Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD59 → Pulse-8
By jacky-san
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 122 | 4.00 | 34 | |
| Fun | 99 | 3.92 | 34 | |
| Innovation | 305 | 3.56 | 34 | |
| Theme | 234 | 4.06 | 34 | |
| Graphics | 236 | 4.10 | 34 | |
| Audio | 271 | 3.65 | 34 | |
| Mood | 245 | 3.93 | 32 |
Nice game, it feels great play! Graphics are great and audio is very nice (the end of level jingle works very well). It's a little bit weird to make it speed based after a while. It does feel like the base gameplay needs a little something more but that wasn't it imo. Nice work!
I like pico8 games, it often brings a great attention to the gameplay and content due to the limitation. The aesthetics is also good! It became harder when the signal started to be limited and became a puzzle/action game!
Nice game, from game design to graphics it is well done. When you have to rush to rotate the real game starts (and I could only do a few levels :grin:).
Thank you for the experience. I'm passionate about Pico8 games. The game is very beautiful and polished. I had a lot of fun!
Congratulations!
robo.png
I guess I'm a fan of yours!
@yorsh @julienlussiez @xotraz @euler-moises @toshiy I really want to thank you all for your feedback and for the time you spent reviewing the game! 🙏 :two_hearts:
@yorsh Yeah, I see exactly what you mean! One of my friends (who is also making a game for this LD) told me the same thing: some puzzle addicts might be thrown off by the twist. I was thinking about having two modes—Classic Puzzle and Action Puzzle—but time caught up with me! 😂
@julienlussiez I totally agree! I really love the limitations of this fantasy console. 😍
@xotraz Yes, it’s a bit jarring, almost like a totally different game! Did you find it too hard to get "Perfect" scores on the levels?
@euler-moises A fellow PICO-8 fan! ✌️ Thanks so much. I saw your screenshot—looks like you have 23 more "Perfect" ranks to go! Good luck! 😄
@toshiy :two_hearts:
@jacky-san Honestly yes, but that can be left for true game masters!
I haven't played many pico 8 games, but I really liked this one. It's a simple idea, it plays fast, and I think it's done a good job. Keep it up ! Based on the advice, I can say that it would be a good idea to reduce the loading volume of the main pin on the board, otherwise it is a little louder than the rest of the sounds
Super well put together! puzzle solver meets quick time racing game. Y'all combined some simple mechanics and game play into an emergent challenge that takes reflexes and mental sharpness. Its really fun!
Really cool timed puzzle/reflexion game! Nice pixel art, smooth gameplay. Good job!
This is a nicely polished little game! Love the base concept, although I wish I had a bit more lenience in trying to parse each level before the signal fragments started emitting.
Nice style and further encourages me to try PICO-8 too! Well executed!
This was great! I like the optional challenge to go for a perfect score on each level, which I elected to do - though, perhaps because of that, I found the difficulty plateaued about halfway through the game and never really got noticeably harder afterward. It also meant that the decreases to 20/10 fragments didn't affect my gameplay, except for the one level where a mirror was used twice (which I really wish was explored more; that was a neat idea!). Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this :)
@pocketdog @el-chivo-vivo @flowerfield-games @maxededo @tykki19 @python-b5 Wow, thank you so much for these amazing comments! It means a lot to see so many different perspectives on the game. 🙏✨
@pocketdog Thanks for the heads-up on the audio! Balancing sounds is always tricky in 48h, I’ll definitely turn down that main pin in a future update! 🔈📉
@el-chivo-vivo & @flowerfield-games "Mental sharpness meets reflexes"—you nailed it! Glad you enjoyed the mix of genres. 🧠⚡
@maxededo I totally get that. Having a "planning phase" before the signal starts would be a great addition to lower the stress a bit! 😅
@tykki19 Go for it! PICO-8 is a wonderful tool, you're going to love the limitations. 👾
@python-b5 Huge congrats on completing the whole game with "Perfect" scores! 🏆 That’s impressive. You're right about the difficulty plateau; I should have explored that "double-mirror" mechanic more. Thanks for the deep dive into the gameplay, that's super helpful for my next project!
The game feels really polished, and the visuals are nice! It did get a bit difficult once the infinite signals ended haha :)
Really good and shout out to Pico-8! I wish there was a way to do a clockwise turn. Mouse support would be awesome (devkit mouse anyone)? Loved the visuals and the music, great puzzle game. 10/10!
Big fan of pico8 games and you managed to make something really cool with it here. A simple concept executed very well.
I wish there was maybe a break before starting a new level because often the signal is already colliding with stuff before I have even realized where the spawner is. Overall not a big issue though. Well done overall.
pico-8 game! Very well made as well! Feels complete even.
A new twist on a classic puzzle formula! I enjoyed the gameplay loop, but the difficulty increase at the end of infinite signals was a little too much for me. Perhaps some dedicated preparation time would help?
The visuals are nice, and I really like the increasing difficulty. I would like to see more projectiles in the level with the limited space to get used to them. The controls are difficult to read, but overall, the game is fun and well-designed. like
Very nice! I noticed you have a button to make it fullscreen. How did you do that? On itch.io embedded games get a fullscreen button by defaul, but I haven't seen that on ldjam site before. :O
I finished it, really inventive mechanic. The graphics were great and the audio likewise. Screenshot 2026-04-22 230342.png
At first, it was just rotating pipes and making path. I love the twist that rotation pipe twice.
My playthrough: https://youtu.be/KbEdyJz0aCY
Wow, wht a cool game! At first feels like a simple puzzle, but then turnes out to be of an action game :smile: Especially eith the later levels, where there are only 10 signals thingies
A very solid submission
Very interesting "action puzzle" design!
Very nice game! Maybe a bit too fast-paced and stressful for me but it feels great to play :)
Good game! I wish there would be small pause before a level starts to give time to players to analyze the level before starting. That being said, this game could use simple tweaks to add more challenge. No, not less signal pulses.
@duckmaniac @Prismapunch @DrSmey @voxar @ZedGame @Makintosh @PaulMag @nullval @Mikan @Tetrergeru @HolySparks @yopox @Bloodbane
I'm blown away by this new wave of feedback! Seeing a video playthrough and end-screen screenshots is the best reward for a jam developer. Thank you all! :pray: :sparkles:
@Prismapunch Mouse support is an interesting idea! It’s true it doesn't really fit the "retro-controller" scope of PICO-8, but I’ll definitely keep it in mind if I ever do a remake or a sequel in an engine like Godot! :mouse: :rocket:
@PaulMag Actually, there's no custom JS magic! The fullscreen button is a native feature of the PICO-8 web export. I just followed the official export tutorials—it's super handy! :computer:
@Bloodbane I hear your point on the limited signals! It seems to be a "love it or hate it" mechanic. Some players enjoy the shift into "action-puzzle" territory, while others prefer the pure logic of the infinite mode. It's all about taste, but it's great food for thought for future balancing! :scales:
@DrSmey @ZedGame @yopox The "pre-level pause" is definitely the #1 fix for the post-jam version. I'll make sure to give you those 3 seconds to breathe!
@Mikan Watching your video was awesome! 75% Perfect is a serious achievement, you've got some skills! :trophy:
@nullval Congrats on reaching the end! That's a lot of pulses decoded. :alien:
Thanks again for the support, I'm heading over to discover your games now!
Ah, the comforting palette and sound of the PICO-8!
Loved everything about this! Simple but fun idea, tight controls, good challenge. The levels get quite difficult towards the end, especially on the few occasions where mirrors had to serve more than one purpose.
Did manage to beat all levels. No perfect rank though 😅
@the-big-lost thanks a lot for your feedback, yes I hope i'll manage to make a smoother difficulty curve in a future version :smiley:
Only made it to level 23 :dizzy_face:
First attempt is always a test run. The real strategy is to trace the path backwards from the end to the source, memorize it, then reproduce it by rotating the pipes.
!> That's where the sneaky pipes that need to be reused really get you :grin: