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Ithildin

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TimestampSince previousGameIthildin's comment
Apr 30 20:30:28 Your life is currency ♥ 0 Nice concept! I got stuck often in the corners as well: while the controls didn't feel necessarily clunky, road tiles are small and there's little room to steer accurately, specially if we also have to aim and shoot at the same time. Music was catchy and fit the story. Good job!
Apr 30 20:44:21 13m 53s A Burning Rabbit Experiment ♥ 1 This is one of those hard as nails games where I tend to get hooked trying to improve my score even by one point. Managing two rabbits at the same time (perhaps it's more than two, but I haven't managed to keep more than one alive for long 😓 ) is super challenging and adds a whole new layer of complexity, cool detail! Graphics are amazing. I really missed having music (it can be hard to get everything done in 48h, so it's understandable), but other than this you've got a really solid entry. Congrats!
Apr 30 21:03:58 19m 37s Essence Drain ♥ 1 Controls and mechanics are pretty straightforward and feel polished, although I didn't really feel the need to attack the enemy critters at all: you can just wait and move past the enemies, spending less essence. I missed having more levels and/or enemy types that required different approaches. While I was playing I also thought of a small change that could bring an interesting twist. Being able to see the full level layout in advance might add a layer of strategy, having players plan for the best possible way to reach the exit. Overall a good entry with potential to become even better. Nice job!
Apr 30 21:20:09 16m 11s We value your life ♥ 1 Nice concept and core mechanic! Trying to bounce the humans into the ships was tricky, though, and the goal wasn't 100% clear. The music had a cute good-feel vibe, which I really appreciated considering we're selling off some of the humans we rescue to someone/something :D Good job!
Apr 30 21:30:55 10m 46s Cursed Samurai ♥ 0 Love the art style and gameplay. Difficulty is hard but it feels quite rewarding when you go past yet another enemy (I'm still crap tho, reached a big guy once and died instantly 😅 ) Sound would make it perfect (I'm currently playing a "winter sounds" video on YT to get in the mood and it already makes a difference). Amazing entry, congrats!
May 1 22:58:28 25h 27m Seeds Of Life ♥ 1 Cool entry! The game mechanic is simple, works well and fits the theme quite clearly. I really felt compelled to defend my seeds, but difficulty is a bit punishing at the moment (green bugs essentially ruin all my crops 😭) Graphics could use some work to make the game screen a bit more readable, especially near the buttons. I also found a weird bug that broke keyboard controls if I right clicked on the game. Not even restarting worked, I had to reload the page. Despite these two things you've got quite a solid entry, congrats!
May 2 00:29:10 1h 30m Mr Moneybag ♥ 1 This is one of the best entries I've played so far! I loved how the core mechanic ties everything together, and it also fits the theme like a glove. Visuals, user interface and controls are clean and clear, and the overall experience feels really smooth. The shopkeepers' shapes hinting at what they offered and having the enemy HP be a part of their graphic were details I appreciated. Exploration works well in general, but sometimes I missed a minimap. Besides this, eventually levels became somewhat repetitive, but considering those 15 hours of work the amount of content is more than enough, especially given how polished it all feels in general. Amazing work as usual!
May 2 00:39:54 10m 44s utsvulten ♥ 0 What the f*ck did I just play?? 😅 As I kept playing I was feeling more and more disturbed, but I just couldn't stop. As fascinating an experience as it was creepy, well done!
May 2 20:42:35 20h 02m They ran out of mana ♥ 1 Cool idea! Unlike other comments, I personally thought being able to see your opponent's cards was a great touch, it adds some depth to the decision making process about what card to play next (although if the results are deterministic vs having a certain degree of randomness it misses some tension). Pity you couldn't add sound, but 72 hours is a really short timeframe. Well done!! 😃
May 2 23:52:44 3h 10m Space Pilot ♥ 3 Great game! Controlling the ship is challenging but feels smooth at the same time. I liked the user interface, especially the instructions and that introductory first level (That was a nice way to teach the players how to play :). Together with the art it all results in a very clean aesthetic. I'm still trying to figure out how to go past the asteroids in level 2 after the booster, but so far I'm really enjoying it. Congrats! 😃
May 3 00:38:52 46m 08s Seed. ♥ 3 What a wonderful game! At first the visuals got my interest. Then, together with the sound effects, I got attracted by the atmosphere and started planting, as if it was a sandbox. ...And then humans arrive, you realise why every tree has a purpose and the game just becomes amazing. It has a strategic layer I really enjoy as a generally mechanics-oriented player, but what I loved the most was the connection you develop with the forest, how you really get to feel the need to protect it from humans, to plant faster and better than they can develop tech to mindlessly cut everything down (or rather than mindlessly, for greed). It sure rings a bell, doesn't it? :/ This game reaches what any jam game should strive for, it feels wholesome in all areas. If I could point at any improvements...I don't know, perhaps it would be nice to have a bit more variation on the music as the ages pass, but I don't even mind the repetition right now; it feels relaxing and melancholic enough for me to keep listening. Impressive work, congrats!! PS: Looking at the screenshots of other players with their lush jungles I'm even more depressed now 😅
May 3 19:10:42 18h 31m Life for Likes ♥ 1 Brilliant take on the theme, with great graphics and catchy music! One detail I really liked how often you had to risk your life foolishly to take a picture as opposed to standing by a flower, a good bit of commentary. Congrats, you've nailed it!
May 3 19:53:15 42m 33s Sold Soul ♥ 1 You've packed quite an amount of content for a compo entry, well done! The concept is quite ambitious (I've tried making roguelikes from scratch a couple of times and 48h is SUPER TIGHT to get at least the basic systems ready) and fits the theme nicely. I also liked the music track :) Motion felt slightly sluggish for me and aiming was a bit challenging, however. I'm probably spoiled by Enter the Gungeon and other faster paced games with similar layouts 😅 I also found a couple of potential issues you may already be aware of: * After picking the key/teleporter I appeared on a room with no openings. I didn't have any charges left on my wand, so I got basically stuck there until I reset, didn't get to see if there was a secret opening or anything. * If there's no way to replenish the wands and they consume 3 projectiles (at least I would just switch wands when I found new ones) make sure that the base amount is a multiple of 3. It was frustrating not being able to shoot because I only had 2 rays left. Despite this, I think the game has potential, congrats!!
May 3 21:13:09 1h 19m Dr. Lud Umdare's Revenge ♥ 0 Nice, well-rounded entry :) As others have mentioned, difficulty was pretty low once you figured out what could kill you, so in the end I didn't really need to use the upgrades. Despite this, controls worked well, I liked the graphics and you packed quite a bit of features here. My only nitpicky bit...I was at least as fast as the projectiles, so I could shoot and then walk on top of them. It's not a bug or anything, but I found it odd. Congrats! 😃
May 3 21:45:48 32m 39s Idle Idol ♥ 1 I had to force myself to quit playing XD Impressive game! I'm not usually a fan of idle games, but in this case the available room and cultist management has you constantly making decisions and planning, which coupled to the usual clicker mechanic keeps you you hooked for quite a while. It is a really direct and clever take on the theme, and the level of polish is amazing both in visuals and sound, moreso considering it's a compo entry. I didn't even realise I could destroy the trees at the beginning! 😅 (interestingly enough, another of my favourite entries has you planting trees and trying to resist mass deforestation). Amazing job, congrats!!
May 3 22:03:55 18m 07s Broker ♥ 2 I felt overwhelmed navigating across the amount of information (scrolling up and down, then seeing the forecasts, then back to check your assets, rinse and repeat) to decide where and how much to buy/sell, but I can see how easy it can be to enter flow state once you get the hang of it. The graphics were very fitting with the game concept, which also suited the jam theme perfectly. Nice job!
May 3 22:23:58 20m 03s Slavers Market ♥ 1 Interesting take on the theme. If you just focus on the mechanics there's a cool micromanagement game where your goal is to maximise profits, but in this case let's not forget we're dealing with human beings (well, pixelated representations of them, but still...). It had me thinking for a while. Back to the game, I liked the graphics, but the trends and training effects weren't clear all the time, it was hard to spot the actual impact your choices had beyond the +1/-1 occasional feedback (I did like the training icons that showed up). For example, I wasn't sure if the "AGE" worked on direct or inverse relation, so most of the time I wasn't sure about which was the optimal choice. Music was catchy, it sticks in your head after you've closed the game. Good job!
May 3 22:55:04 31m 06s Escape from Hell ♥ 1 You left the bar so high in the graphics area that everything else seems to suffer in comparison ;D Jokes aside, while gameplay can become repetitive if you have to grind a lot, and more variation could have certainly been appreciated, I did have a good time playing :) I liked the concept of fighting your way back to the real word, and the soul-gathering mechanic made for a quite direct but effective take on the theme. And, needless to say, the visuals were just impressive. Combat could use some improvements. For example, while fighting the slime-like creatures I had problems sometimes determining what was the actual area of effect. As for the boss fight, once you've levelled up your strength and life enough the challenge is gone, you just hack him until he falls and if HP is high you don't even need to try to avoid his attacks. Maybe some more variation on his attack patterns + anticipation could help on this regard. I also missed sound and music, but it's understandable for the compo and a game relatively ambitious such as yours. This entry has a lot of potential, congrats! 😃
May 4 13:21:29 14h 26m Ghosts ♥ 1 You've set up a nice atmosphere with the visuals and music. I like the concept and the memory collection sounds super promising on the game description, but I'm afraid that in practice it doesn't work out the same: it lacked visual feedback once you clicked on it to be sure that you'd actually collected (well, you can always look at the counter) and it was hard to tell which ones were positive and which ones negative. The results of trading weren't clear either beyond the fact that you spent some memories. Unless there's any secret I think I reached the end screen 🐟 The game has potential if you can improve those bits. Good job!
May 4 13:42:07 20m 38s GunAntrophist ♥ 1 Good entry! The shooting angles forced me to move around to get the targets in range, which was interesting and a bit frustrating at the same time 😅 Also, I wasn't able to kill any enemy with the second weapon. I wasn't sure if that just required an ever longer amount of shots or if it was bugged.. Fun game, nicely fitting the theme. Well done!
May 4 14:01:07 19m 00s Tunnel Bug ♥ 1 I've really liked this entry! Graphics and sound are super solid and the mechanic fits the theme perfectly, I really liked how you implemented the upgrades screen. Gameplay is also fun, and controls worked well, but sometimes inertia was a bit annoying, so the best strategy is to go as slowly as possible. Also, some levels start on a turn with hardly any time to react, which felt unfair. Apart from that, this is one of the best entries (compo and jam) I've played so far. Congrats!
May 4 14:51:27 50m 20s Insert Coin ♥ 1 The atmosphere is so immersive! I loved the music in particular and the colour palette you picked for the game, top marks for audio, graphics and mood here! 🙂 As for gameplay, controls work well and the cloning mechanic was a nice addition that added a cool twist to the platforming mechanics. I got the impression that teleporting felt too sudden sometimes, giving you little time to react to the next position (this could be tricky if you're teleporting somewhere that's not visible at the time you try to move) I found some glitches with the bumpers (when jumping on one of them next to a wall it could get stuck) and the collision boxes for the spikes felt too punishing, but other than this you've put together a really solid entry. Congrats!
May 4 15:08:57 17m 30s I've Got A Second Chance At Life But Now I'm An Axolotl And In Massive Debt ♥ 1 On the Windows version the top of the screen gets cut in both windowed and full screen mode at several display resolutions 😕 I've tried to play anyway and the game feels quite polished, with cute pixel art graphics and catchy music, but I'm not sure about the target because of this. I lost once, then on the second game I did arrive to the shop, but it's hard to tell. Any chance for a fix? The game looks right up my alley :)
May 4 22:36:05 7h 27m limbostore.heaven ♥ 2 Great game! It's well rounded, solid and I had a great time with it. It was also genuinely funny, I have only rated a few games for humor so far and the different deaths made me smile often. I think I missed at least one death because I bought a thing too early 😅 and I also noticed that you were able to buy something multiple times. You can grind deaths, so it's probably not a blocker (although repeated deaths give waaaay less hearts than the first time you experience it). Overall a very nice entry, good job! :D
May 5 16:40:01 18h 03m Ashes ♥ 1 You've done quite an immersive game, I felt in constant tension to put the fires out and not have them spread more. Well done! Having to jump to go up the stairs was a bit annoying and I got the feeling that water took ages to refill (I think it did take about 5-10secs, so it probably worked fine and I was impatient to go up again 😅) Music felt a bit repetitive , too, but apart from these things I enjoyed playing through until all the fires were out. Congrats!
May 5 17:25:03 45m 02s Sigillis ♥ 1 I loved it! Are waves past the introduction of the 5th colour procedural? By that point I had already got all the spells and shapes and level intro popups stopped appearing. Pattern recognition worked well (there was the occasional undetected sigil, but very seldom) and the risk/reward mechanic was a brilliant addition that fit the theme wonderfully. I didn't use them very much, but I also appreciated that there were spells. The music track was nice, but I played for long enough that it ended up becoming repetitive (for a compo entry it's completely forgivable, especially given how solid everything else is) In general, although while in-game I had all my senses focused on beating the level, I felt it was easy: I was basically trading most of my life for $$ till the point where I had run out of things to purchase and my only worry was to avoid getting hit. The three-sigil enemies coming out from the left were annoying to wait for, as you could only see the first required sigil once they'd left the HUD covering them and there was little reaction time after that. Not sure if this was intentional, but as a way to balance difficulty it felt a bit asymmetric compared to triple-sigils coming from the right that could be dispatched instantly. Despite these relatively minor things I really enjoyed your entry, and I'm specially curious about the pattern recognition tech you've used :) Amazing job!! 😄 PS: One last thing... the HTML5 version on itch is cut at the sides. Was it possible to switch it to full screen? I ended up playing the download version.
May 5 18:07:15 42m 12s Biomass ♥ 2 I was sold the moment I read the description. After playing for a while, I believe you've got a brilliant idea here that needs a bit of polish in a couple of areas. At the beginning it took me a while to figure everything, but once I got it everything clicked into a very innovative concept. Playing around with the asteroids was fun and felt solid. I didn't get to play long enough to see if there were any visual impact on the planet as you keep evolving life, though, but that would be cool to see. My main issue with the game at the moment was that it felt too RNG-dependent. I'm not sure if you were using any specific asteroid spawn logic, but it felt like the choice was completely random out of a relatively large pool of types. Because of this it could take ages (no pun intended) for the next useful asteroid to appear. This was specially annoying at the beginning, and considering that you lose quite a bit of progress any time you get hit by the wrong asteroid it ends up becoming frustrating. I do appreciate the progress loss from a "narrative" perspective: after all, it only makes sense to provoke a mass extinction if you have an asteroid impact on the planet. The problem comes from the potentially long waiting times until the right colours appear again. A couple of possible solutions for this could be to reduce the number of different types that can appear at the beginning, and then increase it as the player progresses. Another could be to force guaranteed spawns if there haven't been any for a while. Despite of these things, as I said at the beginning, the concept is awesome and it's probably a game I'd keep playing for a while if you can balance it. I'm also curious about the "store" functionality you had to leave out. Good job!
May 6 22:41:13 28h 33m Blood Caverns ♥ 0 Great game with quite an immersive, haunting mood. The theme take was pretty direct and worked well, and everything in general was very polished (wielding newer weapons felt amazing) In general it reminded me a bit of games like Nuclear Throne, Enter the Gungeon or Deathstate, which I love, so that's cool. My only nitpick is that in order to save blood it looked like the optimal approach was to find as many potions as possible and then run for the exit, avoiding enemies instead of shooting at them enemies, which was a bit of a shame considering how satisfying the shooting mechanic felt. Other than this, congrats on an amazing entry!
May 6 23:04:43 23m 30s Dear Substance of Kin ♥ 1 Graphics, music and the setting in general were impressive as always, and it all converged together into a really clever use of the theme. While I was engaged with the narrative, the main mechanic wasn't really clear, although it certainly was intriguing. I'm afraid I also assumed it would work by tracing rather than cutting, so now I guess I'll have to "suffer" the punishment of looking at some gorgeous, eerie visuals, listening to some cool post-rock track and becoming immersed into a haunting world once again ;) Amazing job, congrats! PS: The game shut down on me as I reached what I believe was the end? I'm not sure if I did complete it or if it crashed 😅
May 6 23:32:33 27m 50s This is your life now ♥ 1 I loved the art, mood and concept. I found the idea for the game really interesting, it reminded me of Passage. After a second playthrough where I did some radical changes to choices I missed more variation, most choices came and went and for the most part I didn't feel they had a huge impact. It could be a metaphor after all that most choices are meaningles since in the end we're all going to die, though. You've got quite a unique experience here, with an impressive degree of polish for a compo entry, I'm envious 😄 Congrats!
May 7 22:08:54 22h 36m SPENDOTRON: 2019 ♥ 1 A simple concept brilliantly executed, I love it! At the beginning I went a bit slower as I memorised the shapes and what they did, but after that I just couldn't stop playing. Game is hard as nails, but in a good way; the only minor quibble I have with the difficulty is how fast cents go away (heh, as IRL 😄). My best score so far is 4.55$ I loved the trippy graphics and the sound effects. Controls feel really smooth, and was it just me, or are there aiming aids? I was under the impression that I was landing hits that should have been near misses. Amazing job!
May 7 23:14:41 1h 05m What's your lifetime value? ♥ 2 I was attracted by the lovely graphics, and the title was intriguing as well. The game mechanic was very interesting in concept, and I think it uses the theme in a clever way, but it lost me as I started thinking than choices would only affect the bars, but didn't really have an impact on your "virtual life" (new choices / choices that disappear, becoming one type of person or another, etc...something more relatable, I guess), so in the end I felt a bit alienated by the progress bars and the timer. Maybe this was a metaphor all along, but it didn't click as I had hoped it would. Despite this, the idea has a lot of potential and it feels really polished (I love the UI style and the choice of colours in particular). Keep polishing it and I'm sure you can make it shine. Good job!
May 7 23:41:45 27m 04s The passion of a peasant ♥ 0 Great mechanics and awesome entry, moreso considering it's a compo one! My favourite bit is the puzzling component introduced by having to plan your moves in advance to avoid being rammed by demons. It has a decent amount of content, and pacing feels right. Love the genie vfx, by the way :) Good job!
May 8 00:01:12 19m 27s Blood and goods ♥ 2 I remember looking at some screencaps checking the feed and thinking "Those graphics look amazing, I need to try this!". And after 27 levels I can only say...wow!! Great take on the theme, impressive graphics (the Darkest Dungeon comparison is inevitable, but it was also one of the reasons that brought me here) and music, and the whole package in general feels more solid than some commercial releases. I also enjoyed the mechanics, even if eventually battles became a bit repetitive. This is understandable given the time constraint, and even more so considering the amount and quality of content. A couple of questions / suggestions: * Having to switch back and forth between keyboard to mouse breaks the flow a bit. Are there hoykeys to move to the next level after beating it, or for the choices? If not, it would be a nice addition. * Is the game objective to survive as many waves as possible or is there an end? In the second case it would be nice to have a progress indication. I hope you keep expanding it (just saw on Itch.io the concepts for the new characters 😃), because it has a lot of potential. Brilliant job!
May 8 00:24:32 23m 20s Inflate Me to the Moon ♥ 1 This game is...just...beautiful 😍 I had a dumb smile on my face from the intro to the "Thank you" screen. The concept is wonderfully absurd both in general and as a take on the theme (I love it!!), graphics are cute and crazy, and the music is just brilliant. The full package feels super well rounded, the only weaker point I can find is the repetition on stages 2 and 3, more wacky microgames would have put the cherry on the cake, but for a jam game it's hard to imagine getting better than this. One of my top 5 games so far for sure, impressive job!
May 10 14:26:26 62h 01m SIGNET ♥ 0 The connection to the theme is unclear, but I loved the atmosphere! I missed some more levels with different challenges, but other than this the game mechanic is fun and revealing the signet at the end feels nice (at first I thought you had to match a target one). Good job!
May 11 23:40:09 33h 13m Blast Run ♥ 0 Solid game. It's really fun to play, with cool graphics and polished controls (once you realise that you need a controller 😬, I've played the game a few days after I downloaded it and there's no indication of the control method or the specific inputs in-game). The game's fast pace also makes it a bit hard to draw a clear event -> action connection. A lot of things may be happening at the same time. Really nice entry, good job!
May 11 23:52:58 12m 49s Faustian Sands ♥ 0 Starved a couple of times, bled another, and eventually I traded a lot just to see the ending. Great entry, the only relatively minor issue I could think of is that outcomes for event seem fixed (or I was super lucky), so with multiple playthroughs you end up figuring out what choices to pick. I really enjoyed playing it, congrats!
May 11 23:57:25 4m 27s The Great Unicorn Migration (HTML5) ♥ 1 Nice and cute concept! Execution worked well in general, although sometimes you could get stuck with colliders in bottlenecks. Being able to switch unicorns added a nice extra thinking layer. You could try to use one unicorn as lure for the cryptozoologists and once it reached safety switch to the other(s) Good job!
May 12 00:12:00 14m 35s Dungeon Buddies ♥ 1 Great idea! Turn-based mechanics and the level layouts worked well togeteher and made for interesting puzzles with well-adjusted (so far) difficulty. The connection to the theme was clear and fitting. I was just about to point out that you barely had any reason to attack monsters, then I reached the first attacking one 😅 Btw, I noticed you could cast Zombify on a level with not yet killed monsters and I could still summon one (I assume it was from the former level). Is that intended? Having fun so far, congrats!
May 17 22:45:14 142h 33m Mosquito Hunter ♥ 0 Nice concept and graphics! The grappling tongue is a really cool mechanic with a lot of potential for puzzles in combination with level design. However, at the moment it is a bit frustrating to control. It works well enough grabbing mosquitoes, but using it to be able to move around with the platforms felt glitchy, like I couldn't foresee the impact of letting go one sec or the next one following the swinging. Perhaps mouse controls rather than the arrows might have felt more comfortable to use and accurate, but either way it could use some polish work. That issue aside, good job! 😃
May 18 16:41:33 17h 56m We Are Nuts! ♥ 1 I really liked the cute graphics. The idea is simple and works well, but you need to polish the jump logic, as others have mentioned. Audio-wise, the music track fit the graphics and the setting, but the SFX could still use some more work or toning down, at the moment they were quite loud and felt a bit annoying. Cool entry, more so for a compo game. Congrats!
May 18 16:54:35 13m 02s Heart To The Sky ♥ 0 Great idea! The core mechanic is simple but really effective and the pyramid maze kept me hooked until I beat it. Like others, it took me a bit to realise I could drop down (even if I had triggered that myself by accident before! 🤦 ) Music was super catchy, and together with the graphics and, more specifically, the lighting, it set up quite an immersive atmosphere. Congrats!
May 18 17:25:24 30m 49s Make a Million ♥ 0 Concept is deceivingly simple, but worked great! Also, I think the connection to the theme is relatively clear AND clever. Taming my own mouse for sketching the longer areas was quite challenging, and I got hooked until I made my million. The music is super catchy and helps you getting immersed in the role. The first time the police alarms came out my heart jumped a little 😅 I really like the game and it has a lot of potential, glad to hear you're working on a post-compo version. I can easily imagine additional colours being added to the mix, so there might be degrees of error. Awesome job!
May 18 22:29:11 5h 03m Island Chain ♥ 0 Brilliant concept and great mood! I loved the music. Once you get how things work it is pretty fun, but at the moment it's quite hard to prevent hyperinflation to go out of control. It has a lot of potential, congrats!