itero-proto 2026-04-21 06:13
It looks beautiful, but I don't like this genre of game) Survival, right?
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD59 → Signal Through the Blizzard
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 659 | 3.21 | 71 | |
| Fun | 784 | 2.58 | 71 | |
| Innovation | 778 | 2.60 | 71 | |
| Theme | 610 | 3.32 | 72 | |
| Graphics | 484 | 3.64 | 72 | |
| Audio | 393 | 3.36 | 70 | |
| Mood | 335 | 3.77 | 73 |
It looks beautiful, but I don't like this genre of game) Survival, right?
cool short story and very atmospheric game, love the weather effects! At first I didn't understand that the circle around the player is supposed to be a signal where you should go next, it only made sense to me when the player mentioned "the signal is pointing to the right but the tracks are to the left" - a possible improvement would be explaining this concept early in the game
The graphics and the mood is nice - the structure with the bonefire and how the freezing gets worse totally worked. I missed the bit the usage of the signal to help guide the solution. Anyway, great submission, congratulations!
@itero-proto Yeah, it’s survival at its core 😄 But midway we went “what if we prioritize mood?” - so we focused more on atmosphere and a simple narrative rather than deep mechanics
@universeflow @hotaloca Thanks a lot for the feedback - really appreciate it!
We’ve updated the game page with a short explanation of how the signals work. In-game we didn’t want to rely on a constant arrow/waypoint from point to point, but the system ended up being less intuitive than we hoped.
As usual… UX takes the blame for everything 😄
Sounds are great in my opinion! Visuals are okay, sometimes though layers of items for off, so some bag or campfire were on my head, hahah. And footprints on the snow were to similar to some particles on the snow, so i couldn't clearly see all them. It is an atmospheric short story, but dialogs in the bottom are not really convenient as we run around trying to find our way to the next campfire.
But nontheless, nice project! I generally liked it!
I liked it. Narrative was good and felt truly like internal monologue, nothing's out of place. I think going for mood was the right call. Difficulty is also just right.
Not sure what was behind the split paths, and maybe some signal justification would be nice. Great work!
Cool graphics, very moody, like it :-)
I like the flashlight in this game. It casts such beautiful shadows)
I liked the mood.
The game was a bit confusing to me at the start though. I wasn't sure whether I wa supposed to survive for the given amount of time, or find someone.
The splitting path was a nice addition to the otherwise linear game.
The messages were not appearing on the 2nd play after I ran out of time.
The flashlight was cool.
There just aren't enough enemies along the way, and I didn't quite understand the point of the flashlight; I thought it would illuminate some kind of horror. But the idea itself is really cool, and I also really liked the visuals and sound; they're absolutely excellent
not really a fan of horror games but it played decently
Great ambient vibe and use of narrative. I love the size of the sprite in comparison to the play field. it really gives a sense of dread through scale. It reminds me of games like The Long Dark! looking forward for more discoverable consumables like dropped backpacks or pieces of clothing to give the flashlight some more functionality. Your illustration and ambiance is really well done!
I really liked the mix of 3D and pixel art. The flashlight and its shadows look beautiful, and the survival atmosphere is very strong. For me, the experience felt more like an interactive story than a game, because I mostly followed a single path without making many decisions. I lit every campfire, did not have to think much about fuel, and only ate at the very end. When the path split, I followed the signal and reached the group. Even so, it was very atmospheric. I think it could become even more engaging if the player could explore in any direction from the start while using the signal as a guide, especially if the signal occasionally disappeared. Great entry overall!
A bleak tale, but beautiful at the same time. The mood and feel of this game are impressive. I love the sound and graphics. The game mechanics are also well designed. It took me three tries to win—challenging, but not too difficult. I had fun playing. A solid entry.
Beautiful game! I thought that the flashlight would play into the gameplay more but it was a lovely experience overall.
You did a great job of capturing the mood and environment. I wish I had a little bit more time to more leisurely walk through so I could read the story a little more closely, but it was still a fun experience to get through to the end. Great work!
I really love the atmosphere of the snowy night in the game, but it seems like the flashlight setup doesn’t have much of an effect? Also, after the signal prompt appears, I got a bit confused about what to do next. ❄️🔦🤔
Cute game. Presentation and atmosphere is very nice, although a bit unpolished. The gameplay was a bit bland and too simple, but the story added enough interest to continue. And of course resting by the fire is always an excellent feature :D who doesn't love a campfire? Dialogues sometimes faded a bit too fast, and maybe font was also a bit too small. Overall this game lives on the atmosphere, so with a bit more polish there I think it could be very cool!
The gameplay is so easy to pick up—nothing feels redundant, which is great because I could jump right into the fun! I really appreciated the dynamic lighting, especially the shadows. It’s quite rare for 2D games but it adds so much to the atmosphere. Also, the story hook with the signal and the footprints leading in different directions was genuinely intriguing. Great job!
@nyxkn, @shivvvy, @pro4, @lexu, @gamebuilder, @nadia-pixel, @el-psy-congroo, @mcbaker Thank you for the kind words. After the judging phase, I’m planning to polish the project a bit more and maybe add some extra gameplay elements that I simply didn’t have time to implement during the jam. I didn’t want to throw in half-working mechanics and hurt the overall impression. Thankfully, you gave me plenty of great ideas to build on in the future.
Крутой арт но я не совсем понял в чём геймплей крч туда сюда ходить и прошёл игру фонарик тож крутой мне понравилось
@noodonge Спасибо за отзыв. В какой-то момент было принято решение отойти от геймплея (остался рудиментарный, с небольшим количеством базовых механик), и попробовать в нарратив\вайб.
Cool survival-ish game! Very interesting idea and concept around the theme, quite different in a good way. I liked the retro feel of the visuals and sound, like the sprite not really walking which was cool. And the story! What could improve would be to maybe pause to be able to read the text for the story, and then let the player keep playing so that you don't lose time on reading when walking. Otherwise the game was a fun play!
Cool flashlight shadows, but the character lacks animations. There are no mechanics in the game, just walk around and farming aura
Cool concept and nice short story! I really liked the art and SFX. I did think the text at the bottom of the screen was a bit too "far away" from the rest of the gameplay to read comfortably (kept running into trees and whatnot), but overall I thought this great. Nice work!
Прикольная история, хоть и немного не хватает геймплея, напомнило игры с java-телефонов, есть такой вайб
Nice graphics :) The journey was too long for me though. Well done :punch:
Простенькая бродилка с сюжетом. Я только со второго прохождения понял, что постоянный пилик и круг вокруг персонажа показывает направление сигнала. Странное решение, так как мы идем по коридору. Можно было бы добавить обманных развилок и на них показывать направление. А если игрок не понял, то замерзнет.
Так же в первом прохождении не понял, окуда я нахожу еду и дрова. Мне казалось я по пути их находил, когда фонариком шарил, а потом дошло что в палатках. Было бы неплохо визуально показать всплывающие числа возле перса (+1 еда, +5 топливо).
Сообщения я бы либо логировал, либо ставил бы на паузу, а то и холодно и почитать охота, что там написано) Кстати по этой причине я похоже не понял, что их убило.
Или это загадка, аля перевал Дятлова?
I enjoyed it! The pings had me on edge - and the ending was neat. Character was also fun, with animations it'd have been great but it is a jam! :)
Well done! I like it. Fantastic atmosphere
Very atmospheric, really captured the feeling of a winter night. An interesting design choice to use a ping navigation guide and then have it be a largely linear path... the two ideas conflict pretty heavily in my opinion. Overall, neat little project!
Nice short story. I'm delighted with the shadows. How did you do that?
It's a good game, I've played through it all. It would be more interesting in completely open locations without trees blocking the way.
The game has an incredibly strong atmospheric vibe, and the soundtrack fits perfectly with the whole experience. If you zoom in the camera a little more to make the character take up more of the screen and show less of the surrounding environment, the overall mood will feel even more immersive. When stepping away from the campfire, dimming the screen brightness a bit and widening the flashlight’s illumination range would amp up the sense of exploration, while also making in-game hints more practical. Besides, it’d be better to make the UI elements a bit larger as well.
A simple game with good graphics – well done photo_2026-04-24_14-00-23.jpg
The graphics are quite exquisite, and the game atmosphere is well-crafted. However, the story seems to progress a bit too fast. But this doesn't affect my enjoyment of it. It's a great work!
Liked the flashlight illumination and immersive sounds. It's bit contradictory that you should follow signal yet the path is narrow corridor. Solid atmosphere though!
cool mood and graphics but was a bit dissapointed that the story didnt really seem to have an end
Played through till the end, had to restart after dying. I like the idea, but feels like its missing some elements to add to the funness, its a lot of walking with not much happening most of the time.. walk to the next site, defrost, heat, repeat. Maybe more branches or something. The flashlight doesn't seem needed at all. Was really missing having a walking animation for the main character also, as that's what I was staring at the whole time :D. I liked teh concept, and balancing cold and food is potentially, good, maybe it shouldn't be the same place to restock both, like if you had to decide whether to search for food, or carry on following the signal.. that kind of thing :shrug:. Anyhoo appreciate the effort, I know it's hard to find time to get everything done you want to in a jam. Good job
Nice vibe and well-delivered atmosphere with graphics and audio. I was hoping I could search the trash cans tho :joy:
I really liked the idea of making sure not to get too cold. It’s a concept worth exploring further :thumbsup:
Atmospheric—especially since I really love survival games.
Engaging and enjoyable, with smooth controls.
Very nice survival game with great atmosphere. Nice job!
很精致的小物件！很喜欢这些树，篝火，人物，尺寸放这么小有点可惜了。动作，操作反馈都很丝滑，很享受在雪地里走路的感觉！如果不是平移而是有个走路动画会更好。光照和地图都非常漂亮，偏蓝的暗光感觉很美。。。。但UI有点常规？更风格化一点会比较符合，挺喜欢游戏氛围的！ These are exquisite little items! I really like the trees, campfire, and characters; it's a bit of a shame they're so small. The animations and controls are very smooth, and I really enjoyed walking in the snow! It would be even better if there was a walking animation instead of just panning. The lighting and map are beautiful; the bluish-gray lighting is lovely... But the UI is a bit conventional? A more stylized UI would suit it better. I really like the game's atmosphere!
изображение_2026-04-27_163747773.png
The graphics and music are good.
At the beginning, I felt a lack of backstory or context—it wasn’t clear what was going on or that I was supposed to move somewhere. I spent quite a while trying to figure out how to gather wood and kept interacting with the axe near the starting point. Then I thought wood was collected by approaching the forest, which at first seemed to be the case. I only realized on my second playthrough that wood actually accumulates on its own. In the end, it feels like wood is somewhat redundant as a resource, since the cap is quite high and it gathers automatically.
On my first run, I naturally ran out of time. On the second, I followed the path at the fork marked by tracks. I didn’t hesitate, but still didn’t make it to the campfire on the other side, which was a bit frustrating. On my third attempt, I completed the game, although it felt a bit unexpected, since there were no clear visual cues indicating that I was on the right path or that the goal was located there—it just looked empty.
Overall, I’d say the game turned out quite well, especially considering it was made by just two people, though there’s still room for improvement.
The visual style and sound do an amazing job at setting the atmosphere and mood! The flashlight looks great, but I never figured out what it's for (maybe it's needed later, but I hit a dead end and didn't have enough fuel to go back). Personally, I'd make the objects and the environment a bit bigger — I had to stick my nose right up to the monitor to make out the details.
The atmosphere of survival in the heavy snow is great. I love this kind of atmosphere experience. The light and shadow effects are stunning! It would be even better if there were more interactive gameplay effects created by the hand shadow effects.
The sound design is excellent—I really love the atmosphere it creates, especially the feeling of walking through the snowstorm.
Killed it with the atmosphere and the audio! Really like the audio with reaching the campfire.
Also, amazing work on the level design on how it plays with tension where it becomes slower and near-death, was on-edge near the end!
Wished the story didn't end so abruptly, the level did an amazing job building the tension and the experience is over at it's peak! I think something like a simple, short cutscene (even if it's just fade-out + some text) would help with the tension release.
Great job, good luck!
Nice graphics :) The journey was too long for me though.
The overall mood is really great ! I maybe would’ve liked just a tiny bit more difficulty or storytelling, but otherwise it was really good, congrats! :smile:
Interesting game ! The gameplay is pretty basic, but the whole mood is really cool.
Good job :slight_smile:
Very cool atmosphere. It's a pity that there is no character animation.