had to give it a low rating because the platforming itself is so punishing. Overall, good concept, and great work for one person!
The Control key was an unfortunate one to bind in browser mode, since I would press CTRL+W to walk up and it would close the tab.
Nitpick: Since the current version is an endless survival game, there's actually no reason to enter Hyde mode at all. As fun as it is to slap enemies as Hyde, you can just stand in the corner and survive forver. Also, you can cheese the movement by attacking as Hyde and then holding CTRL to walk around to the next enemy.
With some more time you could've added some extra juice to attacking & taking damage.
What I liked:
The concept is straightforward and understandable, but I may be a little biased, as you know ;)
The graphics and audio are both well-done. Good job to your team! (I think the mood of each could be made to meet each other a little better with some extra time.)
I like the way that you implemented Hyde's sporadic movement. It fits the out-of-control theme without feeling particularly unfair.
Hyde's slapping distance is nice and generous, which prevents it from getting annoying by forcing you to get close and take damage.
It was not very clear to me what exactly I was supposed to do for quite a while. I eventually realized that I was supposed to pick up resources from each of the mechs and deliver it to one of the others (I'm pretty sure?). I didn't figure out which mech receives which resource, though, nor did I figure out how points get scored or lost (but I beat the level with 3 points scored and 1 lost). This is a situation where I assume some extra time would've helped you add polish & tooltips to convey the concepts to players.
What I liked:
The character controller system is really interesting and definitely captures the out-of-control feel. As far as I can tell, you need to pace your clicks at a consistent rate as if you're taking proper breaths, which is really neat! I think this control scheme also might lend itself well to a mobile game context.
The music and graphics are both REALLY impressive in their own rights, so great job with those too!
If this is a one-person game, then it's especially impressive -- but either way judging by the last-2-minutes submission it seems like you worked really hard on it :)
The gravity shifts are more annoying than anything. It killed me several times and I spent most of my time just waiting for gravity to flip again. I only realized there was a timer at the top of the screen after beating the game since it was cut off on the screen (Unity browser builds are notoriously glitchy). This is a situation where I think extra polish would help, e.g. a big ticking clock with a ticking sound effect, etc.
The boxes seemed kind of superfluous, but I know that's just how game jams go.
What I liked:
The music was impressive. The graphics are serviceable too, especially minding that it's not pixel art. Overall for a two-person game this is decently produced!
[Spoilers] I really liked that there were little secret paths and a shortcut in the level! Adds some extra layers to it. Having control over gravity as a post-game power is nice.
Good job on the game. The difficulty seems balanced enough; I was able to beat it with some effort.
What I disliked:
Maze-like level design didn't feel very compelling. Camera seems "too zoomed in" so it's hard to spot the incoming baddies.
What I liked:
The narrative (the sister's dialog box) explains her mechanic very succinctly and well. Most important of all, once you lose a sibling you DEFINITELY feel out-of-control, so in that sense, the game's a resounding success!
Thanks for the kind words BTW. We used some of your advice for finishing up version 2. You can try it out now, it's mostly a refinement of the graphics, sound, music etc. of version 1. If we ever move forward with a bigger scope we will do what you suggested in your final paragraph :)
Yeah, I didn't know about that until after submission. I'm 99% sure why it happens, and the fix is simple (just a conditional check before setting the pit death timer), but I'm not going to update the game until after the jam voting is done lest we be called cheaters.
