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Timestamp	Since previous	Game		reheated's comment
May 1 13:25:44		NEKOBELLUM	♥ 1	Overall: Fun game, nice graphics! Fun: It's a fun mouse & keyboard shooter. I enjoyed it. This game does a great job of making me feel more powerful as I buy upgrades. By the time I got to the victory screen, the game was no longer a challenge and I was nearly ready to quit... maybe it needs some clear indication of how far you are from winning (or did I miss it?) - this would motivate the player to play it all the way through. Innovation: Not huge - I've seen a lot of mouse & keyboard shooters like this in the past (and done one myself for an earlier LD, but not nearly this professional...!) Theme: Yes Graphics: Very good. I am impressed that you found the time to model the player and 3 enemies. The lighting effects are good. I like the slow-down effect at the end of each round. Only the menu looks a little hurried (and the text doesn't stick out very well against the game). And I don't understand the significance of the purple part of the play area. Audio: The sound effects are good. The music grates after a couple of minutes. The shooting sound effect started to glitch at max shooting speed. (Might be a browser thing.) Humor: The cats are amusing. I feel like there's a joke I'm missing in the title? Something to do with a cerebellum? Mood: Sure, you captured the mood of this sort of shooter well.
May 1 14:34:00	1h 08m	Vital Investments	♥ 1	Overall: Fun, gentle, happy city builder. I like it. Fun: It's nice. It's a little on the slow side, but that just makes it relaxing. I didn't realise for an embarrassingly long time that I could move the camera around! Some other things weren't clear - I saw that supermarkets get a better income when there are more houses, but I don't know what other rules are going on. In the end I just built everything, which worked fine. The idea of charging money for hints is neat, but when I clicked on the first one it wasn't very useful so I didn't spend any more money until another playthrough. Innovation: At first it looks like a city builder. But it doesn't play the same as one, so I'm happy with that! Theme: It meets the theme; if you run out of money, you lose the game. That's what happens in most city builders anyway, though. Graphics: The graphics are nice, and functional. Audio: I really like the music. The sound effects are good too. Humor: I enjoyed the newspaper articles, although for some, it wasn't clear whether they're telling me something about the game, or just for flavour. Also enjoyed the hints when I came back to them later. Mood: Good. Relaxing city builder. P.S. Half expected the statue of Godot to never come.
May 2 12:27:02	21h 53m	Life Of Erdanon	♥ 1	Overall: Fun game, with a mix of puzzle solving and platforming. Good difficutly. Fun: It's fun! I wish it was longer! The main schtick of potion throwing is good. Took me embarrassingly long to realise what you gave us potion #1 for... after that the game was much less frustrating :p. My only complaint about the gameplay is that Erdanon gets a bit floaty around the edge of a platform - this caused me to often miss jumps. Innovation: Sure, making a puzzle out of the throwing potions mechanic is clever, and works well. Theme: Yes Graphics: The cutscene art is very nice! I guess I feel that the ground and sky tiles don't live up to the rest of the art. Audio: A bit bare-bones. Humor: Good - I enjoyed the cutscenes! P.S. was this guy losing blood for fifty years?? Mood: Alright, would have been helped by some music.
May 2 13:05:40	38m 38s	Dictator's Last Year	♥ 0	Overall: Good writing with a message. Gameplay-wise, a bit limited. Fun: Alright. I enjoyed the writing. (There are a few grammatical errors but I think this actually works in the game's favour!) I had a few goes but didn't manage to finish the game. There isn't much of a feeling of control, since it is hard to predict how my choices will affect the game. Innovation: I'm sure I've seen multiple choice games before. But the writing's innovative! Theme: Yes Graphics: OK. It's mostly a text game. But I don't like this font - found it hard and slow to read. Audio: N/A Humor: I enjoyed the humorous narration style. Mood: Kind of felt like I was playing this game on an illegal dial-up BBS, maybe in the country in question.
May 2 13:41:00	35m 20s	Basil Price: Mint Investigator	♥ 1	Overall: Humorous, I enjoyed it! Fun: I had fun. It's mostly straightforward, although I did get caught not searching for enough clues at one point. Innovation: I've seen games like this before but I don't think I've seen a clue system like this in an LD game. Pretty impressive to get it done! Theme: Fine by me! Graphics: Very nice. Audio: Great music. Light on the sound effects. Humor: Good! I laughed out loud at the ending screen. If I'm being picky, I think that the fourth-wall breaking jokes came too thick and fast early on. Mood: Good, humourous detective game mood. (Edit: just got why he's called Basil)
May 3 14:50:18	25h 09m	cut'n'align	♥ 1	Overall: Novel gameplay with an interesting strategic aspect. Fun: Cool! I had two goes and got a much higher score on my second go - I think there is definitely some strategic aspects to getting a goood score. I only got irritated when an "X" showed up that foiled my plan. But I can see how they are needed to make the game challenging. Innovation: At first this game seems similar to existing falling block games (Doctor Mario, I think?) but the "cut" mechanic makes the gameplay unique. Theme: Not seeing the theme shine through, but that doesn't matter. Graphics: Nothing special but they serve their purpose and frankly are better than most programmer art. Audio: The music loop is good, but a bit short for a long-play game like this. Humor: N/A Mood: Cool mood brought together by the music + the quaking blocks when you're losing.
May 4 03:15:38	12h 25m	remnant.	♥ 2	Overall: The really impressive thing about this game is how much different stuff is in it: combat, two types of enemies, conversations and flashbacks with scripted sequences. Most Ludum Dare games are nowhere near this ambitious. I think the combat is pretty fun, and the graphics and sounds are excellent. Fun: The combat's interesting and fun. Actually you could have stretched it out a bit more with more screens of combat. I found it strange that there is no penalty for losing all my health - at least if I had to return to the start of the screen (or perhaps a save point) then there would be more incentive to play with some skill! One confusing thing was that a particular quest didn't start until I talked to certain people in a certain order, which left me wondering what to do for a little while. I'm impressed that you managed to have combat with two types of enemy, plus a story with character interactions and flashbacks. (It did seem to end a little abruptly.) Innovation: I think the combat & enemies are pretty innovative! Theme: I don't really see it, but that doesn't matter. Graphics: Very nice pixel art. Audio: Very nice music and sound effects, suitable to the game. Humor: N/A Mood: I enjoyed the forboding mood established by the sound & art.
May 4 03:53:41	38m 03s	The Cash with a Hat	♥ 1	Overall: Fun and funny. Fun: Fun idea with a good bit of puzzle-platforming. The ability to easily reset is good. (If the game were much longer, then I wouldn't want to reset the whole thing every time I screw myself over - I suppose the game would have to be served in levels.) Innovation: Certainly! I particularly like the clever way the coins deliver three different gameplay mechanics: the goal, the height changes that impose movement constraints, and your way to interact with objects by launching coins. Theme: Clever take on the theme! Graphics: Simple but effective and endearing. Audio: I do not like the sound, and turned it off. Humor: Funny, because of the bizarre take on the theme. Add to that the walking animation. Mood: Fine, it's a humorous mood.
May 4 05:06:31	1h 12m	Cash Money Mole	♥ 1	Overall: Novel, fun game. Fun: OK, this is really fun. (Fun enough that I eventually forgot I was meant to be reviewing it.) It distills stealth games down to a really simple mechanic. I think it's fantastic. My only suggestion would be to provide some better feedback to the player. In particular, if there are too few coins left to win the level, alert the player and probably end the game straight away. As it was, the first time I played, I collected all the coins and then thought that the failure message was just a funny way of ending the game. Innovation: It's clever! I haven't seen a game with gameplay like this. Theme: Yes Graphics: Fine, considering the Pico-8 constraints! Audio: Good! I really like how there's a separate track for underworld and overworld. Humor: Funny concept and I laughed at the progression of rewards. Mood: Good, aided by aforementioned changing music.
May 4 07:30:19	2h 23m	Evoform	♥ 1	Overall: Cool, clever strategy game with a neat upgrade system. I was hooked for quite a while! Fun: A very nice and interesting turn-based strategy game. The tactical aspect is enjoyable (e.g., trying to position my units so they can attack without being attacked). I also like having to decide whether to sacrifice units (and which ones) for upgrades. I played for a long time before finally getting a "you won!" screen when I made a fully upgraded unit. I think it would have been useful to more clearly indicate that this is the goal, and show the player how close they are are to it. If I had to criticise something it would be the animation speed: a lot of time is just spent watching the pieces move, when I already know what I want to do next. (It might also be nice if there was a little more visual feedback - some information isn't clearly displayed, like which units have already moved this turn.) I had some minor issues with the menu buttons not doing what I wanted: sometimes clicking "Confirm" would just exit the menu instead of asking which upgrade to make. Innovation: Sure, it seems like an innovative set of tactical rules. Simple rules, but some complex gameplay emerges from it. Theme: Good interpretation. A lot of people (myself included) are simply having a number that represents your life, and you can spend it on something. But in your case it is actual units on the board that you have to sacrifice. I like that. (P.S., could do with some sound.)
May 4 10:11:31	2h 41m	A day at the farm	♥ 0	Overall: fun, addictive and silly, I think it's great. Fun: Yep! Fun and addictive! I think it would be even more addictive with a few small balance tweaks. I have no idea how to use all 8 available plots, I can't move fast enough to harvest the blood from more than 2. Maybe if the plants grew slower? And also maybe freedom should be more expensive? Innovation: I think that the "action gardening" idea is pretty innovative! Theme: Yes Graphics: Kinda gaudy Audio: In my opinion this sort of randomly generated music sounds OK but is not very memorable. Humor: Sure, I laughed at the silly concept Mood: Kind of intense at the same time as being silly.
May 7 11:17:20	73h 05m	Menorah's Quest	♥ 2	Overall: Fun and novel gameplay although it does hurt my eyes! Fun: I think it's a fun game. I enjoyed having to weigh up the option of whether to use more light, or try to rely on my memory & own guess as to where I am. I enjoyed the escort missions more than the maze parts, because solving mazes without a map feels a bit arbitrary. I'm impressed by the moving lights in all the levels. (I don't often see stuff like that in Ludum Dare games.) Question: are the candles at the end showing how long we were at the end of each level? Innovation: Innovative gameplay! Theme: It's a clever interpretation of the theme. I like how the player can preserve their light by not using it, but this comes at the risk of hitting a spike. I also like how, in some levels, there are moving lights we can keep up with, and if we do it well, we barely have to use our own light at all. Graphics: The art is fine. However, flashing the light did hurt my eyes. What is the solution to this? I wonder if it would help to tween the brightness for a fraction of a second every time it turns on and off? Audio: The sound is a little grating, I ended up turning it off. Humor: It's not a humour heavy game, but it was amusing when I got pranked in an early level. Mood: I think the "dark" mood of this game is alright, although it would be improved with better music/ambient sound.
May 7 12:30:45	1h 13m	HWEY Heist	♥ 1	Overall: A silly platformer with multiple enemies and scripted events - impressive. Fun: I played on normal difficulty. I think the fun in this game stems from the silliness of it all. There is an impressive amount of gameplay and I am impressed by the scripted events (complete with camera movement). Something felt a little "off" about the controls (maybe the triangular jumping arc?) but not so bad as to prevent enjoyment of the game. I enjoyed the chaos when fighting the final boss. I was frustrated by the difficult jump puzzle. In my opinion, there were also too many invisible pathways. I somehow got through the final boss like @flashviper did, but I ended up falling back in front of the boss and defeating him properly. Innovation: I think the gameplay is more or less standard, except maybe for the unusual gun. Theme: Well, it's there, but sort of feels tacked on. Graphics: Functional and funny. I think the enemies look hilarious. Audio: I'm not a huge fan of the simplistic music. Humor: Of course, it's funny and ridiculous. Mood: See humour.
May 7 13:16:42	45m 57s	Hearts for Coins	♥ 1	Overall: Interesting gameplay mechanic but more careful level design would be needed to make it shine through. Fun: I think the healing mechanic is a clever one but I only needed it in level 2! Levels 1 and 3 can be completed by just getting the keys and going to the exit, which kinda defeats all your hard work implementing this interesting gameplay twist! (Like others, I also thought the movement could be sped up.) Innovation: Yeah! the healing mechanic is quite unique. Theme: Yes Graphics: Looks pretty rushed. Audio: It grates a bit so I turned it off. Humor: N/A? Mood: I don't think there's much of one. But I never really know what it takes to make a game with good "mood". Maybe textured platforms, background art, and animated character eyes & legs? Maybe a story? I dunno.
May 8 14:45:54	25h 29m	Million dollar robot: Fear the forklift	♥ 1	(I played the jam version.) Overall: This game is bizarre, broken, and highly memorable. (In a good way.) Fun: It took me a lot of deaths before I even realised what the goal is. I think it's really cool. Part of the fun is how bloody hard it is to get the bloody car to do what I want. Unfortunately my best effort only got me to the exit with a single part... this game is hard! And it gets harder as you add more things on every side. I think I managed to get each of the upgrades separately (there are 5 right?) but couldn't get most of them to the exit. The physics bugged out a couple of times forcing me to reset it. In the end I managed to make it past the forklift and get an antenna, but not without busting the physics to the extent that I couldn't get to the exit (and conveyor belts stopped working). Besides getting the physics more reliable, I can only suggest angling the camera a bit more straight on, just so I can remember which way is "up". Innovation: Sure, the combination of the awkward car controls with the odd, detrimental upgrades makes this something special. Theme: Sure, I see it. Graphics: Absolutely great graphics. The car looks especially great. I really like the lighting effects too. Audio: I think the light-hearted music is good and the switch to darker music when you're near the "monster" is a great touch. Humor: The humour comes from me trying to play it and realising how terrible I am at computer games! Mood: Good. That forklift is scary!!
May 9 13:33:51	22h 47m	Your life is currency	♥ 1	Overall: What you have is good but it's really short! Fun: It's a fun game idea. I like the way the character gets slower and can't jump as high with more coins. I also like the picking up/putting down mechanic. My main gripe is that the game is really short! I've just figured out how to play, and it's over! Also, the movement is a bit strange when the character's foot catches the side of a platform. Innovation: Sure, the gameplay rules are creative. Theme: Yes Graphics: The character looks good except that its legs don't move, and it doesn't look in the direction it's going. This is kinda distracting. Audio: The music is good! Game could do with sound effects. Humor: It's a funny game idea. Mood: I think the mood would be improved by above mentioned suggestions: animate the character, add sound effects.
May 10 15:16:18	25h 42m	Wu-Wei	♥ 1	Overall: A very well executed, difficult platformer. You got the platformer controls feeling just right. There seem to be some secrets that eluded me. Fun: It's a really hard platformer. That means it's satisfying when I manage to finish a level. Platforming controls are very good. The length of the game is impressive and the level designs are mostly very good. At times it's a little too hard for my tastes. I was pulling my hair out a lot in some of the later levels - especially level 20. For more seasoned platform players I guess this would not be so difficult! Anyway, I think I've "sort of" finished it - I got to the star in level 20. But a lot went unanswered for me. I didn't find a ring for the rat. I went back afterwards and killed the rat, but don't know how to use what I got. There was an inaccessible platform on one of the levels and I don't know how to get to it. It's a game full of secrets and I'm too inobservant to figure any of them out. So you can ignore what I say. Innovation: Gameplay-wise, it's the usual sort of stuff one sees in a platformer. But the level design is quite creative. Theme: ... no? Did I miss something? Mood: Superb. (P.S. 1. It is possible to fall off the screen under the jump pads in level 20.) (P.S. 2. I agree with others that say it could do with some sound effects.)
May 11 11:11:56	19h 55m	BloodThirst	♥ 1	Overall: ARPG with fun combat and a good upgrade system. Fun: This is a really fun idea. It's enjoyable to watch my character get more powerful. Especially when the dash delay gets to minimum, it's fun to dash around defeating the enemies. The early screens are too easy to farm... now I understand why many ARPGs reduce the XP reward when you are overlevelled. I think I finished it - Cleared a room where the only exit is back the way I came. Would have liked a victory screen or some instruction as to what I'm missing! Innovation: I've seen most of the elements of this game in other games. What's really nice is the creative design of the upgrades, the enemies and the dash mechanic. Theme: Yes Graphics: Looks good. You did a good job of getting the ideas across with low-poly models. I really like the dash effect. When there are many health particles on screen, I have serious frame rate problems, even on my quite powerful gaming laptop. Audio: I enjoyed the sound effects. Humor: I found some of the sound effects funny. Mood: Good. I think the mood would be improved if the game were more difficult (nerf farming).
May 11 11:17:42	5m 46s	Brain Jam	♥ 3	Overall: Not really all that fun on account of an apparent lack of impact of the player's skill. Fun: I wonder if I'm missing something. Playing through several times, I managed to vary my life loss between -2 and 13 years. But the quality of the game only varied between 2 (if I slept all day) and 4 (full work load). In other words, it's hard to see how the player's decisions/skills factor into the outcome, and this limits the amount of fun to be had. Innovation: Sure, it's a novel game idea. Theme: Yes Graphics: Looks OK. Audio: Sounds OK; music's repetitive. Humor: There's a couple of funny events. Mood: See humour. (P.S. Seven people is a lot for a jam - what did everyone do? How did you deal with the communication overhead?)
May 11 11:29:44	12m 02s	Yen Master	♥ 1	Overall: Basically a 3d third person shmup; really hard but also very satisfying when you finally learn how to win at it. Includes great voiceover that made me laugh. Fun: I finished it! It's _really_ hard though. I was very close to giving in (without even finishing the first level) until things clicked into place and I started to improve. I think a big factor in that was getting used to the perspective - not many games are in this perspective and it was difficult to predict whether I was going to collide with something. It's a satisfying feeling, getting better at the game and making it slightly further each time; eventually I hit critical mass and could max out the fire rate, move speed and magnet, and push through to the end. But that satisfying feeling didn't come for a _long_ time... I think I still feel like the game deserves to be a little easier early on, to make it more inviting for players. Innovation: Yes - haven't played a shmup from this perspective, it's strange. Theme: Yes Graphics: Funny, and they serve their purpose. Audio: Fantastic - love the speech. Humor: Very funny thanks to the silly speech and the funny enemies. Mood: Funny but at the same time intense thanks to the difficult gameplay.
May 11 11:44:49	15m 05s	TREASURE ROOM	♥ 1	Overall: Fun, good difficulty, and appropriate sounds and graphics - very nice. Fun: Good combat, just the right difficulty, in my opinion. I managed to finish it on my first run, but it was pretty tense! (In my opinion the only really fearsome enemies are the warlocks with their ranged attacks.) A strange feature of this game is that the better you play, the fewer difficult enemies you'll see. Innovation: Mouse & keyboard shooters have been pretty common in this LD. But this is a mouse & keyboard sword-swinger. The combination of the arena rounds with buying the end of the game is something a little bit different. Theme: Yes. Humor: It's not a focus of this game, but I think there's some humour in the monsters and the sounds. Mood: Good - I think the difficulty, the graphics & sound all work together to achieve a tense mood of an action game in a dungeon setting.
May 11 11:53:56	9m 07s	Charger	♥ 0	Overall: Cool - reminds me of old arcade games but with more modern graphics. Fun: It's pretty fun - you got the foundation of the gameplay right. I just wish there was more variety. Specifically, more different waves - they very quickly repeat themselves. Another option to increase variety would be pick-ups: health regen, or gun upgrades or something. (I also found it slightly offputting how the enemies sometimes "jumped" into position after flying into view.) Innovation: The gameplay is standard but I think that's what you were going for. Theme: It seems that there is no relevance to the theme? Graphics: Good graphics! (_very_ minor complaint: it's too hard to see my own health bar) Audio: Good shooting sound effects. No enemy death sound effects? I wish the music was much longer (what there is sounds good). Humor: N/A? Mood: Good. The graphics, the audio and the gameplay go well together.