FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD58 → Hollow Choir

Hollow Choir

By forik, Alex Kokorin, daupoh and Kitsune_999

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall1543.8627
Fun2003.6627
Innovation1273.7427
Theme2983.8227
Graphics1074.3427
Audio534.1227
Mood654.2227

Comments

penumbrah 2025-10-07 01:31

I couldn't find the herb, but I really liked the modeling! The fov was really small but overall I think it had a really good atmosphere

blazerker 2025-10-08 15:34

I like the idea of the game and the graphics look great... I got stuck in the book with no way to get out of it and continue exploring the environment. I collected the ingredients, but nothing seems to happen. The pages of the book also intersect with one another, making it impossible to read.

ryusui 2025-10-11 13:21

Absolutely fantastic little game. There are some bugs which are bothersome - the collision on the slope leading down into the cellar is wonky, and the chestnuts still play their "rolling along the ground" noise when you stand near them - but overall, you've nailed the vibe of being some manner of dark occultist. Harvest Moon of the Damned! XD

I liked exploring the grounds and figuring out where all the ingredients are. The bit with the spider in the basement was clever - I almost didn't think to try turning off the candle while standing under the well. (I saw the spider web, but I had trouble figuring out how to get the spider from it - it's a bit of a red herring!) I also was worried I was stuck when the doll didn't respawn at the well as I expected, but I found it again in the upstairs of the cabin. (There might have been two dolls, in retrospect, but I didn't see the doll the first time I explored up there; it's definitely creepier to imagine it's the same one both times!)

One oddball question: there are four coffin types listed but "Type D" is omitted; the last is "Type E". Were five planned but you cut the original fourth, or is it skipping from "Type D" to "Type E" merely a mistake?

forik 2025-10-11 13:39

@ryusui Thanks so much for the feedback! We'll fix the chestnut sound bug =D And yep, there used to be more coffin types planned — we cut a few.

volkolak 2025-10-11 14:04

I finished it, and the ending was unexpected. I liked the game; it reminded me of Mortuary Assistant. Sometimes pressing E interacts with the last trigger, even if it's far away. The atmosphere in the game is fantastic!

ntimi 2025-10-11 14:17

Thanks for the entry! There were quite some things I really liked here. The cursing when a spell went wrong, the falling of the chestnuts from the tree and the doll that changed places. You put some details in there that made each ingredient feel a bit different. :) I'm a bit confused if I understood the game properly, though - I gathered the ingredients for the first two coffins, but then I got to the third one, which glowed from within - just in a blue hue, not with a crimson one. I tried out the glowing recipe anyway, but it failed. Then I thought to myself that this might be a riddle that needs me to figure out the omitted recipe D, but any combination that I thought that might logically be it also led to failure... so I gave up, sorry. The graphics and ambience felt nice! This felt like a small ritual place in the woods. I had fun. :)

kenekkoo 2025-10-11 14:31

absolutely adored the whole thing !! the graphics are amazing, the audio fits the mood so well, and i liked the reciting incantations part a lot -only but i encountered was i wasnt able to pick up the herb from the garden for some reason, but other than that, really great experience !

samuli 2025-10-11 15:34

Really nice looking game with plenty of nice details. Motion blur was quite heavy when turning, option to turn that off would be appreciated.

arwen-sylveck 2025-10-12 02:43

I was able to play through the whole game and I found it quite atmospheric and spooky. I liked the chanting spells mechanic. I couldn't tell why the spirits collected were different colors.

melomaner 2025-10-12 10:55

Very cool atmosphere, and the game is interesting — but it really needs a book with ingredients so you can tell what they look like. The spider, doll, and feathers are clear enough, but the plants are kind of confusing :)

someone 2025-10-12 11:11

That was really cool. I love a good ritual. The different ingredients were interesting and the environment was great. There is an odd issue that pressing E will trigger the last highlighted interaction point from wherever you are. In was confused by a coffin that was glowing green from within. I thought maybe the crimson glow ritual, but apparently that counted as a ordinary coffin. I also used the wrong herb for the ordinary ritual at first as it doesn't actually specify.

vasea123 2025-10-12 11:43

Took me a while to realize that the coffin nearby was open and i had to enter it. Great concept, i can see a simulator out of this.

jvdwijk 2025-10-12 14:25

This was a cool game! The atmosphere of this game was really well executed. Unfortunately I had a small bug with the doll that kept me from seeing the ending. I also recommend updating the visuals of the paper to align more with the actual coffin effects

jordanfb 2025-10-12 18:59

This was super cool! I wasn't able to make it past what I thought was the normal coffin, but maybe I was just confused by the coffin types or the different herbs. I loved the vibes and the drama of it all!

6knowledge 2025-10-13 18:00

Guess the Halloween being so close on the calendar made a lot of developers think of summonings and witching stuff. There's been so many I've lost count at this point. Its a shame Unreal Engine is just so unsuited for jams because these small games get lost in the totally unnecessary bloom, gloss and whatever post-processing is done by default. The game was about what I expected from the promo material but doesn't mean it was bad, just expected.

yana666 2025-10-13 21:21

еhanks for the game, i thoroughly enjoyed it! i really enjoyed the graphics, the variety of items, and the rituals themselves. it was a bit difficult at the very beginning to understand what i needed to do and how the coffins differed from each other, but then things got going :)

forik 2025-10-14 00:11

@6knowledge

Hey! Thanks for feed back.

About the Unreal Engine I think you are right! So I added Lo-Fi mode =)

Sadly I dont specialize in this graphic, but I hope you will enjoy!

Screenshot_2.png

d3kryption 2025-10-14 07:01

I love how chill the game is! I don't know what the other user about Unreal is talking about haha The game could easily pass for any other engine. Its just a cracking game. The music, gameplay, the stylized pixel. Nice job! :D

tardis2snej 2025-10-15 23:30

Very atmospheric! I liked reading the spells - I think the gameplay matches this process well. Plus, great audio.

I can't say that I understood the ending, but let's call it philosophical one.

Lofi mode is and intersting find!

vary 2025-10-16 02:11

ohh there's a lot to like in this - the QTE of doing the spells, the angry voice lines when you get it wrong, the doll that moves places, the bell ringing when the next coffin is ready, having to actually look at the coffin to figure out which spell to do without it having spoonfed, the ~vibes~

Really well done!

philstrahl 2025-10-26 22:08

Finally got around to playing this game and the mood and artstyle are very spot on! I liked how the level gradually opened up a little. Had great fun with it... only the doll really creeped me out 😳 For your records, here's my archived stream 😊🦄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukqT5TZlTV8