The Soul Harvester

mihkelroomet 2023-01-09 01:21

Really cool! I finished the whole adventure, it took quite a while. Nice progression with new abilities effectively replacing previous more finnicky ones.

Loved the smooth textures and the soothing rain sounds. Would have liked to hear getting hit, too. At first I thought the first blue ghost was a friendly cause nothing seemed to happen when I ran into him. I only later noticed my health was affected.

Bumping against the ceiling was pretty frustrating at times :p

Also, the camera didn't move to the next area properly if you turned around right at the edge of the screen.

poietic-ruby 2023-01-09 04:47

I can't understand this game.I think it may be interesting,but I have no time to experience it. Sometimes the game can't work.I don't know why and it have a great influence on me. Maybe it's my problem,but I have to say: This game isn't very interesing.

infinitye 2023-01-09 17:09

I would implement better instructions but generally a really good and addicting and i like the graphics but they just dont fite together in my oppinion some is in detailo and other things just plain but overall good job

scolondev 2023-01-09 17:47

softlocked.png Sadly, I got softlocked on my first run of the game, so I had to restart from the beginning and do another run through

fellthroughtheworld.png Then I got stuck in this section of the game, I was unable to get out of this hole and then I fell through the floor when trying to dash out, so I think my playthrough will end here.

Overall though, the concept is sound. A fairly good interpretation of the theme, that isn't just a farming simulator. The game only needs a lot of polish, more things to do, and it would be a pretty good experience!

captaindreamcast 2023-01-09 17:53

I liked this game a lot! Made it all the way to the end too and visited all the rooms (unless there's hidden ones I missed). I liked how the abilities were introduced, all the abilities you unlock had their own little dedicated place directly next to them where you got to try them out, so I immediately figured out how to use them. Well-designed metroidvania take on the theme, great job!

oliver 2023-01-09 17:56

As someone with a 60% keyboard that lacks arrow keys, I appreciate that I can use WASD for movement, although gamepad controls would be best for me, but it's understandable it wasn't prioritised because of the time limitation. Nice touch that the UI goes transparent when the player is overlapping it. I like then ambience with the rain in the background. Regarding the use of abilities I think it would've been better to have the gauge deplete on use instead of on a time. This keeps the gauge from being restrictive in a way that doesn't diminish when a player gets faster or better at using certain abilities, it also prevents players from just enabling the gauge and using the ability followed by disabling it right away, thereby using the ability for little to no cost. Although I did notice that you had put in some restriction to the dash so they would have to at least enable the ability while on the ground so I see that you did think of that problem.

Overall the idea of enabling and disabling abilities in real time is a novel and interesting twist on the metroidvania genre, but has to be handled with care as it can quickly get chaotic. I mentioned earlier that my keyboard limits me to using WASD so it's good that was added, but abilities get very hard to use effectively in that case.

Really good job, it's ridiculous to make a metroidvania during a jam and this one was enjoyable but the control scheme made it too hard for me to play properly.

pincushion 2023-01-09 18:27

The map layout worked very well with the skills. I'd see an obstacle and I could guess about the upgrades that were coming to get past it. The tab map was really nice, since I could use it to find how to get back to these obstacles. There was something to get down every path, which was really satisfying. In general, the controls felt good, but I was constantly mixing up the keys. So it would be useful to simplify the controls if you can.

feor 2023-01-10 06:25

Oh, I think this is a diamond in the rough, you'd probably have way more success with an HTML5 version. The game feels a bit rough around the edges in terms of polish but it's gigantic for a jam game, all the powers feel good to use and the level design is fantastic, definitely the highlight here. I agree with the other users about the powers feeling a bit clunky. I finished the game before I got the last power (I had dash, high jump, shoot and pass through thin walls). Wonder which one I missed?

2023-01-10 17:59

You can dash diagonally into walls, and if it's 1-tile high you're softlocked. This happened to me in my first run.

The open-world map is well-made and huge for a compo game. Graphics are great. The UI dim is a great touch I didn't expect.

I know the character is just a rectangle, but it should still have a direction. If you press C without holding a direction key, it always dashes to the left instead of the most recent movement direction. The keyboard controls are bad, and I wish there was controller support. I didn't like how mobs respawned on each room transition.

alex-de-la-cour 2023-01-10 20:21

I've got a ton of respect for anyone who makes a metroidvania for a game jam! What a ton of work that must have gone into this - it'd be tough for the jam, let alone the compo! I thought the idea of enabling and disabling abilities was really cool, and the controls felt smooth and responsive, with the exception of the bounce down when you hit the ceiling - it made some of the jumping/platforming elements quite frustrating. I also got trapped at this room my playthrough - I got to the bottom of the room and couldn't get back up. map.png

efilheim 2023-01-11 13:35

Good job on making a metroidvania in 72H alone! The bumping on the ceiling is a bit frustrating, but I like the concept of your game!

bcmpinc 2023-01-11 13:54

Ambitious to make a metroidvania in only 48h. It had some quirks, dashed out of bounds a few times, though it was easy to get back in. At one time my character went to the next screen but the camera stayed at the previous. After hitting the next transition that fixed itself. I managed to complete the game. For the turning on and off power ups, I wonder whether it would've worked better if they only used soul on use. The rooms feel a bit empty and movement could be improved, but still impressive.

paulo-brunassi 2023-01-12 21:35

Wow, making a metroidvania in 48 hours alone is impressive! I liked the upgrades, the game has a little flaws but it doesn't take away the great job. Congrats, friend!

emmatw 2023-01-13 20:21

I really like the general idea of this game, it's impressive that you managed to get all this level design in in such a short time, it's a very ambitious project and you got quite far! I experienced some issues with the camera on room transitions and I think I would have chosen a different sound effect for the jump (it got a little bit much when you had listened to it for a while). The tab map was very nice!

infecsean 2023-01-14 04:11

Interesting gameplay, loved the artstyle, not too pixel-y, and also loved the little trail behind the player. Though I did get stuck somewhere when I tried to go to a new chamber/level and the camera just didn't move to the new chamber. Other than that, it's a great entry.

philstrahl 2023-01-16 21:16

Surprisingly moody! Sadly, I just dies too soon 😅 If you're curious, this is was my experience with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnWqmLOzSps