FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD53 → The Night Witches

The Night Witches

By brusi, Ido, Shaked Lotan and kultuk

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall1314.0795
Fun684.1395
Innovation1993.8295
Theme4314.0694
Graphics3913.9996
Audio1004.0991
Mood1074.1692

Comments

daniillenin 2023-05-01 23:40

Good implementation of a soviet people heroism!

gerolmed 2023-05-02 07:45

Pretty cool design

sugarsugarsugar 2023-05-02 07:50

Wow! Very cool design, the art is good and the sound track goes hard. Nice work.

liam-kinsella 2023-05-02 07:52

The game is really cool, there seems to be a bug that keeps locking the game for me if I get shot by two planes, but honestly I dont really mind starting from the beginning now and then :D

pralista 2023-05-02 07:53

cool concept.. abit confuse at the beginning.. but i can see the effort.. i kinda have fun with it.. but i just see only 2 level.. keep it up dude

misterkeefe 2023-05-02 08:09

I love the art style but I can't get past the title screen for some reason?

kultuk 2023-05-02 08:10

@liam-kinsella Thanks for the kind words! And we are on that bug, hopefully, a fix will be up soon.

kultuk 2023-05-02 08:11

@misterkeefe there's an issue on Macs. we are trying to fix it right now. It will work for you if you'll wait for a bit. not ideal but until we upload a fix.

kultuk 2023-05-02 09:45

@misterkeefe just uploaded a fix if you want to give it a try!

misterkeefe 2023-05-02 10:00

@kultuk perfect! working now (maybe add some text to the title screen saying "PRESS ENTER" for less intelligent people like me :grin: )

And now I can review it! I thought it was fantastic, really good jam submission. Reminded me a little bit of steambirds if you've come across that? The art style is really fresh and minimalistic, but the little touches (like the animation of the plane's wings dipping when you turn) really make the whole experience so crisp. Congratulations on a great game!

yoddaa 2023-05-02 10:40

@kultuk @ido @brushi @shaked-lotan very good job. love the graphics and the smooth movements. very goo job.

fargred 2023-05-02 10:49

Very cool entry! Clean and - most importantly - fun design! It really is a nice blend of stealth and puzzle. It was I also really liked the level progression introducing more gameplay elements, it very motivating to beat the whole game that way.

caisilus 2023-05-02 10:52

Pretty fun game, but controls are a bit cluncky. Nice music!

aviv-levy 2023-05-02 10:54

Love it! Graphics are fantastic, theme, idea and implementation are great, and I love that music. Very well made. The levels were challenging but not too hard to be frustrating. I loved the dialogue and the ending screen!

rabbert 2023-05-02 10:56

Loved the gameplay and theme! I had a blast figuring out lines to get past the radars. Great job!

ixil-miniussi 2023-05-02 11:04

one of those entries where nothing goes wrong from start to end, congrats! loved that turning animation on the plane, super smooth, same for the level designs. Only change maybe would've been more consistent plane speeds (I'm guessing here it's just ease-in-out between two points) cus level 3 or so one of the plane was just much faster than the others while being the same color/design. But that's honestly a nit-pick, the movement was super satisfying and consistent which is rare in flying games.

jhax 2023-05-02 11:25

Very cool game - the art is very stylish. Love how the mechanics all gel together - the stealth / puzzle conundrum is definitely apt!

calicobubbletea 2023-05-02 11:28

The control of the aircraft feels very good. Had fun playing through it!

ceterasdragos 2023-05-02 12:02

Really well executed game, it was fun to complete. Congrats!

timbaleek 2023-05-02 12:32

I love the style and the steering animation and control. The puzzles were a bit too simple. Overall well polished small game :)

josemwarrior 2023-05-02 12:33

Solid 4/5

spacespytv 2023-05-02 12:41

Being able to tell a war story in such a short timeframe is a true feat, well done! As for the gameplay itself, it's really fun! Would've loved some easier puzzles but wouldn't we all!

kultuk 2023-05-02 12:45

@spacespytv even shorter time than you think! we had to pivot from our original game halfway through. we did that in 30ish hours.

ltyrosine 2023-05-02 18:58

The right measure of game for a game jam, not too long, not too hard, simple, beautiful and nicely executed. I'm taking notes. Congrats.

stuembi 2023-05-02 20:24

Totally loved the title music! Cool take on a puzzle game. The flying and steering felt responsive and smooth. I am a fan of the simple palette and the graphics, really adds a nice and unique feel to it. I did not see any bugs or similar stuff, you did amazing on composing this game.

gamedocs 2023-05-02 20:30

Great game and really fun!!

marppuli 2023-05-02 20:58

"The wind will whisper when the Night Witches come..." A neat piece of war history to make a small puzzle game on! The simple visual style was nice and retro, and the audio was well matched to it. The puzzles were of suitable challenge too. I would have been nice if you were able to look at the mission first, and press a button to start it, because a couple of them were confusing at first. The player place could have been different colored (would have been beneficial especially in the last mission), and it might have been worth noting that the mission ends if you fly over the edge. Those are however very minor detractors, and overall you did a very nice job with the game!

ginluy 2023-05-03 06:38

Cool game!

jin9310 2023-05-03 06:52

Wow this was a really cool approach on the theme but also to the game play mechanic. Feels really clean and well executed. Little backstory covers the game nicely and the element of figuring out how to "deliver" is quite immersive, since you jump right into the action. The very last animation of the night witches is such a sweet nice touch. Great game, I love it!

stingby12 2023-05-03 07:46

That was definitively one of the harder games I played for that Ludum Dare. The last level was REALLY hard, and I was about to give up until I realized that `gur enqne jba'g qrfgebl lbhe cynar vs lbh gbhpu vg, bayl vs vg qrgrpgf lbh sebz uvf erq nern`, so that was slight easier to beat for me.

kultuk 2023-05-03 08:49

@stingby12 gung’f n avpr fbyhgvba. Abg jung jr vagraqrq juvpu znxrf vg rira pbbyre.

stefan-funke 2023-05-03 09:37

Awesome game! I need more levels! :laughing: Very cool idea. It works great!

If I could change one thing: Let me observe the patterns of the enemy, before I start the level.

Btw, I loved the pixel art! Very well done!

bauke-regnerus 2023-05-03 13:51

Love the minimal pixel art and the steering felt fluid. The length of the game is just right, and the story was nice too. Very solid game, good job.

squimmy 2023-05-03 15:42

I really like the art style, and the idea is clever, too. Unfortunately, because the levels are so dynamic and there's no way to see how the enemies are going to move until everything starts moving, a lot of the gameplay felt a bit like simple trial and error... Still mostly pretty fun, though.

exilon 2023-05-03 17:21

This game is almost perfect. I love the art, I love the audio and I love the idea of a stealth-puzzle game revolving around bombs and planes. My only two problems are: * It doesn't have much to do with the theme * The difficulty ramps up a LOT.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this one.

willm 2023-05-03 17:24

Really fun puzzle game! It's rare that you see a game with well thought out puzzles in a gamejam. I felt like the pazing was good and i felt like the introduction of the enemies came at a good pace and time. I felt like you can be a little iffy on wether this complies with the theme but i think the delivery of bombs suffices enough! Good game, i'd like to see some more levels as it did feel a little short.

sdelay 2023-05-03 17:30

Nice! the last level is quiet challenging but after a few try I did it. I would play 2-3 more level with pleasure. loved the simple color and the girl explaining the missions - it had some atmosphere and an inplicit turoriel which is perfect.

gametrodon 2023-05-03 17:32

This is incredible. I know it's probably as short as it is because of the jam format, but I don't have any major negative feedback.

Only thing I would note is that it was a bit weird that I would just end the level when I touched the sides of the map, I wish it was a bit more obvious, because sometimes I'd make turns that would just skirt the edge, and not quite get where I wanted.

coreywaite 2023-05-03 17:39

Great game! Loved the theme and presentation. I found the second to final mission quite difficult, and far more difficult than the final level. I also think there should be a quit or restart option at the end. Super fun, great job!

kler 2023-05-03 17:41

Loved the game! The visuals are very neat, and the audio is so good! Overall they both gives a good atmosphere that fits the narrative very well. I thought the mechanics and movement were nice and I really like the difficulty curve, especially for a game jam. Part of me wishes there was a way to observe enemy patterns before going in, but I also think it makes sense that we're thrown in directly and have to go with the flow without being able to plan ahead too much.

Great job, I had a really fun playthrough!

frnknstn 2023-05-03 17:55

Only thing wrong with the game is that there are not enough levels.

magus77 2023-05-03 17:59

i loved the puzzles, and i loved the music! This game is awesome! some of these really made me try a few times before getting to drop the bomb :D cool game.

bgdu67 2023-05-03 18:06

Nice and polished entry! Great mood and controls, good level design and audio. I found the last level far easier than the one right before that (the way the patrols are timed leaves an easy solution: tb fgenvtug naq ghea yrsg nf yngr nf cbffvoyr, nf vs gurer jrer ab raarzl cynarf/enqnef). I have seen some people complain about trial and error but I don't think this is a problem.

Great job!

majadroid 2023-05-03 18:08

Good job, great game. I really enjoyed playing it. I could imgagin coming back and playing again, if you add more level. The concept is really fun. The effects and music matches the mood very well.

0x-void-x0 2023-05-03 18:27

that last level was brutal, the music is also really damn good it helped set the mood, my god it's like you calculated my every move and made sure I got rekt every time lol, well done guys!

stingby12 2023-05-03 20:20

@exilon You have to "deliver" pipebombs to the german people from the 18s.

chrissx2 2023-05-04 00:23

Hard but really cool idea. Everything works well together. I was super close to finishing the last mission but the radar catched me in the last sec :D

wadlo 2023-05-04 01:33

Didn't think I'd get a history lesson while playing a LD game. The plane turning animation and the shadow were really satisfying to play with. Also, the game mechanics were really clean. Together, this was a great submission. Also +1 for using Godot!

dongle 2023-05-04 03:00

I gotta say, some of those levels were pretty tough! But, I really appreciate the skip button you added, it definitely came in handy. That being said, when I did manage to figure out how to beat a level, it was such a great feeling of accomplishment. Thanks for creating such an engaging game!

i-wrote-it-myself 2023-05-04 03:54

I love the art style! The gameplay is simple, but challenging and fun, and the story is amazing; Well done!

drainkid 2023-05-04 04:33

Simple gameplay and a cool stylistic layer over top, love it. Great job!

meta-link 2023-05-04 09:48

Really cool game ! The gameplay between action and puzzle works really well, and the mood is nice with the graphics and music. Good job :slight_smile:

nivbeth 2023-05-04 14:28

ld-1.JPG I loved it, it is so well executed and polished :smile: Thank you so much!

bart-diepvries 2023-05-04 14:29

Damn that was pretty hard! I liked how you had to make some big detours through the levels to get past all the obstacles! Looked really clean and great feedback on steering the plane so it was satisfying when you got past everything without flying out of the map for once :p

svenerik 2023-05-04 18:04

Indeed that was hard as previously mentioned here, but it was a lovely challenge, kind of wish it was longer. I loved the historically taken theme of it, awesome! I also enjoyed the minimalist pixel-art graphics a lot, they're great and so readable, jolly well made! Everything overall fit together and was great, good work!

jiri-hysek 2023-05-04 18:22

Good job, comrades! :D Graphics is nice, controls feel great! I'd appreciate if the level would start after some keypress so I can review it first and plan my route. But that's a nitpick, restart take only a second so no problem.

Snímek obrazovky 2023-05-04 v 20.18.33.png

tim-sims 2023-05-04 18:25

That was a solid puzzle game. I'm really impressed how clear it was when I made an error how I could have avoided it.

Amazing work, and super unique!

baknik 2023-05-04 18:26

This is top notch! It's more challenging than I expected too! For me that's a good thing

iminsoftware 2023-05-04 18:52

Nice game, and well polished! It's interesting how you learn the patrols, but have to manage your timing and flight path to pass at the correct moment, unlike a standard stealth game without constant forward movement.

aderix 2023-05-04 18:56

Very good execution of a good idea! The music and sounds are really good too.

I like being the worst nightmare of the nazis !!

Good job!

yoanndeplo 2023-05-04 19:05

Did you say Night Witches? :grin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcemHIqmkYI

fis 2023-05-04 19:32

Simple and quite challenging - the music is wonderful!

alexascher 2023-05-04 20:11

Nice little game. Very polished and stylish. Loved the narrative and attention to detail. It was nice that, after defeat, the level restarts. Also, I learned some cool history afterwards and listened to Sabbaton)

twobitadder 2023-05-04 21:16

This was a fun little game! It was interesting finding the route between enemies that would be safe, and of course it was really cool to learn about this piece of history that I was not aware of. The music was wonderful and I think the game provided exactly the amount of challenge for the mechanics it introduced. Nice work!

lathomas64 2023-05-05 16:43

sad I can only give this a 5

ardorugus 2023-05-05 18:37

Great concept, loved the design overall + sound design is very cool. Great delivery!

crazyrems 2023-05-05 20:34

Nice execution, fits the theme quite well, effective graphics, uses historical facts, well implemented. It’s a very solid entry I can easily forget its short length. Goes hard quickly but still managable.

I loved the soundtrack and the ending animation, neat :wink:

It reminds me of Luftrausers quite much :eyes:

le-don 2023-05-06 11:26

Great, game! The art style is amazing and I really liked the stealth gameplay.

andrground 2023-05-06 11:42

good combination of art-style choice and music, didn't expect this to be a some kind of puzzle game (at least for me it felt like one), enjoyed the gameplay a lot!

flaterectomy 2023-05-06 21:53

A clever take on the theme! The last level gave me some issues, I felt it eventually came down on the luck of my timing more so than my skill with timing, but I saved (well, *helped*) the motherland and had a nice balance of frustrating moments followed by epiphanies on the way.

Nice retro graphics, amusing animations in how the enemy planes flip over into the opposite directions, and definitely an epic soundtrack to set the vibe. All in all a great entry!

ryabchik 2023-05-06 22:14

A quality game that gives you the challenge to complete it. The game is not the easiest, but it's for the best, it's much more interesting to pass. Good game comrads!

tyler-m 2023-05-06 23:51

Very charming game! The drop shadow is a really nice touch!

tosmaster 2023-05-07 09:47

Cool game and great art and design. I feel like this could have been played on a GameBoy even. Cool style. I feel like it's a bit punishing that I cannot see the level and routes beforehand and have to guess during my first run. Maybe getting to select when my plane enters or something would help? But then the routes cannot be tweaked for a find-the-path-to-slip-through puzzle. I feel like the game is designed in a way to find the inteded path? But that path was so well hidden, i could not finish the game. I struggled the first time two planes were intruduced, even more the levels after that. Quite difficult game indeed.

fear-games 2023-05-07 09:57

Great game, Love the Theme and game-play. I would love to see this expanded post jam with more enemy types and more levels!

praccen 2023-05-07 11:07

Wow, I really like this! It looks and plays sooo nicely, and with fitting music as well! Nice short iterations to keep the player hooked, and with a nice progression of difficulty. Really great job!

thesmellofoxygen 2023-05-07 23:33

The sound design was great and the soundtrack in particular was awesome and kept me playing long after I had grown frustrated. I'll admit this one was too difficult for me, but I liked the aesthetics.

pedrohpf 2023-05-09 09:57

Wow great game guys, I loved the simplicity but everything is clear and feels good to use!

And it's a good idea with a lot of opportunities for improvements for post jam too, maybe different planes, different enemies, many places to bomb in a level, idk, it just feels very expandable, great job!

justcamh 2023-05-10 15:09

Really neat game, I'm surprised how much you were able to restrict each level without introducing walls or permanent kill zones. But rather the enemies patrol in just the right way that you get restricted in interesting ways, leading to problem-solving. Here's a link to the stream vod if you'd like to rewatch;

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1816190498

kultuk 2023-05-10 16:42

@justcamh thanks for the link and for your kind words 😍

weirdbitgames 2023-05-15 18:12

Amaaaaazing music! I like the simple Game Boy-esk colour palette too! The controls felt really fun to play with (using mouse 1), I just really enjoyed that part! Great job!

krzymsky 2023-05-16 21:29

Good job! I was really having fun playing this. The art and music fit nicely. Nice little polished game.

jordantanner 2023-05-17 04:20

Really enjoyed the nice, clean aesthetic of this game. The puzzles weren't too difficult but challenging enough to get you to play through each level several times. I retried the first level with two sonar towers quite a few times before I nailed it. I definitely admire the simplicity and straightforwardness of the game. The intro dialogue to each level helps instruct the player and supports the setting. I wish the plane could turn a little tighter, but then again that would change the way the puzzles are laid out. The ending was a nice touch, and I also really enjoyed the WWII reference -- I had not heard of Night Witches before. Very solid entry!!

digital-bacon 2023-05-17 10:34

Awesome game! Loved the retro aesthetic and the gameplay is top notch. Very well done!

sleepystudios 2023-05-18 18:01

Really enjoyed playing this! The mechanics were intuitive and the levels had that "just one more try" feeling to them (I think the difficulty level was pretty perfect). The lo-fi graphics were really well done too. I loved that little animation at the end that was a nice touch, good job!