Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD38 → Land of the Sun
By holyblackcat
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 38 | 4.00 | 23 | |
| Fun | 54 | 3.86 | 24 | |
| Innovation | 162 | 3.45 | 24 | |
| Theme | 417 | 2.90 | 23 | |
| Graphics | 33 | 4.30 | 25 | |
| Audio | 74 | 3.65 | 25 | |
| Humor | 376 | 2.10 | 21 | |
| Mood | 17 | 4.17 | 25 |
Huh, had a lot more fun than I expected. I really liked the variety of boss pattern that integrated with the environment layout. The aiming mechanic, on the other hand, I wasn't a fan of, and the floaty jump really took some time to get used to. The last boss didn't appear fair: it would have helped if the pits were visually indicative of being safe spots on one of its attacks.
The mood of this game is great, it feels calm and atmospheric. All the pieces fit together in this game. The particle effects are particularly appealing.
Platforming mechanics work well, but the aiming is a bit tough.
There's nothing like killing a boss and promptly jumping off a climp.
another great game! the mood is spot on, and the aim is a little tedious, and though it is challenging, it is never overwhelming :D i'd love to see more!
Beautiful platformer! The player's limbs are strange looking, but in an interesting way. That accompanied with the unique jump sound makes the game feel otherworldly. I'm surprised that this is not getting enough reviews, because the game's highly polished.
The boss fight was fun and challenging, but I think it should have done something extra at its last health; to make it more interesting. The aiming is okay, but a tiny bit hard (at least it's controllable by turning the player around).
Have your vote, man :)
A solid platformer with solid controls. But shooting mechanic is very confusing - I couldn't understand what affects aiming and if it affected by player at all, it seemed completely random.
I'm rather fond of the artstyle, it gives a nice atmosphere. Just the leg movement felt a bit odd to me.
I'll have to say, the ruleset behind controlling the aiming direction of the orb seems very interesting and creative.
Overall, I had fun. :)
That was a very well designed game, especially for a short game jam. The bosses were very different and I liked the third and fourth the most. The platforming mechanics were very enjoyable and fun. I also found the graphics were very good and fitted the game very well. Some minor points I didn't like so much were the aiming (maybe I missed something there, but I wished there were a possibility to aim manually). Also I find platforms, which you don't see when you jump unnecessarily unfair. Overall this was one of the best games I played so far this LD. Good Job!
> Thanks for playing.
> You died 29 times.
I supposed to do this with 0 deaths ? :scream: I don't think I can do that ...
Anyways, This is a great game ! Really hard, kind of evil with all those spikes. *(If you wanna be more evil change up the attack pattern order in the last stage of the 4th boss. :smiling_imp: )* This music is nice but its much too tame for a game about boss fights, it makes me sleepy instead of excited not a very good match. Also the jumping mechanics feels kind of weird floaty. But this is a great entry especially considering its a Compo entry! The main menu is beautiful, and the pixel art amazing, especialy for the first boss and grass, much better than [mine](https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/small-world-transport) ! Do you mind if copy the way you draw tiles, and grass ? I really like them!
The game idea and platform style was really great! I found the idea behind you want very cool, just the shooter mechanic was kind hasr to have good precision, but it has a nice touch too! Very cool entry, good job!
Also, test my compo entry here too, need some more few ratings too now! thanks ;D https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/anthills-multitask
Damn, this is good :D
Very interesting mechanic overall, an it has 'Journey' mixed with 'Shadow of Colossus' vibe for me (not that it copies anything, just the vibe seems akin to those).
Very nice audiovisuals, and a quite creative approach to learning mechanics. Though white orbs could be confusing for new players (from what I see in the comments, there was such an issue), after trial and error - which does NOT feel aggravating, points for that - it all boils down to the fact, that each boss needs a different approach and you need to spend some time to get to know environment, the mechanics and the boss itself. It also gives you the 'alien' feeling of the whole world, which, again, gives off the same vibe like the titles I mentioned earlier. I like it very much.
What got me, is that the music and overall movement is actually relaxing, even though the fight needs your attention and quite a bit of focus. It's something I'm very fond of - see for example the contrast with music and action scenes in animated [original] Ghost In The Shell (Not the ungodly hollywood rendition, let's not talk about that), or, as I said before, Journey for example. Very nice touch.
Didn't manage to beat the game yet, I'm still at second boss and I'm actually interested what you prepared for those who manage to beat the game without dying :)
**what could be improved** - movement, especially stopping could be a bit tighter - currently player's stopping is a bit floaty, which leads to many deaths. I know that current type of movement buys into the whole 'relaxing' vibe better, but just a bit tighter would help tremendously.
- a tad faster orbs - just the way they circle around the player. Not much, just a bit, to loosen the restrictions but still keep the overall feeling.
- sky / background - since it's a repetitive pattern, akin to those 'cross your eyes to see 3d' pictures, it sometimes puts a strain on the eyes too much. I, for one, actually unconsciously treated it like that 3d picture, and it made my eyes loose focus at times.
Tremendous work with making all the assets and putting it all together. Very fine work. With 3 days to go, put that game out there, it really deserves recognition. It's one of the better project I've seen in this LD, it would be a terrible shame if it went barely noticed!
Cheers, and stay awesome!
Ahh nice to see a boss-centered game! Really oozes atmosphere this, I dig that everything from the visual/audio/gameplay all feed into feel of the game.
I think the orbs are fine as a shooting mechanic, but perhaps if they moved a bit faster it would feel less frustrating when trying to aim at a boss (especially if you're a bit tight on time!).
Some of the platforms were just a bit too far apart since they go off camera and you have to find them by trial and error. Perhaps a way to look further afield or bringing the platforms closer to each would be beneficial.
Really fab entry though I really enjoy this game. Now time to go back and see if I can make it all the way to end without dying!! :D
Great game. As another commenter mentioned, I love boss-centric games. The only major critique I have is I wish the camera was zoomed out just a little more. A lot of the platforms were off-screen below the player. It felt like I was taking "leaps of faith" for most of the game, since I had no idea what was below me until after I died and saw where the platforms ended up. That said, each boss is great. I love the 3rd boss in particular, and how you have to move in circles around the arena. It felt like I was fighting the arena more than the boss, which was very cool.
At first, I thought the aiming was really strange, but after finishing, I really like how slow the orbs rotate. I think making the aiming easier would've cheapened a few of the boss kills. Being forced to wait for the shot to line up during a boss's few seconds of downtime was one of the most tense and exciting parts of the game.
Also, I loved the music. It gave the atmosphere a very empty and isolated feeling, as if to say that you and the four bosses are the last ones in the world or something. It set the mood very well. Great job!
You built a really unique universe with that game. The combination of the graphics, the audio, the gameplay, the gong transition, the death animation, the title screen, everything ties really smoothly together and I just love it! It was rather challenging without being unfairly frustrating. The bosses were very innovative, but I would argue that the movement of the fireball (2nd boss) was a bit too random and unpredictable to be fair.
It's awesome to see such an amount of polish in an entry. I must admit this is my coup de coeur of this Ludum Dare <3
Really enjoyed this! Very different and unique. Didn't read what the game was about before I hoped in and was pleasantly surprised. Starting everything with ringing the gong, I felt like I was participating in some kind of ritual challenge of the gods. Everything from the art and sound was really polished as well. Great entry!
This is a great entry! I hope more people play your game. All of the elements work together very nicely. I really like the grass detail and the patterned gradient sky. Its cool that you can explore the world and make a plan before inviting the boss. Its quite unique. I think this is really resourceful entry. Impressive!
Overall great entry !! The art, and controls are really tight. I wish a had more control of the shots, but I understand the decision not to give player total control of it.
I don't see the theme very well in this game, but it's a a great achievement to have done it in a Game Jam. Congrats!
I liked the way this game looked and the variation in boss behaviors. The aiming was really hard to use and the jumping was a bit awkward. I kept overshooting the platforms in the last level. I actually really liked the death animation. Really cool game overall, especially as a compo. Good job!
Absolutely fantastic and very impressive for a compo entry. The visuals are great, the audio is subtle and creates a nice mood and it was a lot of fun figuring out the bosses. Also pretty nailbiting stuff. Overall top marks from me, amazing!
i rate your game (and it is fun to play ! And i put a good rate) you can rate mine please ! https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/locker-c-18
This game is very fun! Figuring out the bosses is like a small cool puzzle. Shooting the orb thingys was really difficult for me - it took me like 3 shots to hit everything.
For me the most impressive part is the graphics. The simplistic bosses and the character are nice, but the background really blows me away - it looks so good! Overall I love this game, it also reminds me of Titan Souls which funnily enough is originally a Ludum Dare game too.