Nitro Lancer

khaotom 2026-10-19 11:47 ♥ 1

Super nice crunchiness to the lance impacts. The driving feels nice and nostalgic. Loved that old game back in the arcade and the nes port.

some really nice touches: the slight autoaim of the lance, the near miss effects, the occasional exclamation points, chill mode (i got up to 230 before i had to pull myself away).

idea: another mode inspired by playing too much chill mode, but where you "level up" and it gets tougher to maintain the streak, kinda like God Hand (PS2, 2006)

gevernus 2026-10-19 13:14 ♥ 0

lancing targets and chaining a streak is a fun arcade hook, and the scribbled paper UI next to the gritty asphalt has charm. chill mode is a nice touch. didnt see the old tech link in the first level

justinmullin 2026-10-22 15:37 ♥ 1

Very fun! I was a bit worried when I saw progression was tied to combo strings, since it felt like that would be too dependent on where the enemies spawned, but I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly the respawns work to facilitate long combos. I never found a way to game the system on respawns, but there was always a combo opportunity when I needed one, just not necessarily in a spot that would be easy to utilize.

I will say the nitro system did not feel especially critical, which was too bad. I had the best success with being slow and methodical, rather than boosting around. I found I mostly only use the boost to make up momentum after a mistake.

The controls were a fun balance between tight control and totally chaotic. At the best of times, I felt like I was careening wildly about out of control, but still hitting all my marks, which was a pretty fun feeling. I assume the auto-aim was partially responsible for this - it's subtle but really helps a lot with making sure everything flows well.

Animations are fun - as usual, some really nice touches that work well to give a crunchy feeling, especially the frame stop on collision. Really feels like a nice punch!

The art is really cool. I love the clever interpretation of the theme. It certainly feels hand-drawn (and I realize it essentially is!), but not in the typical way. I'm not sure I've seen a style quite like it before, which is a cool achievement! Definitely curious to hear more about the workflow you used to get here.

Fun entry! 😅

pooki 2026-10-23 02:40 ♥ 1

Nice little throwback to some miniclip games I used to play with this 3D not 3D aesthetic. The car controls are surprisingly intuitive once I got used to them and the gameplay is addictive. Idk if level 1, 2 and 3 was supposed to look different but they seemed all same for me. I expected that they could have been different layouts but idk. It was super fun as a one off "number go up" way and adding different levels and maybe objectives could elevate it to the next level. The controls were fun enough that you could add time trials or racing into the game. GG

justinmullin 2026-10-23 03:44 ♥ 2

Oh hey, PS: congrats on your _30th_ Ludum Dare - quite an accomplishment!

devbubz 2026-10-23 06:02 ♥ 1

Such a cool concept, i love the little drifting it gives it an RC sim yet arcade like game feel. Great job with the physics as well.

milq 2026-10-23 16:03 ♥ 1

Love this game! Lancing targets for a streak while using nitro is a fun premise, and the cut-paper menus with the isometric track look very distinctive. Congrats for the game!

jordantanner 2026-10-23 16:45 ♥ 1

Really love the physical-to-digital art workflow here! The nitro flame and collision effects are especially fun. I can appreciate the craftiness there. The game feel and control is good, though I feel the nitro (while fun) may be actually a little TOO fast considering how small and tight the gameplay area is. Solid juice when striking the targets-- it feels satisfying. Nice entry!!

pkenney 2026-10-23 19:12 ♥ 1

@justinmullin I added a few more details about the art process; if you have any specific questions happy to answer!

I totally agree with you and @jordantanner that nitro is, unfortunately, more fun than useful. Probably "chill mode" should have been "mandatory nitro mode" which counted your streak, and we could use that to compare high scores.

That's one of my two big regrets with the game: the other is that there needed to be a "you dropped your streak" visual FX and sound effect.

I also wonder if the driving feel could be a basis for a car-combat or capture-the-flag game. But when I told an LLM to mash my LD60 up with Tribes 2, what came out was utterly overwhelming.

LD60-Tribes-Mashup.png

darkwing00duck 2026-10-23 19:17 ♥ 1

I really liked the car’s physics, it feels just right. The graphics are vibrant, and I’m impressed that they’re hand-drawn. That earns it extra points from me.

I just wish there were some enemies .

myokka 2026-10-24 10:28 ♥ 0

The visuals are good, and the sounds are punchy. The controls feel great—you can really sense the vehicle's momentum. Excellent work. It’s a shame the game turned out to be so short.

nikiroz 2026-10-24 19:34 ♥ 1

Fun little racing game!

pokeydem 2026-10-25 22:56 ♥ 1

Simple but fun game with a neat take on the theme. All those little details, like tire tracks and collision effects - give it a really finished and polished feel.

baturinsky 2026-10-26 07:23 ♥ 1

Fun game, satisfying pops, good and convincing handling. Levels could use a bit mor variety, though, maybe various goal placing patterns, such as one one level they are all along the track, on the other they appear only in two distant spots etc.

Check my game, it has a very similar idea, imho (and also too similar levels, to be honest :) ).

ltyrosine 2026-10-26 13:13 ♥ 1

Nice little game, there are some glitches in physics but that's part of games charm. Controls feels great and graphics are of unique style.

the-fazzo 2026-10-27 22:28 ♥ 1

Really juicy! Its very satisfying hitting the targets. Completed all 3 levels but could have been playing some more. Controls feel fine. Audio isn't that polish but there's potential here. Congrats for the entry!

moondweller 2026-10-28 01:35 ♥ 0

Hello fellow drivers 🚗

I really enjoyed playing with this toy car. The VFXs, hand-made textures, audio, and controls work so well together that the car has a very nice tactile feel 🔥

The first 2 levels felt more like a warm-up, while the 3rd one actually made me lock in :D

Thanks for the chill mode btw! I spent some extra time in it toying around with the car. I would definitely like to see more challenges/levels with this concept. Maybe some dynamic enemies, idk :)

Ah, yes, these targets really resemble ducks 🦆 your kiddo was right!