itch.io

Amazing job, everyone. You made something special and every moment of the game is a testament to your passion. Wall of text incoming....

This is such a beautiful, haunting game. I had a knot in my chest the whole time I was playing. I don't know how to describe it, because while the game feels heartbreaking, there is this redemptive quality to trying to piece together not just what happened, but what the characters want. It almost felt like some kind of closure, but I'm not sure if that's the best way to put it.

I had to play through the game multiple times to see if anything changed depending on how I interpreted the needs of each character. I kept seeing this door appear at the end of the last room, but I couldn't yet go through it. What was I missing?

And I could swear sometimes the characters would either disappear completely, or their shadow/spirit lingered depending on which item you gave them. Interesting.

There are definitely hints as to what might be going on, but you're not always certain, and I love existing in that space. It calls for a level of introspection on the part of the player that you don't typically see in many games. It's refreshing.

Eventually, I passed through that last door. It was a lovely moment. The end credits even change a little. I really love that. I still feel like there are things to be discovered and layers to peel back, but I got a deep sense of enjoyment from Njuma. We need more games like this.

I think you made a really interesting narrative-driven experience. Very heartfelt. 

The house design felt very sterile, almost like it's a model home. While it's not the main focus, I feel like it could have more personality. 

I'm a huge fan of the transition between story beats, especially near the end when they are confronting their fear. 

Bonus points for making the UI clear and having the objectives obviously stated. Sure, there are some technical hiccups, but it didn't prevent me from finishing the game. 

Awesome work, and I wish you luck!

I love endless runners! There's so much charm and personality packed into this game. It really feels like you're going on an adventure with a little hamster friend. 

I do feel like the speed could have been slowed down a bit. It's not too challenging at the current speed, but because there seems to be a consistent stream of obstacles, I had to keep my eyes fixed on the top of the screen to avoid them. That could be intentional, but there but I struggled to feel a sense of pace. 

A small nitpick for an otherwise really fun game. I cannot understate how charming it is :)

Very cute and fun to play. The level layout is nice and clear. I really liked the platforming puzzles as well. I was a bit sad to have reached the end! The sanctuary seems like an interesting place and I would love to continue my journey there. 

Excellent job on the game!

I love all the different mechanics. Of course it's tricky when you have limited time to teach them to the player. Presenting all that text on the screen is not ideal, but I can understand why it's there.

I had the same struggles as others with the controls. However, I appreciate how the swim and shoot mechanics are designed. It's too tricky for me personally, but it's very obvious that great care and attention went into the game.

Awesome job, team! Good luck with the game jam and on your future projects :)

The mellow atmosphere fits the game perfectly. Diving felt serene and enjoyable. The clams are pretty tricky to collect at times but it makes for an interesting challenge! Awesome job with the art and sound design. It really adds to the overall immersion and felt peaceful :)

I like the setting of the game and the first person perspective. Game me Subnautica vibes when I took my first dive :)

At first I wasn't sure what I was meant to do, but I think you swim underwater to fix the broken pipes? There's a button prompt for pressing F J and that might be to speed up the repair process, but I'm not sure.

It was also a bit confusing why there are two resource meters. I understand that the blue is for oxygen, but I had no idea what yellow meant.

There's a lot of interesting components to the game and I would be interested in seeing what the team can come up with given more development time. Nice work!

After reading the other comments, I agree with what others said about the combat feeling slow, which you have addressed. And when you eventually add audio I think it's going to really elevate the game overall. 

Nobody has mentioned how good the jump feels. It really stands out and makes traversal feel more meaningful and interesting. The wall jumping is really well implemented as well.

Congrats on finishing your game and good luck :)

This is so much fun! The windmill checkpoints complement the theme well and the fact that they continue spinning after you activate them is a nice touch.

I am surprised to see comments stating there should have been more interaction and/or functionality with the gun. I think the gun has a lot of personality and utility packed in for a game jam game. While holding shift to "reload" isn't traditional, it makes sense and you telegraph the reload well by showing the gun filling up with air. It felt natural and intuitive.

Sadly, I encountered a bug later in the level (the part with the large cylinder in the middle with two AI opponents). My gun got stuck in a permanent reload state and wouldn't reset even after I respawned at the checkpoint.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I love shooters and appreciate how this one felt more like a fun, paintball/nerf-style tournament game. Congrats, team! You did a wonderful job.

I really appreciate that you made the game accessible for those who either do not have a microphone or cannot use one. It's a small thing but makes a huge difference.

I had a blast (ha!) and I think you made something with a lot of interesting components (upgrades, danger zone, after mission report).  It seems like you learned how you can improve for next time, but I think you have a simple yet solid experience here.

Great work!

This is a neat game. I like how you just need to follow where the collectibles are to stay safe most of the time. The challenge wasn't too much and I like the atmosphere.

Hopefully you plan to make more games :)

I agree with others that the difficulty curve felt just right. I'm not able to get past level 8 though. At least restarting is fast and easy so you can have multiple attempts without it feeling very frustrating. Still a very enjoyable puzzle game.

Good work everyone!

Are you kidding me? This game has so much polish and thoughtful game design. The platforming puzzles are creative and fit perfectly. The level design is also strong and I never felt confused or lost at any point.

Bonus points for adding a small ring when the player begins their descent so it's easier to gauge where you're landing. Such a lifesaver! 

The checkpoints are also generous. There are some tricky parts so it was nice to not lose so much progress when I died, which was a lot haha.

Definitely felt nicer to play with a controller. I would love to play a longer version of this. I'm very impressed by the work of this team and look forward to seeing more!

This is quite funny and I had fun leading the warrior to the jam. I hope you keep making games!

Yay! I saved all the fishies! 

The checkpoint system really makes this game so much more enjoyable. It was nice to see that even if I made a little mistake, I could jump right back into the action. Also, the seagull's AoE is tuned just right so you can set yourself up to save the fish without worrying about being overwhelmed. The balance felt just right.

Lastly, the placement and utility of the puddles is the icing on the cake. Very intuitive. The dialogue is charming and wraps it all together into an overall fun and pleasant game. Super creative execution and approach to the theme.

Congrats to the team! You have something truly special here.

Very fun game! I'm pretty bad at roguelikes so it was awesome to get powerups in every room (I need all the help I can get).

When I go to get more health/oxygen, the UI tells me to press spacebar to get it when I have to actually press and hold it down. Definitely a small nitpick but maybe something to consider making more clear for the player.

Excellent job, team! Your passion really shows. 

I am so impressed by how gorgeous the game is. You accomplished a lot here and the team's effort shows. The combat took some getting used to but it was satisfying to form little combos.

I got stuck at the fourth enemy. I'm not sure which combo I'm supposed to do. I tried different configurations and I do damage but apparently not enough. Oh well! I still had fun.

The animations are so good! It really adds to the cuteness and charm of the game world. The mechanics are simple yet fun. I did get stuck in a tree and couldn't escape haha. So idk if that's a bug or if I'm missing something. The dialogue is also pretty funny at times.

Great work!

The way you use FMV is very well done. When I first started playing I didn't know what to expect at all. The way you transition from the video to gameplay, then back to video at the end felt satisfying. There is a clear beginning, middle, and end.

The main part of the game spent navigating the dark corridors is an interesting way to illustrate the feeling of anxiety and depression. The bright light that appears temporarily is a nice touch. Sometimes we don't know where we're going, but there are moments of clarity that help guide us. I think you showed that well here.

Excellent work, team! 

This is such a mellow and enjoyable experience. The music really adds to the atmosphere and I love how the particles gradually light the path ahead.

I got stuck going up and down ramps that seem to loop back on itself or something? I must've made a wrong turn but I couldn't figure out how to get back on the main path.

Still, I enjoyed my time with it and loved using the probe.

I really wanted to explore this game further. However, it seems I don't have the skill needed to progress haha. Judging from the screenshots, it gets really trippy. Excellent visuals and simple mechanics make for a pleasant experience nonetheless. Even if the game is tough as hell :) 

I really love how you presented the 3D text in this game. Everything felt so dreamy, especially the starting area. The music went really well with the theme of the game as well.

After I got the first two origami pieces, it got tricker to play. I wasn't really sure how to progress. I went back to the starting area and got the third origami piece but then it was too dark to understand what I was meant to do next.

Otherwise, I had a great time playing. The team did a fantastic job creating an immersive experience and I would love to play more games like this.

I think you really nailed the theme here. I like the simplicity of the mechanics and the emotional message you're going for. I sincerely love this game and would love to see you develop this further.

If you had more development time, I think the pacing needs some attention. There were moments where you nailed it and others where it didn't quite hit. Specifically when the pressure builds then relieves. I like that balance. But I wonder if there's space to fit something in between. I feel like the variation is not as detailed as it can be.

The only major bummer for me is making it to the end of the game only to have to restart from the very beginning after I died. Definitely consider a checkpoint system! It was an emotional journey that had this excellent, powerful payoff at the end abruptly cut short. If not checkpoints, perhaps some kind of health pickup. I was so immersed in that last battle and while dying wasn't the worst thing, having to start from the beginning felt unnecessary. 

This is a strong submission and I wish you all the best!

Fun game! I don't really play base builders but I was digging this. My favorite part is how the edges of the screen go dark and close in the more oxygen you lose. That is such an excellent design choice and makes the experience much better imo. It's easy to get lost shooting and looting and forget to check your oxygen levels haha and I feel like you designed for that. 

Awesome job, team!

This was a really enjoyable experience. My favorite minigame was when you help unblock the flow of water. I loved having a detailed visual representation of my positive impact on the world.

Sure there are some things you could polish here and there as others pointed out, but your vision is clear and the game is fun.

Awesome work!

I agree with PrinnyBaal. Your game design is very strong. I feel like you designed certain parts of the level so the player had to make a choice between grabbing a collectible or going up for air. And if the player goes up for air, I don't think they can grab the collectible once they swim past? Nice risk/reward system. 

It's pretty well balanced overall and clearly fits the theme. Great work!

The art direction is very strong. I love the setting and overall vibe. 

Unfortunately, it was unclear what I was meant to do. There's no collision anywhere and at first I thought it was kind of neat. Like maybe I was some kind of ghost/spirit that can pass through structures? But that combined with the camera system made the experience rough.

Thank you for sharing! 

Interesting that you weren't able to dodge. I was successful avoiding taking damage by moving clockwise while attacking. However, counterclockwise didn't always provide the same outcome.

Wonderful experience. You really nailed the Lovecraftian spookiness. I highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a short yet immersive horror adventure.

This was really fun. The wall walking worked really well and the movement fluid. Clean, simple level design!

There were enjoyable parts. The platforming is... difficult, to say the least. I almost didn't even finish the level because of how frustrating it got, but I think that's the point? The game is NOT meant to be easy. The slowed movement on chill was really cool. It forces the player to quickly make decisions in order optimize movement or you're dead. 

The most fun was trying to overcome the punishing obstacles. The only way to make certain jumps is by partially standing on thin air or even spikes. Gaps can only be cleared by jumping specific ways, which is both neat and infuriating! Took me several tries to get the pattern/rhythm down, but it was worth it :)

Great work! Look forward to future projects :)

Awesome mechanic with the arrow targeting system. It was also fun to manipulate the jump with the forward dash/chomp.

Super fun and really creative. Well done! 

There is one part of the level in particular where the double jump does not always register:

I found a way around it which was by single jumping.

Have you noticed any issues with the double jump? Lastly one minor thing was one of the enemies is stuck in the ground and there's no way to jump over them without taking damage. Not sure if that was intentional or a small bug :P Oh and she slides when landing! Adds to the challenge but also not sure if intentional or not. Would prefer a more solid landing after jumps, but that's just me :)

Really enjoyed playing this. I'm usually bad at platformers but had a blast planning out my moves across the level.

Great work! 

The menu music fits perfectly. The character sprite is also very well done. I could not finish the level due to what I experienced as frustrating level design.

Well done for a first solo project!

Reposting comment left on developer page:

Quick, fun game. The music was nice and I really liked the purple and city environment. Felt pretty cyberpunk and looked AWESOME on my  huge 1440p monitor.

Nice touch with the trail of money and entertaining signage advertising various sketchy sounding foods.

Caused me to scream multiple times. Challenging and fun platformer! I can't believe how many times I died in such a short time.