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Roots of Sorrow
Roots of Sorrow
By Semenchk, solvenoff, U-238, Vaziliuk Aleksandra, HassanM and Finike
View on ldjam.com
| Category | Rank | Score | Count |
|
|---|
| Overall | 324 | 3.60 | 75 | |
| Fun | 565 | 3.05 | 73 | |
| Innovation | 497 | 3.08 | 74 | |
| Theme | 424 | 3.62 | 76 | |
| Graphics | 209 | 4.08 | 77 | |
| Audio | 81 | 4.02 | 75 | |
| Humor | 661 | 2.06 | 67 | |
| Mood | 84 | 4.14 | 77 | |
Comments
I thought this was going to be a peaceful collectathon, but the sound that played when I picked up the first item instantly told me something was off. As I collected more, the scene slowly turned into a living hell. What a unique experience!
I really like how the items are placed—I didn't have to go out of my way to find them. Instead, I'd naturally run into them while panicking and trying to escape. That's a really smart design. It lets players focus on experiencing the changing atmosphere without tedious searching.
haogege
2025-10-07 10:06
A very oppressive walking and collecting simulator! The process is not difficult but it doesn't lack a sense of shock! However, the symbol flickering in the later stage of the game is too severe, which seems rather overwhelming compared to the terrifying core？
bumble
2025-10-07 10:15
Very strong visual appeal! I would have liked some hints on where to find the objects, because at some point it felt like I was just running and hoping for the best. But I beat it! Looks like in full-screen the final message is stretched wrongly - at least it was for me. Could read it fine without full-screen, though.
It's a good drawing, and the cool little detail is that the trees swing smoothly. And also good sounds. In a word, it's a good game!
tearei
2025-10-07 13:34
an interesting psychedelic adventure
lain94
2025-10-07 13:39
This was very interesting and gave me vibes of silent hill mixed with some Allan.. Congrats for this!!
lucavazz
2025-10-07 13:58
Great concept, really nailed the unsettling atmosphere 😱
Amazing sound design. Not my genre of game but i get why one would like this. Very well done you should use these sound design skills all the time :)
tangling
2025-10-07 14:04
The atmosphere was very good, I was scared.The ending felt a bit abrupt.
Good visuals and effects. However, in the last two stages, the eyes quickly get tired from all the noise and flashing runes.
bassilij
2025-10-07 16:13
I really enjoyed the panic attack-inducing effects!)
Really cool audio and visual effects, and the horror elements were great! The collectables felt like they were placed well, where I could just follow the natural route of the path and find them all easily enough.
fravinci
2025-10-07 21:32
Really moody and good looking game :D The flesh creatures were really terrifying The Audio screaching when collecting a item was a bit too hurtfull into the ear QwQ
raice
2025-10-07 21:33
So... in terms of visuals I do like it. You can tell that your team has some very talented artists. So great job on that part! But I have to admit that it was visually very overstimulating at one point and that one cracking sound was really stressful to my ears. My ears start hurting and I had to mute the game.
mrv
2025-10-08 01:19
a very vibe game, the art is crazy, but final of the game too fast
Hi! I choose to play ur game only that the cover so baiting me) But the art , story, visual are so underated! I love ur game and it was so fun and made me feel a lot of emotions about this! TY 4 ur game!
Great audio presentation when the scene turns red! And the wobbly walking animation was great.
alex-o
2025-10-08 09:53
Really good game. I loved the graphics and the overall creepy atmosphere, but it would've been nice if the main character had a walk animation
furypn
2025-10-08 12:18
Graphic , Idea and the creepy mood + the family at the menu screen really feed my interest and make me wondering what happened . Nice small macabre piece . Cool Game and good job.
Excellent game. fantastic mood and atmosphere. really felt the tension!
Unexpected sound effects!!
The creepy atmosphere was very well executed. Music was great and I liked the art, great job
surfa
2025-10-08 18:25
It was very creepy so you really nailed the atmosphere as both the visuals and the audio were top-notch.
I have two minor complaints: * Some of the items were hidden behind some of the background / set dressing. Meaning I missed out on some of the visual story-telling that the individual items had (also missed out on some art). * Sometimes I felt like I was going in circles looking for something. It might of been nice to have a way of pointing to the next item if the player is taking too long.
Overall was a really interesting and cool experience. The art was great and the audio really added to the creepy atmosphere. Good job :thumbsup:
2025-10-08 18:57
Great game, best experience since Silent Hill 2
skel3ton
2025-10-08 19:14
that was creepy.. good job... I did win but it was heavy. I didnt expect win in this game :D Great entry, cool experience
skale
2025-10-08 20:01
I love this dark aesthetic and how it progresses. The sounds really stick with you and create that unsettling-but-good feeling. The art is amazing, and the concept is very close to my heart.
Strong storytelling here... it turns super creepy and weird quite quickly, really caught me by surprise. Congratulations, great job!
ciphereo
2025-10-09 06:27
The visual effect is absolutely amazing!!
A peaceful walk turns into a silent hill, I like it. The visual and audio aspects of this game are definitely its strengths.
The horror atmosphere is excellent, and the way the music and visuals work together is really engaging. like it
Nice game! Cool graphics and juicy post-effects. Is the ending with the yellow man and his daughter the only one in the game?
@8212games, Good question! Without giving any spoilers, I’ll just say this — the game has multiple endings, and only the most dedicated players will be able to find them ;)
@solvenoff Oh, wow, the game is bigger than I thought)
Отличный выверенный арт-стиль, за милой и "упрощенной" графикой скрывается настоящая колыбель ужаса, люблю такое) Но синхронное покачивание деревьев позабавило хахах Музыка на уровне, понравилось, что есть развитие. У игры отличный потенциал. Но в плане геймплея, даже для симулятора ходьбы немного нудновато, а от монстров слишком легко сбежать В любом случае, отлично проделанная работа на достойном уровне, молодцы!
tony-li
2025-10-09 18:25
A well-executed, disturbing game -- I really enjoyed it. Great job with the atmosphere.
iriska
2025-10-09 18:28
The art in the cutscenes is really cool, the idea of the game is too, I liked how the atmosphere becomes more creepy💜⭐💜
phobos
2025-10-09 19:12
Awesome game, love the atmosphere and the visuals !
kit-gorn
2025-10-09 19:29
Wow, this is truly a powerful piece of work. Great art, music, gameplay, immersion into the story, a smooth build-up of suspense, and everything is built very well. Bravo! 👏👏👏
jawdan
2025-10-09 19:30
Nailed the atmosphere and 'off' vibe, nice job!
That's not a game, that is an experience. The graphics getting ever more creepy and disturbing is fun, but the final effect is a bit too much, it's hard to see anything anymore.
zoldanka
2025-10-09 19:45
I really liked the distortion effect and the gradual changing audio and graphics, especially of the trees. I screamed every time something was chasing me lol, made the protagonist's agony my own I read someone had difficulty finding the items, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that wasn't the case for me at all Great job
hap
2025-10-09 21:24
AS mentioned before - visuals at the end are bit too much. I really liked changes in the enviroment itself. Scary but overall cool experience!
yeesh
2025-10-10 04:41
really love the hand drawn art and style, it adds a lot to the atmosphere and creepy psychological horror its aiming for (it did it perfectly!) i loved the show not tell elements of the items going from personal belongings to more hints as to what actually happened. the audio and sudden visual changes were very unsettling. despite the challenge of avoiding hostile creatures and having close calls, the game itself is easy enough to complete which is a big plus! great job everyone!! <3
avi
2025-10-10 09:48
Woahhh that was fun! Creepy, but fun! Love the art, i think i would have found a map or a compas or something useful tho.
This is excellent work, I really like the visual style!
huihang
2025-10-10 12:27
I love this dark style game.Made me nervous.
The atmosphere is extremely terrifying. While I was still puzzled by the characters' movements and the calmness of the scenes, the first item I collected gave my ears a jolt—I nearly jumped up!
The subsequent chase scenes were very intense, and the atmosphere is rendered really well. This is quite a good horror game!
Apologies for the worst recording ever, I was just recording another game in ultra-wide, and then only fixed half my OBS settings. Anyway, I recorded myself playing the game to provide extra feedback!
Very cool. Very creepy. I absolutely love the graphical effects going on near the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY2I-4J4RYQ
Spooky stuff! I don't know if there is a good and bad ending, but if there are, I got the good ending :D So go me!
The art was fantastic and the atmosphere oozes out of the screen. I was actually scared, since the full screen options still locks it to a small square in a black void and I thought it would have been clever if something came out of the screen in that black space if I lost. I guess I will never know...
Wonderful sound work, too!
Hi there! We want to send a huge thank you from our whole team to everyone who’s been sharing such warm and kind comments about our game — we really appreciate it! Big hugs to you all, and thank you so much for playing our game! :)
@100th-coin, Special thanks for recording your gameplay — even though the resolution wasn’t the highest, it actually added a bit of extra discomfort, which kind of worked in favor of full immersion :D
It was really fun watching you trying to figure out what exactly was laughing. The game has some unique objects that add to what’s happening on screen — you can get closer to them and listen. ***Also, you haven’t discovered everything yet, the game is a bit deeper than it seems ;)***
sceef
2025-10-10 18:04
The visual is cool, like in a fairy tale. There is a dance.
maxiney
2025-10-10 18:14
This is a truly unique game! The hand-drawn style and audio (especially the audio) are extremely impactful, and the emotions they convey are so intense that I think I won't be able to forget the sound effects and the sudden changes in the visuals for an entire night...
nomus
2025-10-10 22:21
Absolute banger mood, really nice way to convey feelings, really cool entry, loved it from start to finish
kazuren
2025-10-12 09:33
The concept is really great, very disturbing, it kinda reminded me of the sanity mechanic from Don't Starve but amplified by 100x.
I just wish the distortion sound when picking up an item was turned down a bit because I had to mute my headphones each time, it was too much for me (but maybe it was too much for the character too heh)
The gradual worsening of the character's sanity was really well executed.
Amazing work!
xpoho
2025-10-12 13:25
Прикольный ужастик! Больше всего понравилось звуковое и музыкальное оформление, молодцы ^_^
Great game, smooth work. Making me wear headphones for that was evil, the main menu distorted sound almost made me deaf. Although I do feel like it was missing something - it is still a good one. The audio is decent, the story is enticing, the gameplay a cannot complain about cause we did the same thing, but the graphics were off-putting as the gameplay started and it almost ruined it for me. Just the dissonance between the stylish cutscene and good but lacking gameplay visuals. Still, a great job!
helen
2025-10-18 13:07
Great entry. I can only confirm what the others wrote. I was thinking maybe the father had killed his family and the memories are coming back. But then the strange monsters appeared :D
pres2300
2025-10-24 22:28
Definitely spooky! I mostly agree with what others have said about wanting hints on where the next object to collect would be, the flashing symbols being a bit much towards the end, etc. However, it was engaging enough that I played to completion and think you absolutely nailed the atmosphere. Nice work!