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"Jump" is not available on the demo, that ability is just a hint for future unlocks.

Sadly the project has gone on hiatus and I don't know if it will ever be picked up again or if it will perhaps be repurposed with a new story. :(

Yes, it is! :D

I understand your doubts, I'll try to clarify as much as I can, just to explain the situation to you.

I'm an Italian developer who has mainly made games with RPG Maker. Soul's Spectrum was born from a jam (IGMC) I did last year and since it was a competition some of my friends supported me. The comment you linked is from my sister and there is also the subsequent comment from Javarnanda (who is the musician in the game) who wanted to express a positive comment. Some comments from my other maker friends, like michael, may have errors as English is not our main language.

That said, the jam went pretty well and, following the comments received, I wanted to expand the demo I created into a full game. Over the course of these months I have worked really hard and a few days ago I released the prologue. As you can see the situation on Steam is different as these are reviews that are clearly fake, from people I don't know. For this situation the only thing I can do is ask for clarification since I can't delete these reviews. I'm the first to be sorry if the game will suffer as a result.

Honestly? I don't know why, maybe it's because it's a free release on steam and was therefore targeted... I'm the first one though to feel sorry for this situation because I'd like to get some genuine feedback. I've released other works before but this is my first commercial attempt and I hope this doesn't happen when the full game comes out because I would be hurt to have my reputation "ruined" for something not up to me. 

Feel free to evaluate, I could tell you that since the prologue is free you can try it so you can make your own idea without any influences. However the initial impression also matters so I understand if you prefer to avoid it. I don't want to force anyone, on the contrary, I prefer that those who are really interested play the game, that's all.

In my opinion, Theia: The Crimson Eclipse is proof of how it's possible to make a great JRPG even if you work on your own: it's not easy and it's not a task for everyone, but the love and passion of the developer behind this project can all be felt and it's demonstrated continuosly throughout the gameplay.

When I played it, for me, it was an incredible experience (although some resources are taken from other software houses but we're talking about a game developed in his spare time back in the day) and what impressed me the most was the amount of content it offered and the overall level of detail. Not to mention the story: I think it's one of the best I've ever experienced in a game, even superior to AAA games.

To say that this game was also inspirational for me is not a catch phrase as it made me realize that with commitment, skill and perseverance one can achieve tremendous results. Give Theia a try and you'll really understand it well.

Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed the game a lot, I hope you can enjoy the full version as well when it will be ready!

Dovrebbe esserci una terza scelta nascosta alla fine (scorrendo verso il basso) che si sblocca in base a come hai risposto ad alcune domande in gioco (bastano un paio di risposte positive, se sei sempre stato scontroso non appare)

Hello everyone!

I am pleased to show you a new trailer for Soul's Spectrum! I am also very excited since I'm informing you about the Steam page with this video!

Thanks! :)

Thank you Benny!  For your proposal consider that I thought about adding extra information when you access the menu, so you would see all the stages highlighting the current one and what things you can and cannot do in that form. It still doesn't have a final look because I have to see if I can make 4 dedicated tabs by changing them with the directional keys or not. 

It doesn't show me the images correctly, I would have liked to do a comparison to see what the setup looked like. :)

Hello everyone! ^_^

I'm writing this post to give you a few more details and updates on Soul's Spectrum! First of all, thank you so much for the comments and feedback given on the demo, I'm treasuring it so that I can improve the game experience in the full version. Also I'm glad to be in sixth place in the people's choice, it means it was appreciated by other puzzle game enthusiasts! 

Sadly the IGMC:Rebirth ends here for me as I'm not in the top18 of the judge's choice, I'm really sorry about that... but that doesn't mean the project stops here! In fact, I wanted to share with you some of the changes that I'm going to incorporate into the next version of Soul's Spectrum:

• Added dedicated character portraits so as to give them more life (thanks to MissingSeven's amazing talent)
• Improved efficiency of bone-merang, death scythe and dark blast (ah, that's new, oops!)
• Introduction of a legend in the pause menu with information about Nora's current form and her available actions for more clarity 
• Added an additional tutorial room to familiarize people with the mechanics of "dying to advance" 
• Added the ability to load the game directly from the pause menu
• Italian localization for friends who haven't tried my game yet XD
• Minor fixes 

In this screen we see Nora's face, finally!

Not to mention that I'm working on new areas, unrevealed characters, and the overall plot: will we be able to find out more about Nora, this dark prison, and the secrets of eternal life so much sought after? I hope the interest in this project is still alive in you! No pun intended! Let me know if you like these additions, I'm always open to feedback!

Thanks!

What an amazing edition, lots of cool games!

Good job and congratulations, everyone! :D

Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed the game in many ways!

Consider that the scythe is the only weapon there will be (the game will not turn into a zelda-style action :D ), I had thought of it as a way to make some puzzles more dynamic in human form. Same reason there won't be a "heart bar" or anything like that.

For the choice of making a demo rather than a full game... let's say it was a difficult decision to make. I don't want to blame the time constraints, we all had them, however I had less time to make the game for the jam because I couldn't work on it in the last two weeks before the deadline. I was therefore afraid of giving a game experience too short for the story I wanted to tell, perhaps risking to release a hasty and messy work. So I decided to reduce everything to a demo, so that I can present it at its best. I am actually satisfied all the same, also because it is my intention to enrich it and make it a game worth playing. Hope you will enjoy it once it's ready! ^^

Thank you very much for your nice words! I'm already dedicating myself to improving and continuing this project, any feedback is really important to me so I'm glad you enjoyed the game in many ways. ^_^

Amazing  game! I didn't think such a simple plot could be so funny! I enjoyed the day-to-day choices (I was upset when Buttercup I -assume- ate Kiara's rat) and the whole village management is really great! I don't see any particular flaws to say either, great job!

First of all, I start by saying that I find the title brilliant! I really like the idea and the gameplay behind, above all I love that some character traits are defined by their skills. On an aesthetic level, I guess it was fun to conceive all these different character designs and I think it's also a big selling point for this entry. Overall you did an amazing job, kudos! :)

I LOVE this kind of games! The aesthetic is simple but charming, the 8-bit music are amazing and I really enjoyed the pacing and the gameplay of the entire adventure. Bug can happens but these have not affected the experience and fun that your game has given me. I'll probably create a game with this style one day too, incredible work!

Thank you Alice, glad you enjoyed! :)

A really beautiful game! Everything is polished, you've taken care of every aspect in detail: the cutscenes (love how you explain the backstory in train), the mapping, hotel's exploration... loved them all! I also liked the design of the protagonist, Hestia, a modern-day witch. Very well done!

Since the entries were announced Sacred Earth had caught my attention. I preferred to play it calmly after trying other works because I imagined it would be a really good game. In fact it was a pleasant experience: I really liked how it's not just a simple visual novel but it also has gameplay elements like the node-based exploration. In terms of balance it seems on spot, I enjoyed a lot the battles. An honourable mention also goes to the graphics and the UI that are well done. The only advice I can give is to add a few minor adjustments here and there (like sound effects), just to increase the quality which is already high. Excellent job!

As others have already pointed out, I really like the graphic style and color palette used! The ability to dodge in battle seems like a really cool feature, I would have preferred to battle the queen so as to see different attacks... but I understand that maybe it is due to time limits. I'm curious to see how Repari will continue! Good job!

You have created a truly magnificent game. I'm a bit emotional and sensitive about these things but it's not just that, even on a technical level you hit the mark. Great work!

I really enjoyed this game! :D It's funny and the progression system is captivating (the almanac is a great idea, you can easily understand the power level of creatures). I also like the mapping and the UI, you did an amazing job! :)

What can I say, you've made the idea of working in this research center perfectly! The settings and palette choice is very inspired and I really liked how the game started. In my opinion the game would be good even on puzzles alone, despite the fact that there were some interesting ideas in the battle system. Overall I think you did a good job, well done! :)

I have to say that I really appreciate that you have taken the jam theme in such a unique way. Overall it's a simple game with a very sensitive and delicate story and I'm glad I got the good ending. I would have liked to know more about Oliver. ^_^

Really enjoyed this game! I've already seen the mechanic of sparing enemies before but not in this way and I really liked it, it's clever! Not only that, I actually liked how you did... well, everything, from the story to the art style! Good work! :)

The art is phenomenal! You did the right thing to join the jam anyway, sadly bad times can happen... :( Now I hope that your situation has improved a little more, but don't give up with this project or with future ones, you're so good at this! (I peeked at some of your work here on itch and wow, I bet this entry would have been incredible!)

Thanks for the rich feedback, Drifty! I'm glad you liked the level design even though puzzle games aren't your genre, it means a lot. My next project will be precisely this game! 😄 For the jam I created only this demo, so it's normal that the ending is a bit cryptic... I was trying to build suspence for the full version! 👍🏻

Sadly you've found a rare bug that happen when falling while you use shadow's ability, I found out only a few days ago... On the bright side at least you become a god 😂 (hope you've reloaded the game after)! Anyway I'm really sorry for that... thank you for your feedback. ^^

I feel a lot of splatoon vibes or am I wrong? :D I love puzzle games and I had a lot of fun with this one! The concept is simple but fun at the same time, I also like the drawings/art style! Good job!

Loved the mysterious story and playing as a cat! Also appreciated the fact that you have nine lives (I know, it's a minor thing but I wanted to point it out). The only part I found a bit more cryptic was the fog maze but I managed to get through it. Curious to know how to get the other endings! :D Good job!

Amazing work! The level of detail you put in is incredible, I also like the art style you used for both the characters and the different stages. As a short game that combines two minigames the longevity of the game is right. From what I understand this is the prologue for one of the character for a future project, I would like to know more about Mithos!

Thank you for your feedback! Finding a good balance in the early stages is not easy, I was afraid that someone might get stuck right away. ^^" I'll see for the full version if I make some changes on that!

I was worried that there was too much knowledge between the different stages, the possible causes of death based on the current form and related skills... so I'm really glad you appreciated it! :)

This game starts great, from the first minutes you want to know more! The atmosphere is surreal and fascinating and I really enjoyed the interactions between the different characters! The music and sound effects are also amazing. I think it's a game that has a lot of potential, I will follow the project with  great interest (I suggest you to customize some resources for the complete version, for the jam it's fine, it hasn't influenced my vote :) )! 

I really enjoyed play Resurrection Rancher, I'm a completionist so I have to save all the poor souls! I like that you have integrated the jam theme into the game mechanics. In the long run it might be repetitive a gameplay loop of this type but it was never a burden for me (maybe because it lasts the right amount of time, it took me 12 days). Great job!

Wow! I really like the story and the characters, each one has someone to say and I think it's important to the meaning of the game. This art style reflects my taste so I enjoyed playing! Well done!

If you have a free slot I really appreciate some feedback on my game! :)

https://itch.io/jam/igmc-rebirth/rate/1631406