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This is one of my favourite entries regarding the combat aspect. At first it felt hard because I misunderstood "Hold Left Click to charge attack, making you invulnerable" and thought that charging attack makes Mimi invincible, which doesn't make sense in retrospect since that would kill the tension. Once that got out of the way, what I got was a fun roguelike (?) experience where slaughtering the mobs was really satisfying. Loved the enemies' designs especially the giant centipede thing with segments. Mimi herself had a cute design and the story has a unique, interesting premise (thought I wish the first dialogue was skippable). Having your health being the timer is a good use of the theme for this specific kind of game because it incentivises the player to look for action Had to stop at some point when the game started lagging a lot (game lags when I visit many rooms but that seems to stop when I unlock a new floor) but I had like 15 minutes on the clock then. My little recommendation would be to add some secret boss rooms (unless they're already there and I just didn't find them) instead of adding more enemies in rooms since more enemies = more time farm for the player once they have like 5 denture stacks.

Hey this popped up randomly on my page and I liked the thumbnail so decided to give it a try. The game feels really nice overall and I'm quite fond of how the NPCs just move around and say random stuff. Definitely really nice to have in an RPG. The quiz was fun, filled with memes, and there was no right answer most of the time.  A countdown to go to class makes sense since you don't want to be late, but having it when just wanting to go back home doesn't.  Adding the part where the player gets the result of their exam could have saved the game. Actually I think you should've focused on finishing the story before adding some of the stuff (when exploring the school I saw a big empty room with a canteen north to it, and also an extra classroom. why add those when the story is at a cliffhanger?). Nevertheless, I can see the potential here and you did a really good job.

Congratulations, you made it to the top of my rage game tier list! The movement and the way the character turns around (and the rotation anchor not being their centre or something) was actually fun to play around though, and would sometimes help me grab oxygen tanks when I normally shouldn't have been able to. Didn't reach far areas in this, wish there were checkpoints because sometimes dying because of the sliding of the movement felt stupid and having to restart everything added to the frustration but if you're going for a rage game you can leave things as they are. Art is kinda cute, and the effect when the player starts drowning adds to the style and difficulty.

If I really wanted to leave a review on this I'd yap too much so I'll try and spare you some of that. First contact with the game felt really great and the OSTs (composers cooked btw) although quite varying across the game had a certain common beat I could trust during combat, where the point is to consume actions by timing them right.

The controls felt satisfying, fluid and immersive, and I think there's potential for a VR version of this game. I liked how the enemy AI was really simple when you just look at one of them separately, but then as a crowd they coordinate to create misery for the player: you actually have to choose the right weapon according to the situation, and the positional combat style reminded me of some old Call of Duty games. It wasn't until the Princess boss fight that I realised: the projectiles were not lagging on my device. They were actually stepping according to the beat. In fact almost everything in the game steps according to the beat which is awesome. Couldn't beat her second phase yet but that feels manageable with a bit more practice. I quit trying today when at one of those boss fight attempts, I fell through the floor at a map corner, and so I couldn't fight nor die so I had to quit, which wouldn't be so bad if it did not kill my save.

Oh and did I mention the composers cooked?

Was so focused on getting a high score that I completely forgot to rate this sooner. Here goes:

This game was very enjoyable, had simple and visually appealing art, really good audio design and even support for other languages which was completely unnecessary for a jam but you still did it for the sake of UX maybe? Actually impressive considering the time you had on your hands. Feature-wise I don't think anything is missing. I wish the controls on the character were a little more responsive at the beginning of the runs but when the game gets faster, the controls feel more responsive which is good. You really nailed the arcade feel on that one. The off-camera canon shots didn't bother me as much as the mountain gaps that just one-shot you. I tried to see if I could press space bar even without that gap, see if I could get an exploit. Game did not give it to me. However in the particular situation I show in this image, you can actually press space to jump over the wall, probably because the code just checks if the player's y position is below a gap or something. This configuration happens rarely enough for it to not matter though, and these are things that don't break the game's flow or fun at all. Might be good for you to be aware of those little bugs though for future stuff or if you plan to extend this..

Cool atmosphere in the game, nice use of the camera to make the movement more satisfying, and adding the ability to kill NPCs helps kill boredom (had literally no reason not to slaughter them all. Cool jacket? die. You like Honse? DIE. You hate yellow? Why're you even existing?). Anyway, you definitely needed more stuff to kill boredom, or to shorten the time but many people said that already. Anyway, this is the protagonist waiting for the world to end while looking at a funny number.

The game has good art and a decent music (death sound is very annoying though which kills audio a bit). The game is a bit annoying (an understatement actually) so I'll go with the assumption that you tried making a stupidly hard ragebait platformer. However there are some design decisions that could have been made to make the game feel better and the losses actually deserved.
First off there's the movement. You chose a snappy character controller but light taps on the arrow key sometimes translate to way too sudden and big movements, which makes the game feel unresponsive and is especially bad when the octopus is between 2 obstacles (and that happens a lot in the game)
Jump height isn't affected by how long you hold the up key, which is fine, but you can spam jumps by holding the up key, which would have been fine in other platformers, but not here because there's too many spikes everywhere across levels (look at the platform I circled in the image. Sometimes I'd jump off it to reach the next platform to the right, forgetting that I held the jump key so I'd then touch the spikes at the ceiling and start over. Not cool. Instead of that try an immediate key press approach with an input buffer).

Algae blend too much with the environment to be obstacles. Sometimes the player just forgets they're there. The shell things have a pointy end, and the pink purplish spiky things look very much like spikes. The algae don't look like danger at all so I died to them many times for no good reason.

And my complaints end here. I only completed 2 of those 5 levels and I don't think I'll be completing this today. Ragebait platformer did its job. At least it's a very nice looking game.

I definitely won't be winning this, which is normal because I'm not good at bullet hell games anyways. If there are things I'd praise here, it would be the sound design and art (especially the art. It gave Paper Mario vibes and I actually had to look up the name: it's called cut-out art). The game loop itself was fun, but the difficulty jump from stage 1 to 2 and the bugs killed part of the fun. Tiny bit of advice regarding warnings: you place visual warnings to tell the player an attack is coming soon, but that is usually done by placing the warnings where the attack will land, not where it will come from. This helps the player avoid the danger without decreasing the difficulty too much because it's still a bullet hell and the screen is filled with projectiles. Regardless, you did a great job.

That Timmy dude's hat looks very serious to me. Strange...
That puzzle game was really very fun. Liked the overall aesthetic and the main mechanic of the game is a really clever find. It's just like the "ghost run" on racing / speedrunning games except it's actually useful. Combining actions in such a way that the past attempts at solving the levels would coordinate in order to solve it for real was really satisfying (for example, I'd sometimes throw the key away to pass it to future me). Usually puzzle games can be very ragey so balancing things out can be a lot of work, but here this problem is solved naturally because no attempt at solving the level is meaningless, which is smart game design.

That was a fun experience. I was most pulled in by the artwork and how smooth and polished the game felt in general.  The combat system is a good take on the theme. The controls and the way you can alternate between shooting and pulling things felt natural. Only complain I'd have would be the jumping because sometimes the gaps were too big for no reason. Wasn't the case in the final boss fight though.

A Review of "Input Switch" for the GMTK Game Jam 2026

Game: Input Switch Developer: P_G Makes Games Jam: GMTK Game Jam 2026

Score: 4/5

Overview "Input Switch" is a clever and tense arcade-style game that takes the GMTK 2026 theme and runs with it in a very literal, challenging way. The core concept is deceptively simple: survive waves of enemies while your controls are constantly, unpredictably changing. It’s a test of reflexes, adaptability, and rapid problem-solving.

Theme Integration This is where the game truly shines. The theme implementation is direct and effective:

• The countdown timer for each wave decreases every time you make a mistake (colliding with an enemy).
• <span <this="" creates="" a="" perfect="" risk-reward="" loop:="" playing="" sloppily="" makes="" the="" game="" harder <="" span="">immediately>span class="">, as you have less time to prepare for the next wave.</span>
• The "input switch" itself—the changing controls—is the core mechanic that forces you to adapt. It's a brilliant way to embody the theme of shifting conditions, with the timer acting as the punishing consequence.

Gameplay & Difficulty The game is hard, but in a way that feels fair. The challenge comes from the frantic mental load of having to re-map your muscle memory every few seconds. The difficulty curve is steep but rewarding; surviving a wave where the controls changed mid-fight feels like a genuine accomplishment. The game's entire loop revolves around managing the countdown that gets shorter because of your mistakes, making every action feel weighty.

Presentation The game's presentation is clean and functional, fitting the jam format well. The UI clearly communicates the current controls and the ever-present, shrinking timer. While simple, the visual style serves the gameplay effectively, ensuring you can always read what you need to in the heat of the moment. The developer has also included a full credits menu, which is a nice touch for a jam game.

Final Verdict "Input Switch" is a fantastic example of a game jam game that takes a core idea and executes it with polish and purpose. It's a game that knows exactly what it wants to be: a frantic, punishing, and highly addictive challenge. The connection to the theme is strong and felt directly in the gameplay, and the escalating tension makes for a compelling experience. If you're looking for a tough but satisfying arcade challenge that will test your brain and reflexes, "Input Switch" is definitely worth your time.

Recommendation: Play it, but be prepared to fail... a lot.

This game was undoubtedly a very fun one. At first I just followed the visual indications without knowing wtf I am to do. But after each mid coffee I received tips on things to improve and I was really happy Yura got more and more satisfied with the coffee. I stopped after doing a "pretty good job" and having a Jasmine note on my brew, but I know there's more to unlock and would definitely come back.

Gameplay itself aside, you really cooked with the visuals and audio. This felt like something I'd play on my old Nintendo 3DS or smthin. It's really hard to find things to nitpick, and even the meme about not having autosave was funny. It's rare for a jam game to be in a state where it just needs more content and this one is in such a state.

Very, VERY fun game, really great take on the theme (and one of the ideas I threw out there but knew I'd not be able to pull off for now). The character designs are charming and not outstanding: you must be one of those who're way better at animating / dynamic visuals than drawing, with lots of self-conscious laziness with those fourth wall breaks. Meta humour was golden at least for me even though sometimes it could break immersion, cross-examination statements to find whatever BS I could use to defend the obvious culprit was really really fun. It's hard to find anything that annoys me, though you could've added a system where if you fumble over your words too many times, you lose the game (here the player can just brute-force through evidence until it works). Here you're relying on the good faith of players who will try to solve the cases for real instead of clicking through every option, and luckily I'm one of those so this was more of a nitpick. Really hilarious comment about the jam near the end, and I'd totally see myself coming back to this game if it ever gets expanded on after the jam.

It's always the little things... I'm not very good at arcade games even though I really like them. This one is no exception (my max score was 88 millions) and I don't know if you did it intentionally but the sh*t score calculation actually makes the game better imo.

In some runs I was just trying to survive the projectiles which led me to the point where lights were out and enemies were harder to dodge. In other runs I tried chasing the bullets to hit max combo and spin a lot which led me to a really good increase of points before the lights were even out. This game really fits the theme and if there was a jam about "courage" it would fit really well too because here the player is encouraged to brave the bullets to keep the numbers going up.

I also noticed that when you don't spin the music is really simple and while spinning it gets more catchy, and I've downloaded your project only to see that you don't have actual sound files (except for the Juniper serious one) but you're actually mixing the song from code? I don't know much about all this but it's seriously impressive.

To get back at what I've said in the beginning: I think it's a good thing for the score calculation to stay "sh*tty" like that: score increases exponentially when spinning with really good combo count, in a way the player can't really intuit well. That stops them from trying to mathematically beat the high score and encourages them to just stay in the zone. This was exactly what made the charm of old arcade games where you look at the scoreboard and wonder how the best scores were insanely huge.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, all I have to say is that this is a submission you can really be proud of.

I don't read VNs a lot and was a bit reluctant at first before trying it. Turns out it was actually fun, and you incorporated the theme in a simple and natural way: usually VNs' outcomes depend more on the player's choices so they're just a "click the option you never clicked before" simulator. Here the wheel and the mini games kinda stop that (though some of those really have no cue at all which is fine).
Never realised that I do like my stories with a bit of RNG, great job on this.

Ok that was lowkey really fun and my eyes hurt now 😭. Would've been really nice if there were specifically levels to complete after certain distances but as it stands, it's an enjoyable endless runner with lots of adrenaline and a really cool music. Aesthetics are good too, but maybe having to spin a lot makes the game too "hypno style". If that was intentional, then good. Could use more controls than just spinning around to fit the gaps, perhaps gravity inversion to immediately go upside-down fast for example? All in all this is really cool and eye-hurting, well done 👍 

Ok so this one had really fun Smash Bros vibes. Wish I had friends to play this with. The bot is kinda goofy because it just tries to follow the player. Not very smart, literally a birdbrain. For instance sometimes I could get into a funny position where I'm on top of its head and it keeps jumping. Then I'd slowly move to the edge and make it fall while it's unable to fight back. Other than the bot being kinda dumb, you did a good job! Wish we had more mechanics than just moving though (maybe an ULT?) but what you already have there is solid.

Ok that was actually a fun experience, lasting longer than it should've because of some bugs: in the image I attach to this, I could try pressing anything, my character would just not move. I think it's a bug that can be replicated if you climb a yarn from under a platform and not the edges kinda. So I had to refresh the page because there's no "restart level" and going back to main menu does not work which is sad. But I still managed to beat the level and what I can say is that you found a really good interpretation of the theme: spin the yarns to win indeed. Plus cats are featured in this game too. What's there to hate? Really nice visuals and sfx and music too.  Overall a good game despite its jank and small scale.

This is an endless and a decent one: compulsion to spin makes it skill-based and only movement really matters here (and holding shift). At some point though you get so any upgrades that you're unbeatable. The combat is still satisfying. Even reached floor 13 but at that point I felt like all th floors above would be the same so I stopped. Really enjoyable while it lasted, very cute and polished visuals, audio was fine but could've chosen a longer loop / more variety in the music. Overall a solid submission.

Hey there, I really like that Paper Mario style you went for (didn't see many going for that) and the music. The acceleration-based spinning felt really smooth and the whole gimmick of "guiding the orchestra" before they overwhelm you was interesting: I could see it having the style of a cool rhythm-based game. Only issue as others pointed out is how easy it is: maybe make the enemies faster each time you press space and don't hit anything? You could even make it so that if the player spins too fast for long enough they get dizzy and their accuracy lowers. In addition to maybe adding that (or other stuff to increase difficulty) it would have been cool to have an endless mode where you can just go grind for better scores but if you want the game to have a "finished" state you don't really need that. Overall a fun and serious entry, good job 👍.

That's a very polished game. "Deluxe" checks out here. Would enjoy it more if it gave the player more control on what to do though: only thing they can do is ult (?) with space but the physics simulation was really cool and the fights were satisfying to watch. Maybe with a more dynamic camera it would have been perfect. Overall a seriously great submission.

This really deserves more views and a tutorial fight because the mechanics are not really hard to get: experiencing them is much more easier than reading them and here you basically have to be mindful of the relative size of the future slice and the ownership it will get: if you don't expect to get the slice try to make it negative, if you do expect to get it try so make its size positive. The element of RNG and the shaking effect before spinning the wheel (actually the whole vibe) make it really thrilling but I hate the music a lot (idk if you're into metal or something but it just wasn't it for me. The boss music I meant 'cause the rest was just fine). Real diamond in the rough, and works perfectly on Mac. Also really good take on the theme, gotta love RNG X Strategy in roguelikes.

Ok that's a refreshing one and an interesting take on time-rewinding: only the player's state goes back in time but the world stays the same. That was basically super useful for phasing through stuff and I wish there were more levels to expand on this really smart gimmick. Only issue with that is when rewinding, the enemies are still seeking for you which is not very natural since only the supernatural being (i.e the player) should be aware of their own state when rewinding, if that makes sense. If I had to point out another issue, it would be that enemies' line of sight could use some fixing: sometimes they would shoot me through props when it looked like they shouldn't have been able to (although this is just a mild annoyance because I can just rewind time) and when at point blank, they simply wouldn't be able to kill me because bullets spawn too far away from their own position. This gave me puzzle / escape game vibes and it felt like playing it on "easy mode" because rewinding is so broken. To expand on this, you could keep the current levels and add a "normal mode" where for each room, the amount of rewind time is limited: should make the player use their brain at least. Other than that, really great game and it is a hilarious excuse that "rewinding time spins the hand of the watch hence you spin to win". I remember thinking of something similar but scrapped it early on. Glad someone actually did it.

Decent game,  tried to play it 2 different ways: on some runs I'd not care about humanity and try to just not run short on blood which led to lots of fighting and eventual death. On others I'd try to keep my humanity over 16 to avoid fights but it was hard to manage blood. So in the end there's no real strategy to cheese it, which is good game designing. Lazy effort to fit the theme though.

Enjoyable, simple game with simple controls and a simple gimmick. It kills boredom. as others said before jumping is hard, so you could think of balancing that by increasing the jump power: like that jumping is hard but at least rewards the player. Apart from that I don't have much to say. Good endless runner.

Definitely enjoyable, this is exactly the sort of things I used to do as a kid, but made into a game! The physics work really well here, CPU is smart enough to pose a threat, game is so simple you don't need some fancy tutorial, visuals are polished and there's even a playback after final round knockouts. Would have been so much better with sounds but as it is, it's already almost perfect.

Bullets of Hatred – Review

Bullets of Hatred is a fast-paced bullet hell that immediately understands what makes the genre enjoyable: movement, pressure, and constant decision-making. It doesn't try to overwhelm the player with unnecessary mechanics or lengthy tutorials. Instead, it throws you into combat quickly and lets the gameplay speak for itself.

The first thing that stood out to me was how responsive the controls feel. In a bullet hell game, movement is everything, and even a slight delay can make dodging frustrating. Here, moving around the arena feels smooth and predictable, making every mistake feel like my own rather than something caused by the controls. That responsiveness creates a satisfying gameplay loop where surviving dense projectile patterns becomes increasingly rewarding.

The enemy waves gradually build in intensity, introducing more bullets and requiring better positioning as the game progresses. Rather than relying solely on larger numbers of enemies, the game creates tension through the way projectiles fill the screen. There were several moments where escaping through a tiny opening felt genuinely satisfying, and those moments capture the essence of why bullet hell games are so enjoyable.

Visually, the game embraces a simple presentation that prioritizes readability over excessive detail. That's an important design choice for this genre because players need to quickly identify enemy attacks and safe spaces. The effects are easy to distinguish during hectic moments, and I rarely felt confused about what was dangerous. While the graphics aren't aiming for realism or lavish detail, they suit the gameplay well and keep the action readable even when the screen becomes crowded.

The audio complements the experience nicely. Sound effects provide useful feedback for firing, defeating enemies, and taking damage, helping reinforce the flow of combat. The music maintains the game's energetic pace without becoming distracting, although adding more variation between different stages or intensity levels could make longer play sessions feel even more dynamic.

One aspect I appreciated is that the game stays focused on its core concept. Rather than adding progression systems, complicated upgrades, or multiple gameplay modes, it concentrates on delivering straightforward arcade action. That simplicity makes it easy to jump into another attempt immediately after losing. Every run becomes an opportunity to survive just a little longer or improve your movement.

That said, there are areas where the experience could be expanded. More enemy varieties with unique attack patterns would increase the strategic depth of later waves. Introducing occasional mini-bosses or full boss encounters could also create memorable milestones and provide a satisfying change of pace. Additional environments, unlockable abilities, or difficulty modifiers could significantly improve replayability without changing the core gameplay.

Another possible improvement would be giving players more visual feedback as they progress. Small achievements, new visual effects, or incremental upgrades could create a stronger sense of advancement while preserving the game's arcade nature. Even cosmetic unlocks earned through gameplay would encourage players to keep returning.

Overall, Bullets of Hatred succeeds because it understands the fundamentals of a good bullet hell. The movement is responsive, the combat is engaging, and the escalating challenge encourages players to improve through practice rather than luck. While the game could benefit from additional content and greater variety, its core mechanics provide a solid foundation that is already enjoyable.

For a game created during a game jam, it's an impressive effort that delivers exactly what it promises: a challenging, fast, and satisfying arcade shooter. It demonstrates a clear understanding of the genre and leaves plenty of room for future expansion. I had fun playing it, and I'd definitely be interested in seeing how the concept evolves with more content and polish in future updates.

Hah, if anyone is stuck on this game they should just RTFM: 3 buttons mapped to 3 lanes with the SHIFT modifier to escape crocodiles really is too simplistic to complain about. This was a simple yet quite fun and visually polished arcade-style game. Visual cues to jump over a leaf or skip a crocodile even makes what is to be done kind of intuitive even without the tutorial. QWE is horrible controls though but that's just my opinion. The theme was kind-of in the back row seat because sure there's this spinning roulette and the long jump mechanic but no one really needs it to score high. Aside from that there isn't really much to say, good job.

Played this for about 6 minutes. Thumbnail does not really do it justice. Was fun to figure out that to control the skate rat you had to distribute its weight in a certain way on the skateboard, and idk if that's the result of goofy code but when on the floor after losing balance, spinning the mouse around is an easy and fast way for the rat to get back to normal. Also great intro.

This one's my favourite Beyblade game in this jam. Really like the Kill La Kill references all over the place, the difficulty curve, and how each opponent has their quirks. Really impressive story writing, visuals, intense battle music. As a wise one once said: absolute serious.

Nice retro aesthetics in this game, easy to understand puzzles, the level rotating gimmick could have used some bullet time to help the player land on platforms more easily. Others before me pointed out the bugs so I won't do it here, and there's technically level select anyway so it's not too bad, music was good but sfx were awful, especially death sound and 'rotate the level' sound.

Overall a decent project.

A very good puzzle platformer. Visuals and sounds are really pleasing. Idk if I should call the puzzles or the game design itself crafty: puzzles themselves were too easy in my opinion (except for the last one, more on that later) because when having really limited options at the beginning of the level, what you had to do could become very obvious. Could be called good game design too (for example as soon as I was introduced to the teleports I could intuit they would conserve Y velocity). What I really didn't like was the camera, especially at the last level. Artificially increased the difficuly. Would have been better to make it freely movable to explore the level and plan things out without committing the hamster: is this game challenging our logical thinking or our visual memory? Plus it messed with the green teleporter which had to be used a lot for high jumps to complete the last level, thanks to the fact that it did not follow the player at all times to see where it lands. But those are mostly just nitpicks and aside from that you did a great job.

Would really need to find a friend to play this. Rotating the board like this is an interesting variant of the game. I kinda understand that you did not just slap a dumb bot on this game since it would not be fun, and all the smart chess bots are trained on the classic version anyway.

One of those weird times a one-input game is this fun. Pure genius.

Not wrist fatigue for me, more like my fingers are burning since I play on trackpad. Now I regret not having a mouse. BUT this was one of the most enjoyable games I had on this jam: VERY fast-paced, the kind of combat that rewards the player for just going for it, which is how it should be done. Noticed that damage is calculated based on speed so instead of swinging the sword a lot you can swing it slightly while moving and aiming. It's stuff like this that makes you feel like a real swords master. Also tell whoever made the music that it friggin slaps. Always been a fan of hip hop and rock 'n roll x shamisen or whatever traditional instrument you had there.

This is a really cleverly designed game for the following reasons:
1- It was made using Löve (I'm a sucker for bare-bones frameworks so this is totally objective and non-biased)
2- You carved the tutorial in the level using the tiles didn't you?
3- It rewards the player for randomly smashing into candles (any good rogue like should do that)
4- There are no walls, just platforms and the void so you did not even need to implement line of sight check / pathfinding (idk if that was really intentional)
5- The amounts of HP is irrelevant in a good way and the boss fight is the reward itself.

Now some things I did not like were the fact that attacking and grappling are the same action, so sometimes I'd try to hit an enemy, miss, grab a pod and perish in the void. You need to distinguish those actions. By the way the boss fight was really well-made and it was easy enough to guess what had to be done to beat it.

Nothing else to say. Would speedrun.

Really enjoyed this one: visuals were stylish, narration was absolute cinema (no pun intended), gameplay was enjoyable and fast-paced which fits the jazzy music that really slaps. Movement was slippery which is fine compared to how hard it was to aim for enemies so I had to get that upgrade for melee damage. Combat-wise this is my second favourite in the jam for now, and the aesthetics are genuinely impressive. Had to download it 'cause it lagged a bit in browser but it works perfectly fine on my machine (you even bothered to get a fully working MacOS app which is not common).

Great job overall 👍.