FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD59 → Holy Light

Holy Light

By maximbegunov, , tvorojok, alekhoz, CARTON and

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall1224.0078
Fun3683.4579
Innovation3743.4678
Theme6483.2278
Graphics104.7281
Audio184.3780
Humor1433.6874
Mood214.4880

Comments

sceef 2026-04-22 13:44

Захотелось пересмотреть старые фильмы про самураев

yury-vetur 2026-04-22 13:53

Визуал атмосферный

stepanoff 2026-04-22 14:00

Very vibey! The rune in the corner kept me on edge the whole game. Great graphics!

bobanko 2026-04-22 14:02

A very interesting game and music, wow, it's something else! While playing, I believed I was one of the medieval crusaders. The levels change so smoothly, and it feels like real history; I even forgot I was playing this game!

starr 2026-04-22 14:21

Damn, this was absolute cinema. Amazing art and sound design on par. Gameplay is very simple, yet gives you some challenge. Funniest moment was when I noticed there is a friendly fire. And plot twist at the end - cherry on top.

red-horde-games 2026-04-22 15:32

Amazing, graphics, audio, everything. Gameplay is a bit clunky, but fine for a jam.

tetramollaxx 2026-04-22 18:38

I accidentally killed all my teammates for tiktok...

krakadushka 2026-04-22 18:58

This is awesome! The atmosphere is great, and it really makes you think while playing. The ending is really unexpected :) I love it.

denikk 2026-04-23 14:21

Press D to play.. This is a great example, that most of the games are all about graphics and atmosphere. Good vibe and good art. The controls are a bit clunky, but it's fine for the short period of time. I wish I didn't have to walk that much xd I liked the gameplay though. It's kinda satisfying and relaxong. But ending, BRO WTF? not expected XD

saering 2026-04-23 14:29

Hi, there must be something I'm missing, I've been trying to beat the first battle a few times but cannot manage to do anything? I've read that the mouse buttons are used to attack and shield but I don't really see any effect. The battle is taking a bit long to start when trying again as you have to walk again to the enemies, which was awesome at first since the atmosphere is so good, but became a bit frustrating at the end. The game seems great, I wish there's something obivous I did not understand that you can explain to me, so that I can try it again later on!

flowerfield-games 2026-04-23 14:40

Damn, I got goosebumps from the Banner of Saga vibes! Looking at the pictures, I immediately felt like trying it. I could watch those people wandering the pixel art landscape for hours. Yet, I would prefer it to be on auto-walk, to be honest.

The monochrome battle scene is very stylish. I really liked the mechanics. Well done on the exclamation mark. Overall, it feels like the outcome of the scene is the same whether you're good at it or not, which is awesome, and I keep wondering how you managed to do that.

The end totally nailed it. Imo, you found the best way to end a proof-of-concept gamejam prototype with a funny surprise.

Bravo to the team!

tvorojok 2026-04-23 14:45

@Saering Thankyou! Pull the bowstring and shoot. And if an arrow is flying at you, use a shield. Alternate between these two things

saering 2026-04-23 14:56

@tvorojok Thanks for the explanation, I did not realize there was one guy I could control. The game is indeed much better knowing that :D Pretty cool experience overall, I felt it was a bit long to walk, but I guess it's part of the long and painful walk experience that's a build up to the game ending which totally had me haha

Very nice entry, congratulations!

nikiroz 2026-04-23 15:01

Grandiose visuals and a rich atmosphere. I really like how god rays work with pixel art. The ending is unexpected.

catanus 2026-04-23 15:05

Very atmospheric and cohesive game with an unexpected twist at the end :D

ulziton 2026-04-23 15:09

One of the best games i played on this Ludum, amazing visual and atmosphere

ulziton 2026-04-23 15:13

Made it to the end, also best take on thene I have ever seen

stisdan 2026-04-23 15:41

Stunning atmosphere and visuals, thanks for the new wallpapers

firefish 2026-04-23 15:44

I have to say, I am absolutely blown away! The art and sound design are practically cinematic. I can't believe this was made in just 72 hours?! The result is simply unbelievable.

The gameplay is quite straightforward and perhaps a bit light on guidance, but the atmosphere is just incredible. Without a doubt, an outstanding entry!

yanruyi 2026-04-23 15:45

The art and music are absolutely god-tier—it has such a cinematic and epic feel, undeniably beautiful! That said, I felt the gameplay was a bit thin, and I experienced some lag during combat. Also, the walk back after respawning felt a bit too long. With some more polish on the mechanics, this would be incredible!

rushb 2026-04-23 16:09

absolute masterpiece, this is the case when everything is good! The theme is only at the end, but that doesnt matter in this case)

flx 2026-04-23 16:38

Incredible vibe. Not fan of the gameplay, too slow for me, but that atmosphere WOW. Fantastic art and music.

lllarso 2026-04-23 17:35

Interesting experience. The "buttons" are nicely implemented into the gameplay. The exclamation mark is a good touch and doesn't destroy the vibe, because it is not flashy or anything.

As someone mentioned before I was confused at the first battle. I did not realise that I was the archer and thought I am the guy in the front row. Having a visual hint in the beginning would be nice.

Apart from that I had fun shooting the arrows. :) The graphic style is beautiful and you created a very strong mood.

nadan 2026-04-23 17:38

Stunning atmosphere! Took me a while to figure out you can defend yourself from arrows :sweat_smile: And great twist at the end, cracked me up. Solid entry :thumbsup:

idos 2026-04-23 17:57

Господи, это невероятно красивая игра, цветовая гамма, общий план на фоне неба, эти облака, Давно такого красивого пискельарта не видел

hoarime 2026-04-23 18:00

1f 1 w3r3 4 s4mur41 1 would rip my b333333llly open btw my hidden samurai side really like the atmosphere in the game,, and visuals generally look vEry Goood

kit-gorn 2026-04-23 18:50

Это шедевр! Однозначно 5 по всем параметрам) D D D D D

draki 2026-04-23 19:05

Truly incredible landscapes with sublime drawing quality, love it!

havearollonthefloor 2026-04-23 19:17

Очень атмосферная игра! Крутые задники, в плане графики явный фаворит на джеме. Классно, что люди в отряде с разными спрайтами и анимациями, ощущается очень проработанным. И звуки тоже приятные.

anku 2026-04-23 19:26

Визуальный стиль и аудио на высоте, правда дальше первого экрана не получается пройти, жму на "D" но ничего не происходит.

cardboard-box 2026-04-23 20:12

Daaaarn those visuals

juanrod707 2026-04-23 20:16

Wow, you guys crushed the atmosphere, those backgrounds and the audio!!!

vydra 2026-04-23 20:30

Little bit boring when we are with army going to somewhere. But punchlines are very good!

Блин, игру же сделали русские. Что я тут американ из е гред бритиш. Короч. Игра разъёб. И визуал, и музыка, и геймлей, и панчлайны, и сюжет. Короч, дико уважаю. Ребята, вы лучшие.

zidan-banan 2026-04-23 21:36

ABSOLUTE CINEMA

The gameplay was a bit unclear In the first battle, they only mentioned the LMB, but only after reading the comments did I understand about the shield And at first, it wasn't clear at all that we were playing as one unit, or where to click; there was some confusion

Otherwise, everything was great The landscapes are incredible And the ending, the ending, well, you know

garaptic 2026-04-23 22:33

This game is really peak in everything, the best game I've seen here so far. Absolutely great work

shakirovich 2026-04-24 03:42

Daaamn! One of the best games on this jam so far, ending was peak!

lesdremlet 2026-04-24 05:37

Whoa, while playing your game I couldn't help but think of Akira Kurosawa's movies.

Yeah the gameplay is minimalistic, but honestly, it fits the whole picture perfectly. The graphics and music create this really immersive vortex, and the character animations are top-notch - everything is finely tuned, great camera angles, awesome story.

The ending is a totally unexpected contrast and such a timely statement. Hats off to you!

Flawless work guys, congrats!

13pilgrims 2026-04-24 06:37

The visuals and music are a cinematic treat — I felt transported back to the medieval era. It’s a truly immersive visual and auditory experience.

goodwayman 2026-04-24 09:20

Amazing game! Graphics and music are marvelous! I also really enjoyed shooting from the bow (it reminds me a very old game with similar mechanics). Relly, really well done!

sobigdrasil 2026-04-24 12:22

Art is so beautiful I almost got blind! Although I had a problem with fullscreen :') Gameplay-wise It's not my cup of tea sadly, a bit too meditative, but hey, it looks like a painting that accidentally went alive, would like to see it as a movie :3

steinhks 2026-04-24 20:17

Absolutely stunning art and atmosphere!

nabil-shelim 2026-04-25 17:17

Like others have said, brilliant visuals, amazing atmosphere and an amazing ending to go with it.

alisher-fazilov 2026-04-26 07:01

The graphics are beautiful! But the gameplay needs some improvement, specifically visual feedback on your actions to make it easier to control.

tvorojok 2026-04-26 08:14

@alisher-fazilov удалось пройти?

alexusss 2026-04-26 11:57

Я заплакал...

wdebowicz 2026-04-26 17:18

I love the ending! This might be the most pleasing estetic entry I played this year, great work.

daniel 2026-04-26 18:55

Gorgeous art, like everyone has said. Right off the bat the smoke animation and framing of everything makes the atmosphere clear. A bit more feedback on the combat and controls would go a long way. I kept dying and it wasn't clear to me what I was doing wrong, but maybe that's just a skill issue.

pipetto 2026-04-27 06:39

The concept is amazing, and the art is великолепный. On my first run, a hint icon appeared during the first battle, but I didn’t understand what it meant—I had to figure out how to play through trial and error.

Another issue is that the hint only shows up once and disappears on subsequent attempts. When you control just one unit, it’s not a big deal, but once you have multiple units, it’s easy to forget where each of them is positioned.

The idea of moving as a crowd across the bridge was great :D The scenery is beautiful, but having to replay a long stretch after each failure gets tiring.

indiepanda 2026-04-28 10:44

The visuals and atmosphere are great! Walking is a little tiring

cameron-paxton 2026-04-28 14:59

Visually stunning and really effective soundscape.

In general I appreciate minimal tutorialization, but I feel often in jam games it's better to get the player onboarded as quickly as possible. I played a couple of battles but never felt like I really got a good understanding of timings or strategy.

Regardless, it's still a stunning entry. Well done!

tvorojok 2026-04-28 16:06

@cameron-paxton thank you! Did you like the ending of the game?

cameron-paxton 2026-04-28 16:39

@tvorojok Unfortunately I didn't reach the ending, I lost both battles without ever really understanding how to fight effectively, and the time to go from losing to trying again (walking back to the battlefield) was a little too punishing for me to want to keep trying.

I apologize for the negativity, though... I did really enjoy what I saw and heard!

emsea 2026-04-28 19:55

We appreciate you giving us an opportunity to play this game on [Co-op Couch.](https://www.youtube.com/live/vUe0ZrDidkI?si=dmIkT9Co68yVOs2I&t=6019)

The artwork is astounding. No idea what kind of black magic this is, but it is by far the best quality this game has to offer. 👍

bananplyte 2026-04-29 13:07

Okay dude. Let's walk this through.

At first - art, mood and audio had me gripped immediately. The first battle - I was incredibly confused and didn't understand who I was playing as or what I was doing. As soon as I got it - the gameplay became very nice as well.

I definitely thought the atmosphere was the heavy carrier of this game - and I didn't get the humor or theming - up until I got the ending.

Ending? Masterpiece.

5 / 5 in all categories.

cataclysmicknight 2026-04-30 16:54

OMFG that ending!!!! But also, while it took me a WHILE to realize I needed to HOLD the "D" key, and then how to fight in the battles, this was a heck of an experience. REALLY powerful vibes.

Also, sound is almost a necessity to play this as there's no signal that pressing (and then holding) D does anything aside from the "D" disappearing from the screen. I tried this a few days ago and got nowhere, and then today with headphones on it made more sense :D

yugimuto 2026-05-02 17:26

Шедеврально и смешно, что я своим урона наношу больше, чем враги))

rongo-matane 2026-05-02 19:47

I thoroughly enjoy this! The wordless gravitas was very impressive, and the music with backgrounds and kind of tragic narrative weaved this strong experience, pulling me in. It took a bit until i understood that i was this one guy (already decimated half my group by then), and then it took a bit to understand that i need to properly pull, not just have my mouse in the relative position to my character.

zevwax 2026-05-03 05:24

The visuals are brilliant. The music at the start of the game is so similar to my composition, 'Exhausted', that I was like, 'Wait, is that my music?' :D

If you need more music for the game, let me know! In my humble opinion, my compositions really fit the style of the game. Enjoyed the experience, thank you!

seravlac 2026-05-04 10:31

Great audio-visual combination, music fits great with that beautiful pixel art! Finished the game in 10 mins, stuck in the ending for another half an hour

kalabhers 2026-05-04 13:19

Love the visuals and the UI - very pleasant vibe. But the tempo wasn't for me - couldn't push myself to finish. Sorry about that! Trying to play as many games as I can today. **But these clouds and the background are just gorgeous!**

ao-85 2026-05-04 20:36

Interesting concept and presentation, with beautiful pixel art. If polished further, it could become a quite interesting, brutal game with a gritty narrative. I hope the game will be updated and completed.

alexandr-gerya 2026-05-04 22:43

kurosawa movie

alexandr-gerya 2026-05-04 22:43

visuals are so stunning i almost went blind lol those clouds and god rays are immaculate

kirill-balak 2026-05-08 22:26

So beautiful! 😯