shadow64 2025-04-08 03:03
Really nice! I think the inspirations are pretty clear, but it still works very well and the art and music are terrific. Nicely done and congrats on finishing your first game AND your first jam!
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD57 → Cave Escape
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 160 | 3.90 | 126 | |
| Fun | 49 | 4.12 | 126 | |
| Innovation | 700 | 2.81 | 127 | |
| Theme | 381 | 3.78 | 127 | |
| Graphics | 188 | 4.16 | 127 | |
| Humor | 307 | 3.14 | 96 | |
| Mood | 229 | 3.90 | 126 |
Really nice! I think the inspirations are pretty clear, but it still works very well and the art and music are terrific. Nicely done and congrats on finishing your first game AND your first jam!
@shadow64 Thanks so much for the heartwarming words. Really means a lot. Especially the words about the art, we put a lot of love into it! Hoping to keep leveling up from here
My favorite game yet! It's so much fun, the graphics are awesome, and the controls feel great. I can't stop playing it!
Orange platforms tricked me more than I thought they would lol Really solid game!
love love love the music the controls are so smooth and do exactly what i would expect them to, the vibe is 10/10 great job!
Okay I had a blast with this one -- the music's great, the retro vibes are _spot on_, and it's really satisfying to play. I'd play the crap out of that on an arcade cabinet. No notes, y'all, great job!
Wow, I loved your game. I'm definitely going to spend hours playing it. I thought it was really cool and the interpretation of the theme is perfect. Is the character a kitten? If so, you've won my heart, lol. I love cats. I showed the game to my boyfriend and he remembered a really cool game that yours reminds me of (Monster Probably Stole My Princess). Anyway, I really loved your game! Thanks for making it.
Здорово. Классно что рекорд сохраняется и визуально виден на уровне. Супер.
Concise game concept, solid feel, exquisite and coherent pixel art, this is a very good game worth playing.
I like neon visual of this game and music, but some sounds scared me with their volume
@glaupe-cabral Thank you for your feedback! It's a very cute and funny assumption that the character is a kitten. I think he can be a kitten if you want :)
Hi! I played your game and really enjoyed the visual style. The soundtrack and sound effects create a great atmosphere. It's cool how different bonuses and new types of platforms appear as you play. The game is very well made.
I was especially impressed by the start screen, the explosion is super epic :)
Wilhelm scream = +1 humor! But seriously, I love this entry so much, it is actually my favorite. So simple, so effective and so hard to put down. I love the retro vibe and the replayability is so high. Not a single thing to comment here, well done !
A very stylish homage to doodle jump with cool music and dynamics. Very sticky.
Cool drawing, music and vibe, suitable to relax
Great pixel art. Combined with the postFX (bloom, maybe chromatic aberration? Unless that is baked into the art) it makes for an awesome aesthetic. Chiptunes sound great as well, sound effects are punchy. Excellently polished tower climb game, great jam entry!
It's a typical mechanic, but the visuals were quite beautiful. Maybe to improve the feel, there could have been various effects when we fall to the ground. Well done!
Simple concept with basically endless replayability. I definitely said, "okay one more try" more than once. Thumbs up!
I spent way longer than I thought playing this one! It speaks for itself to how much fun it is. Voted! Not much else to say other than I absolutely loved it, thank you for the fantastic game ♥
Really charming! Super fun! Well done!
Got pulled in by the fun gif and played for a bit. Only 2 negatives I felt were the character feels a bit slidey and there are situations where you can use up a temporary platform, fall, and end up in an awkward state where you can't go further up so you have to willingly reset. Otherwise, I very much enjoyed the graphics, I like the tune, and I do like the overall idea. Game's got a lot of good juice too between the screenshaking, shaders, and text effects. Overall, very nicely done
Hey! Your concept is great. I was rubbish at Doodle Jump so I don't see how I could have scored well here :D (I didn't get over -481926). The visual universe is cleanand it works really well. The 8-bit vibe music works great too, and the difficulty is balanced enough to feel like you can go higher and do it again and again - I'm still having a bit of trouble remembering the exact distance I'm moving horizontally by clicking on the keys, despite several attempts - maybe I have a shorter movement when I press? Well done in any case, it's very accomplished!
I love the vibe and aesthetic of this game. The colors POP, the song is bangin' and the movement is good. The gameplay immediately threw me back to Doodle Jump. Sometimes the enemies were in spots that made it really hard to traverse, but overall this was a straight vibe. ++
funny game, reminds my of "doodle jump" or "icy tower", also very nice color pallet :D
Wow, you all seriously made our day with these comments! Huge thanks to everyone who took the time to play and share your thoughts — it really means a lot. We’re stoked that so many of you vibed with the visuals, the music, and the overall feel. Loved reading about the “one more try” moments, the flow, the fun, and even the bits of constructive feedback (we’re noting all of it!).
This was our first jam project — actually, our first game ever. Seeing it resonate like this honestly warms our hearts.
Thanks again. Drop your highscore in the comments so we can all compare!
We actually wanted to add a global leaderboard, but sadly didn’t have time during the jam. Adding it now would break the rules, so… maybe next time
MLG Icy Tower I need this in my life XD
Really liked the music most of all, catchy. I thought it was kinda fun, I didn't like how you only get 1 try and that the monster could instantly kill you if you got a bigger jump, no time to react. It would've been cool to have power-ups and extra lives, but perhaps that's not the type of game you want this to be.
Congratulations on your first game submission! Was a lot of fun! My best score was -482720!
I like the visual style - the glow is a neat effect. As for the gameplay... well, it's Doodle Jump, it's fine enough. It's well-put-together, at the very least. Good work overall :)
Reminds me of back in the days when I played doodle jump on repeat lol
Its fun and well done, and I love the music !
@beeb-gamecodecompany Yeah, I agree — the enemies turned out pretty challenging. We probably should’ve added some kind of warning sound or screen cue before you actually run into them.
Wow! I loved this! Very simple game I definitely will come back to :)
Nice dynamic game with good music, thank you
this is fun! the score is very confusing though
Good stuff man! Keep it up, I'm sure I'll see you next Ludum Dare :)
Lovely game! The orange platforms always fool me :(
stylishly polished Very juicy, cool. I like it.
Great game, really fun to replay over and over. Great to try and beat that high score and a lot of fun chaining multiple good jumps together. Great entry.
-478824, that was my top, I can't imagine someone ever reaching 0. Now I do wonder, if there's anything at 0. Does it just continue to +1?
Anyways, the movement is really clean and there's alot of work to make it feel as polished and fair as possible.
Also, the 8-bit tune is a banger, love it!
Playing this makes me feel like a kid again playing doodle jump :D The crazy part is that this game feels more professional than the actual doodle jump. Everything from gamefeel to art is super polished and there's a serious amount of progression mechanics and level design variety. The soundtrack is a banger too.
You could take this as it is, slap on tilt controls and put it on the android play store. I'd download it =)
@jona-scheidig Yeah, originally the depth started around -50,000 and was supposed to transition into positive numbers after reaching 0. The plan was to shift the game to a surface area with a bright daytime palette — kind of a payoff moment. The art for that part is actually done, but we ran out of time technically. Honestly, if we had just 30 more minutes, it probably would've made it in.
In the end, we decided to extend the depth much further down instead. I might update the game post-jam to include it, since it wasn’t possible within the jam’s time constraints — and uploading a separate version with that feature would’ve felt a bit unfair.
Reached -458280 I really like how many different platforms are there. The music doesn't get boring and both enemies and powerups are fun addition to the jumping expierience
That was fun! A really good case for a online leaderboard!
Interesting iteration of doodle jump, i like the aesthetics and music/sfx. Orange platforms shine bright and literally asking you to jump on them despite being the ones you should'nt jump on, which is a little annoying. Obviously game is not very high on the innovation scale, but otherwise pretty fun and goodlooking
Great stuff! Excited to see what y'all come up with next!
@sztobar exellent result!
@nsadie yea. Think i can do it right now. Don't know if it's considiring like a new feature
Its like travelling back in time
Сool, add life and pumping like a subway surfer and you can play EVERYTHING!
A well-crafted game that's truly gripping.
Good doodle jump clone! I'd totally forgotten about it, it's a solid game.
I miss the old mobile games. Simple and difficult!
Your art is beautiful! And your music is WOW. It makes me want to dance. I'm pretty bad at this kind of game, so I didn't get very far.
Is there an end or not?
Congratulations!
Good old doodlejump, referenced it? From the tips: I would import to mobile. Nice character death sound)
I think, I beat my personally best score:Screenshot 2025-04-10 204336.png
@mr-mesmer Hahaha, yeah — we actually left in the possibility to die on the start screen on purpose. Thought it’d be a fun little surprise for anyone curious enough to try moving right away
@velis69 Yeah, we definitely took inspiration from it — but we wanted to give it our own style. With procedural generation and a wider variety of platforms, we’re already shaping it into something more original. Definitely planning to keep working on it and push it further!
@euler-moises Unfortunately, there’s no proper ending yet — but something **was** supposed to happen once you reach 0. We talk a bit about that idea in our devlog post, if you're curious! Sadly, we didn’t manage to implement it in time for the jam.
The post: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/cave-escape/development-process-cave-escape-from-darkness-to-light-that-never-came
Of course, we *could* put up a page with an updated version now — but we don’t really want to be unfair about it. Even if we’re transparent, it would still affect the ratings, and I’m pretty sure it would push the score higher. Feels more honest to wait until after the jam wraps up
Nice one. I really liked the music and the gameplay is both casual and intense at the same time :)
Your game feels really polished - well done :)
What is it with simple game mechanics making for the most addicted games :smile:
I had to stop myself from doing "one last try" again and again, the difficulty scales really well and the overall game is fun and satisfying, I got 3 boots in a row at some point and my brain was on fireworks lol. The music is really nice and the graphics are simple but clear which is very important for a game like this.
All in all, this is a solid game, pure addiction. My only complain is that it doesn't have an online leaderboard.
The game is really well polished, looks extraordinary stylish and music is dope! The whole thing is very addictive, great job!
@sztobar, @jona-scheidig, @tobaccoleopard, @logan-core. Sorry for ping. Added you to leaderboards table on my game page. If anyone want to get there too **paste your scorest in comments** guys
Wait this is so polished ! Animations are fluid, the pace is so good, graphisms are beautiful and music slaps ! I don't know what to say it's great ! =D
The visuals are fun, despite being simple and I dig the speed of resets! :D The game says GOGOGO! My score is too embarrassing to post, so I won't XD But good entry!
Really nice game, I love how much variety you were able to get into such a simple concept. It feels super satisfying hitting a mushroom or getting the rocket boots. Only complaint is that I got softlocked a couple times where there just wasn't a platform high enough to reach, but that was very rare. I could 100% see this as a real game on the app store! Here's my score: Capture.JPG
@nuin wow you really get very high score. Not even sure if can beat it myself haha. I really thought i fixed the problem with unreachable platform. Played a bit and did't catch it for in like 10-15 sessions. Okay, thanks, i'll check it again. Also you a the leader of the table now. Congrats!
Well, it's more up than down, right? But is it also depth? In any case, it's fun and it's damn hard!
Like the neon graphics, sounds and many variations of platforms, new view to doodle jump, like it
@nuin No one should beat devs it their games 😈
record.jpg
strong game feel, i love how game shows your highscore with a sign on the wall
immortal mechanics, which everyone has already played, but the graphic execution is the best I've ever come across! the picture quality is the only thing for which you can forgive the lack of any twists in the game play
Love doodle jump and this is a great spiritual successor!!!
Such an amazing and complete game! No aspect lacking, loved the doodle jump inspiration :)
Cute game! It's simple, but I was pleasantly surprised as it kept introducing new mechanics. The jump shoes were super fun! The glowy pixel art aesthetic was also pretty cool, and the music was an absolute banger. All in all, a very solid little game! Nice work.
BTW, my best was -477034
Highscore.png
The game is fun! The pixel aesthetic is swell, I actually think that was this game released in the coin-op arcades era you guys would have made a fortune! Simple and addictive. The pixel aesthetic works super duper well and it sells exactly the action it should.
Also it gets trippy as soon as the music starts to shift. Last long enough and get ready for the surprise!
https://ibb.co/tMd38QSS -453138 with proof image. Fun game!
@ryrumeli yea the shift of music style at the end is my favourite part. Really hits hard. Also added you to the scoreboard
This game is soooo cool, simple but so fun ! ! [Sans titre.png](///raw/cac/36/z/6bfc4.png)
great entry! amazing visual, effect and game pretty fun
Liked the game :3
Fun, polished, beautiful, nice music, what else need for a great entry? :gift_heart: Снимок экрана (778).png
Bloody well done. Really addicting and fun. Don't have anything much more to say honestly. It's short and sweet, replayable and simple to learn. The perfect game jam game.
I am bad at it, but it's really fun.
Capture4.PNG Yup. I'll rate this as "vaguely in the park" and call it that.
@ruruie yo it's not so bad you even got top 3 for now. I'll update leaderboard a bit later
Really like the pixel art style and the up-beat music! A nice take on the doodle-jump game :clap:!
Reminds me of good ol' Doodle jump =) Pixel art graphics were pretty good! The reverse approach on the depth is kind of cheap, but I'll allow it haha!
I'm not sure I'm getting the point of the orange/red platforms, are they just there to try to screw you by making you forget you can't use them? In that case, that's cruel :smile:!
cave_escape.png
@510 If we break it down to the basics — yeah, they’re there for that purpose. But really, they’re meant to create an extra layer of danger. Because if you only leave the enemies, it ends up being way too easy.
What surprises me is how many people say they don’t like the red platforms — that really caught me off guard, since similar ones were in Doodle and no one seemed to mind back then.
Based
A fun homage to Doodle Jump! I loved the graphics and sound design, and while I wasn't good enough to get very far, I _really wanted_ to keep going to see what lies at depth 0...
At first I thought "Oh, did he seriously just take the Doodle Jump mechanic?" But after playing longer, I felt SOMETHING. There's definitely game design here! Good, responsive controls make you think that the previous fall was just a fluke and creates a desire to play again.
The music is upbeat and doesn't get annoying (!) even though I heard the beginning of this track too many times... It works great for the atmosphere!
IMO - I don't think any additional buttons besides the spacebar were needed here (I'm talking about R for reload). And I wish the breakable platforms gave something when destroyed. Right now they just provide a "coolness" factor when you manage to fly through them and land on a platform. But they could definitely be something that players might decide to risk going for.
@nnmbzr Thank you so much for such a detailed review — really appreciate it! The feedback is super helpful, and that idea with the breakable platforms is actually great — we’ll definitely give it some serious thought.
Gorgeous!
very cool! love the graphics and glow effect!
Very addictive. -473990
Screenshot from 2025-04-13 14-17-00.png
Score chaser game ! Great execution of a simple concept.
Very cool Doodle Jump spinoff. Simple but fun, and the cover art is really awesome. Good work!
I'm not very good at games like this, but this is definitely one of the "one more round!" titles :D Great job with graphics and audio, music was super fun! My only feedback is to maybe move the "best" sign to the wall, because in the midst of the game I was sure it's something I can jump on and I died to it :D
the perfect ludum dare game -- that is all
Cool game! The art and sound are really awesome. The enemies look great. The air control felt a bit lacking. The character’s inertia is a bit frustrating. Although I guess it’s done to make the game more challenging =) Great job!
Bad combination, i believe - procedural generation & punishment for mistakes which are requiring high accuracy, and, in case with procedural generation, luck yet. It is not the best solution.
@oeuegha Thanks for the thoughtful feedback! You're totally right that procedural generation + precision mechanics is a risky combo — and yeah, sometimes luck plays a bigger role than intended. I’ll definitely be thinking about how to reduce that friction if I keep working on the project. Didn't have much time to balance it perfectly. Appreciate you taking the time to point it out!
@flinge It's not dead idea at all. If you want to develop this project further, I'd recommend u to see the Rogue Legacy 2 (it's not the genre like ur game, ofc, but there is some similar platformer's segments with gud solutions). Hope, it'll be some useful for u.
As the others have already said, I'm familiar with the mechanics and I also like the pixel game design. Nice job!
@outstar That’s actually a great tip — thanks! I’ve heard of Rogue Legacy 2 but never looked into its platforming side specifically. I’ll check it out for sure
really nice visuals!
Awesome entry. Impeccable visuals, and very well complimented by audio. It was a good choice to have powerups boosting you up also give you temporary invulnerability. I think I'd actually make enemies a bit less deadly still - by reducing their hurtbox, or giving the player a couple of lives. Anyway, here's my best attempt cavees.png
This game is great :) I love the art, love the music, love the sounds, and the gameplay feels very good! Well done!
I especially love the visuals - Everything is super readable, super clean, and super vibe-y
good game!