FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD57 → A Mindful Descent

A Mindful Descent

By srolfe657, equalenergy, gilly14, Flo Delvo, Cidergis, Niz Productions, Aurelius and KaptainKratos

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall5913.3320
Fun5703.1719
Innovation4853.1620
Theme4783.6321
Graphics1
Audio3953.3020
Humor5762.4419
Mood1664.0021

Comments

kotolazer 2025-04-08 11:44

It was really cool to play this game. Well done, you managed to do a lot in 3 days. The game clearly deserves a lot of credit for the atmosphere!

sofia-miglan 2025-04-08 11:46

This game is so simple but so atmospheric in visual. Keep it up, it turned out to be a great game.

letmebeme 2025-04-08 11:49

i really like the glow stuff

indiealesha 2025-04-08 12:09

935 MB for a jam game? That's hardcore!)) Are you planning to polish it for Steam later?

aurelius 2025-04-08 12:13

@indiealesha you may call it an AAAAA experience xd

What parts of the game would you like to see expanded on in a potential Steam release?

510 2025-04-08 12:57

This was a tough one! I found the first core quite easily, but it took me quite a while to find the two others. I almost died multiple times (I had to throw some happy memories on the ground to save myself). In the end, it becomes really hard as happy memories get really scarce.

I usually like games that don't lead you by the hand, but here I would've preferred a bit more instructions.

What are the angry memories for ? I tried to throw them on the ground or at enemies, but they didn't seem to do anything. So, I basically ignored them all game.

I was kind of disappointed by the ending, but hey we know how it is when you only have 72h =)

All in all, it was a very interesting take on the theme and the path building was kind of innovative.

Suggestions for future dev: - Increase respawn rate of happy memories (if they even respawn?). Or maybe find a way to generate them. As they're consumables (unlike sad memories that provide something permanent), you really need to be able to find new ones. - Maybe use the angry memories to be able to fight enemies ? By the way, the enemies seem a bit passive, but I won't complain as I wouldn't have been able to finish the game otherwise. - Slightly increase lighting. It was really hard to see anything and it was kind of painful to navigate. For example, you can't really tell if orbs are hidden by terrain or if you've reached the edge of the map.

thom13made 2025-04-08 19:01

Wow that's a lot of things in 72 hours. congrats. loved the atmosphere. good music (with some interactivity, always nice). A lot of talking with that funny voice. i like the voice. some of the text seemed to long and unecessary (that little talking thing could have been rumbling in the background while the player is exploring. could have helped the immersion)

bigant 2025-04-08 19:26

I've got a Chromebook so no Windows to install on so I'm reviewing on theme only for install games and your theme is great. Love the concept, screenshots look like y'all spent a good amount of time this weekend on polish. Nice work!

equalenergy 2025-04-08 21:48

Very unfortunate that because some of the models were from a pack, graphics has to be opted out of, which means no rating on me or Cidergis' pixel art.

broco 2025-04-09 02:47

I like the inside out vibes! I think the idea is good, but I ended up finding it kinda repetitive.

It's so dark out in the woods, it's very easy to get desoriented.

I didn't really understand the usage of the memory balls, I got that the yellow one is to recharge your energy, and the blue one for the posts, but what are the red ones for? Are they just to hit the monster?

I liked the atmosphere, it feels like you are very deep in a forest, but I can't find the connection between the forest and the dreams the game is representing.

I would've liked having the monsters follow you from the darkness, getting on your nerves with some creepy noises. Red balls could have been used to fight the monsters! Maybe it was the idea you had in mind! Thanks for the entry! 😉

monogatari 2025-04-09 03:18

It took me a while to understand what the game wanted me to do, but a the second i understood how to use lightpoles, i got pulled in the game so much hahaha, i found the three cores and got the end, it was really cool, the gameplay loop is simple but effective. Graphics are quite good and ambiance is nice. Good job !

kveg 2025-04-09 21:20

Graphically impressive!

addison-borchelt 2025-04-10 03:43

I really liked the story that was established in the beginning of the game, but it would have been nice to have more instructions about the controls since I had to trial and error how to use the light poles. Also, the monsters were way too easy to distract with the red balls so they didn't even really feel like an obstacle. Overall, one of my favorite entries so far!

velis69 2025-04-11 10:38

nice mood bro! Storytelling expirience nice! Rate too my game comrade!

devilxrom 2025-04-11 10:52

Really atmospheric game! It took a bit to get into the flow, but once I did, it was a great experience. Impressive work for such a short time — well done!

eugenik 2025-04-14 08:39

really cool artstyle.

loiclegrosfrere 2025-04-25 14:11

I didn’t find any of the cores 😭 Is it possible I just didn’t recognize them and missed them completely?