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JHax

Feedback comments for LD57

Timestamp	Since previous	Game		JHax's comment
Apr 8 09:50:09		Vs. the Deep	♥ 1	Easy enough to pick up without any sort of explicit tutorial which is pretty cool. There's a decent range of cards that mean the play throughs can go quite differently but without it being overwhelming. The crew cards provide a cool way of building up momentum if the draws go your way as well! The tentacle coming in to take cards off the top card stack is a fun little detail which I really enjoyed!
Apr 8 10:47:43	57m 34s	Flat Mates	♥ 3	Really clever interpretation of the theme! Very fun and playful vibe to the whole thing
Apr 8 11:01:16	13m 33s	Project: Coreline	♥ 1	Really liked the attention to detail on the shape of the residential buildings and farms fitting nicely around the hex tiles, leads to some really visually satisfying layouts. There's a cool kind of grungy-ness to the models and textures as well that I think nicely leans into the general atmosphere of a kind of bleak-industrial-roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-the-job-done save the world
Apr 8 11:32:26	31m 10s	Relic Rift	♥ 1	Thanks to @morepixels for the tip about zooming in! The graphics and audio go really well together to create a sort lonely / forboding feel. It does definitely take a bit of time to figure out how everything fits together but in some ways I think that actually plays as a strength as it sort of adds to the sense of exploration and being on this quest for understanding this strange alien tower.
Apr 8 11:52:35	20m 09s	Cavers Cantina	♥ 1	Cool relaxed game. The character art is great and I think the writing does a good job of giving them all different personalities. The variety of combinations of like appliances and ingredients means there's plenty to keep on top of. I did find the blender kept saying it was full when there was only 1 ingredient in it after mixing something in it, but clicking the trash button and starting again seemed to sort it so only a fairly minor issue!
Apr 8 12:01:25	8m 50s	Scavenger Deep	♥ 2	Vibes off the charts on this one, absolute perfect audio/visuals combo for the mood. So many great little details as well like the putting on the suit animation - great stuff!
Apr 8 13:26:36	1h 25m	Oh No!! Astral Warp	♥ 1	This game is really mind bending - the puzzle mechanics are really cool and inventive. I'm not sure I totally got my head around "if I want to do this, I need to do x y z" but managed to get a decent enough feel for it without having a full understanding of it to reach the end! All in all, a solid entry and some excellent puzzle design!
Apr 8 13:45:11	18m 35s	Into the Depths	♥ 2	There's a satisfying feel to the progression and the graphics are lovely!
Apr 8 14:47:58	1h 02m	SpeleoloGraph	♥ 2	Took a little bit of playing to figure out how to kind of think about what actions to use when. Eventually found a nice rhythm to it and had a lot of fun! The aesthetic is also super up my street - minimalism with vector graphic-y lines and a few sparse particle effects and everything's got a cool neon-y glow? Incredible! I think I could've done with a bit more hinting on the UI about what levels of slope I could eat and rest on, but I managed to figure it out well enough in the end!
Apr 8 15:11:29	23m 31s	Deep Fisher	♥ 1	Really love how the swimming all comes together in this, just like the mechanical side of it and the animation as well! All the collecting and shooting stuff meshes together nicely too!
Apr 8 16:01:49	50m 20s	Explorem Ipsum: Catacombs of Time	♥ 1	Really clever puzzle design! The graphics have a cool vibe to them as well. Much like @lectvs, I feel like I might have been a little creative with some solutions. The sound effect for the hook hitting the wall was stunning, excellent choice 😄
Apr 9 13:10:40	21h 08m	Hyperspacedive	♥ 1	Really visually interesting and a good difficulty, the spaceship design's cool too!
Apr 9 13:16:05	5m 25s	Don't wake him up	♥ 1	Cool concept, really messed up my first attempt in a classic hubris filled "well, this looks pretty easy!" Subsequent attempts were a bit more measured 😄
Apr 9 13:32:59	16m 54s	Hireblades	♥ 1	This has got an astonishing amount of like mechanical depth for a compo game! All fits really well together the progression / recruitment system is really cool. Nice one!
Apr 9 14:12:15	39m 16s	Riches From Below	♥ 3	The graphics are really lovely! It's refreshing to have a "Depths" game to have a slightly softer and brighter colour palette and the 3D models are really nicely done. The treasure finding mechanics are interesting to get into, took me a while (and a reread of the game description) to figure out what information the circles were giving me and really got underway once I'd grasped that! I liked that the diving didn't give you like an exact location for nearby treasure and you have to like triangulate a bit.
Apr 11 19:38:13	53h 25m	Shelter from the Blight	♥ 1	Really like the low poly graphics! Having things change up the further down you go but keeping like the core mechanics familiar works really nicely. Impressive managing to make something that feels quite relaxed but quite stressful at the same time 😅
Apr 11 19:56:39	18m 26s	Back From Abyss	♥ 1	Really liked the mechanics of lighting the torches to clear the danger areas. Really impressive considering it was all done while recovering from feeling sick! (Hope you're feeling better now!)
Apr 11 20:07:39	11m 00s	Maps of The Darkness	♥ 1	The map mechanic is really cool, I quite like that the enemies kind of catch you off guard if you get a bit too absorbed in marking out where you are on the map.
Apr 11 20:15:55	8m 16s	Slice	♥ 1	I like the minimalist look of it, the choice of colours works really well for it. Makes an interesting change to have the goal to be like optimising your run rather than there being like an explicit failure state. I think I almost would have liked to see an accuracy stat as well just to see how badly I was doing on aim!
Apr 11 20:25:54	9m 59s	Luck Runs Out	♥ 1	Really beautifully written. The sort of elements of the world that you pass and the general sort of sparse but meaningful vibe all really support the words brilliantly as well.
Apr 13 14:13:23	41h 47m	Spider Cave Offensive	♥ 1	Really impressive graphics for working with Pico-8, all the sort of gem like items had a really nice feel to them, and great job on getting in a good set of like rocky objects without it all feeling too repetitive! Excellent scope for a jam game as well, does a really great job of giving you enough information to get started and allowing you to kind of figure out the best strategy for actually winning over the course of a couple of attempts.
Apr 13 14:28:53	15m 30s	Deep Blast	♥ 1	The bounce physics and particle trail for the balls were both really good for building a satisfying feel to the game - to the point I felt like I was missing out a bit on the bouncing once I'd get the drill through upgrade! It's got a bit of a feel of an incremental / clicker type game but the more physics elements of it are a cool twist on that that really make it feel more its own thing!
Apr 13 14:35:17	6m 24s	The Core	♥ 2	Art style's really unique! The music fits the vibe so perfectly as well. I found the left / right controls a bit confusing when I was upside down, but that feels like a slightly overly harsh criticism as I can't really think of any way to make it less confusing!
Apr 13 15:00:39	25m 22s	Shleep	♥ 4	Cannot find a single bad thing to say about this game! It's a really lovely interpretation of the theme, there's a super fun and playful energy to the whole thing that just makes it irresistibly charming. The sheep and the dog graphics are incredibly cute, music's really chill and totally fits. Just the right length for a jam game as well. Glorious!
Apr 13 15:17:30	16m 51s	Cricetus Crevice	♥ 1	Very cool idea, the central mechanic feels really fresh to me! I love the mixing of the cute hamster protagonist with the spooky sort of cosmic horror of the general setting.
Apr 13 21:02:24	5h 44m	Amigasa	♥ 1	I found the controls a bit tricky to get the hang of, but I think that's partly because I tend to feather my inputs a bit when I'm using keyboard controls, so I was dashing without meaning to quite a lot (although I don't think that ever really got in the way of playing - I probably should have been dashing a bit more!) All of the art was really cool, both the sort of story images and the 3D models - the enemy designs I thought were particularly good. The limited colour palette of the 2D art was great for building the atmosphere of the game as well.
Apr 13 21:18:36	16m 12s	See the Light	♥ 1	Really cool atmosphere, I realise the music's not original, but it's certainly well chosen! The pixel art fish are very cute, and the animations add to that nicely. Personally I think I'd have liked to see the background continue the pixel-art style a bit rather than having a smooth gradient (or at least feeling like it's got a smooth gradient, I think I noticed some crisper lines between colours further down). That is a bit nit-picky / personal taste based though and a lot of it comes from the rest of the pixel-art being so great - the scale effect on the bigger fish I thought was particularly good. The game being about getting out of the depths of something rather than further in is a nice twist on the theme as well. Very relaxing though!
Apr 13 21:50:09	31m 33s	Diving Belle	♥ 0	On some level I think being able to aim freely might have been nice to use the recoil as a bit more of a movement mechanic - although I think in some ways that might have simplified things a bit too much (you obviously _can_ use it to help move as it is, it's just a bit trickier, which is perhaps a good thing!) Might also have been nice for the spear gun to be able to shoot through more than 1 fish if it's all lined up right, but again I can see how that might knock the difficulty / balance a bit too much. The art is really lovely, and there's a pleasing progression to things as they are!
Apr 14 16:45:49	18h 55m	The Fall	♥ 2	The music really fits this well. The graphics are cool too, I like the focus on the sort of pink and grey aesthetic, keeps things nice and clean and gives you clear visual cues for where to avoid / where to aim for.
Apr 14 17:01:15	15m 26s	Leap of Faith	♥ 3	Soundtrack's really solid, and the visuals of the clouds parting early on is super cool. Gave it a few goes but my reactions are a bit too slow today to get to the end! Shall try again another time!
Apr 14 17:14:05	12m 50s	Formidable Satisfactory Silkworm	♥ 1	The pixel art is lovely - the fire effects in particular are great - I also really like the sort of dwarf head blocks / decorations dotted around the place. I think I would have liked to have been a bit more restricted with how I could attack the dwarves - maybe having to catch them in the fire trail rather than being able to just walk into them? Doesn't really need it though, enough fun to be had exploring the map and tracking the last few dwarves down!
Apr 14 17:21:01	6m 56s	Down	♥ 0	Really charming game! I love that I left it with the sense that there were a lot of interactions that I missed that I could aim for on another pass through. The broad range of interactions you get from a really simple input from the users has a great playful fun energy to it. Ending made me smile too 😄
Apr 14 19:57:00	2h 35m	The Depths of the Bag	♥ 1	Really fun take on the theme, voice acting really pulls it together for sure! The mystery at the end is definitely tantalising enough to keep pushing past the difficulty!
Apr 14 20:08:50	11m 50s	Deep Space Misfortunes	♥ 1	There's a great balance of events being unpredictable and taking you by surprise and not feeling like you're being constantly overwhelmed by everything. The sort of choosing your level of hyperspace I think helps a lot with that as it gives you a bit more control over how risky you're willing to be at a given moment. Art's really nice and clean and sci-fi-y as well, brings the whole thing together!
Apr 14 20:21:30	12m 40s	Crust Busters	♥ 3	Ship designs are super cool, easily the most important thing with a game like this 😄 Really fun twist on the sort of digging down type games that are coming up this jam as well, it's such a great balance of weighing up boosting from the other ships and avoiding impacts. I also like how not being first means that other racers are breaking new ground first as a sort of natural balancing mechanic.
Apr 15 09:32:17	13h 10m	Sound the Innersea	♥ 0	Really atmospheric, and a really solid direction with the visuals - it all feels super consistent. I loved the designs of the aliens and the submarine thing. The base camp / launcher stuff is also an excellent bit of polish! I think I would have liked to be able to return to base without getting killed, I found myself just kind of letting the enemies get me so I could check out the upgrades but A. I might have missed a way to do this, B. ultimately it's a personal taste thing. Generally very cool, and the control scheme felt quite fresh and new to me!
Apr 15 09:50:41	18m 24s	Rappel the Porter	♥ 3	Super creative idea, and a lot of fun to play! The presentation of the bag on the left with the actual adventure playing out in miniature on the right is great as well. A little buggy, as other folk have mentioned, but I'd been keen to check back on it in future to play a slightly less buggy version because the core of it is brilliant!
Apr 15 10:09:14	18m 33s	You Know the Drill!	♥ 1	Soundtrack's well curated, really chill atmosphere, does play as quite meditative almost. The drilling particle effects were nice and satisfying. I liked the way movement's handled, and leaving a trail of everywhere you've been is a nice touch as well!
Apr 15 10:56:36	47m 22s	Oakhaven	♥ 1	I hadn't read the description in a lot of detail when I started, so there was a fair bit of figuring out exactly what the puzzles were doing - although I think that actually added to the experience. The line of sight stuff helps a great deal for building the sense of venturing out into the unknown (well supported by the sound as well!). The water graphics were particularly good too! I didn't find the helpful item at any point, I was a bit confused about what I was looking for and whether I'd need to route to a specific room to find it (not really being sure what room I'd want to aim for!) But I managed to get the treasure and return without finding that item in the end so not a huge issue - and I can see it being tricky to hint to where it could be found without completely giving it away!
Apr 16 20:42:44	33h 46m	Last stop before the Depths	♥ 1	The character movement was initially a bit frustrating, particularly when missing a ship completely wipes out your score. However, once I started to get the hang of it, the movement started to feel a bit more funny than frustrating! Was enjoying seeing the little robot frantically careening around the port trying to get things sorted. The robot design is pretty cute too! All in all, a bit frustrating to begin with, but does come together for a fun time in the end!
Apr 16 21:11:19	28m 35s	Drill Crew	♥ 1	It's a small detail, and a bit silly that it stood out to me so much, but I absolutely loved the jump sound effect 😄 The graphics are also all lovely, the enemy bats I thought were particularly pleasant graphics wise! All fits together and runs really solidly as well, there's a great rhythm to juggling keeping the drill going and choosing when to venture out. I've got no idea how people are getting to 1000m, I was getting overwhelmed around 150m (although still having fun!)
Apr 17 20:27:05	23h 15m	In Focus	♥ 1	It's a cool idea and the levels you've got for it I think show the start of something really cool. I'd love to see a few more playing around with the ideas a bit further!
Apr 17 20:44:45	17m 40s	Depth of field	♥ 2	As other folks have mentioned, the control you've got while in mid air is a bit tricky to get the hang of, but I think for a jam game it's easy enough to pass it off as a quirk that gives you a slightly different feel to platforming. Generally though, it's a fun concept and I had a good time playing it, although there were a few times I didn't really have a good sense of which direction I needed to change focus in - I didn't notice the UI for it in the top left until quite far through (suggesting I didn't desperately need it at any point!) and I did find it a bit unclear when there's only the 2 layers to tell which one I'm currently on. That feels very nitpicky though for what was an enjoyable game!
Apr 17 20:54:14	9m 29s	The Dig	♥ 1	Took a couple of goes to start making progress, but was enjoying my time with it. Audio and the snippets of story you get in between the days are really cool and do a great job of building a spooky / foreboding atmosphere.
Apr 17 21:18:45	24m 31s	DepthBorne	♥ 1	Really cool! Had me hooked for a while! The graphics and sounds work so perfectly together to create the sort of spooky underwater vibe. I think having to sort of always be on the run from the boss is a really cool twist on this sort of game as well even if it is tricky! I ended up in dead ends quite a few times, but not sure if that was intentional or not (I might have just been not getting far enough ahead of the boss to back out again!)
Apr 17 21:28:35	9m 50s	Orb of the deep?	♥ 0	Really cool once you get the mechanics of drawing the skeleton's attention and doing silent landings! I don't think I've quite got the chops to get all the way through, but if it gets a checkpoint mechanic at some point, I'd love to give it another go!
Apr 17 21:48:36	20m 01s	Drifting to the deep	♥ 1	Love the Hilbert's Hotel reference! The Gameboy colour palette but with the pop of the different colour on the player car works super well. Great fun! Managed to get to 42 on the board but had to accept my goal of breaking into the top 10 was probably a bit beyond me 😅 Capture.PNG
Apr 18 10:05:50	12h 17m	DOWNMOUSE	♥ 1	Really love the mouse animations, they're very cute! Overall, pretty solid game!
Apr 18 10:35:40	29m 50s	Refinerator	♥ 1	Was sitting at the "this is a cool game, but not sure I understand it well enough to keep playing it much longer." then noticed a few people posting end game screenshots and decided that if there was a definite end, I should try to get to it. I'm so glad I did! The dip back into it gave me that bit more play time I needed to really get my head around how to sort of deliberately plan things. Really solid puzzler, nicely done graphics with the sort of Gameboy style colour palette, and the music brought it all together for a good chill vibe to everything!
Apr 18 11:09:47	34m 07s	Dead & Buried	♥ 1	It's a very fun interpretation of the theme, and the core like scoring system's good for pushing you to think ahead about placements. The story line's great for adding to the fun of it all as well, and doesn't over-stay its welcome!
Apr 18 11:42:50	33m 03s	Nine Lives Deep	♥ 4	Super well polished game! The anchor mechanic feels really fresh and different and there's a really good curve to like getting the hang of mastering it. I'm glad there were checkpoints as well because I got very stuck on the pirate captain boss! Pixel art is utterly phenomenal as well! All in all a great game!
Apr 18 12:04:30	21m 40s	Spear Bird	♥ 3	The art style is gorgeous! There's a really nice meshing together of mechanics as well, and it's great to have so many different paths for upgrading things. Great fun!