Jonah_SRG

Reference Frame by cottontshirtz 2022-10-04T22:38:11Z ♥ 1

The instant dashing is satisfying. I was only able to keep my second ship alive for a couple waves because I was so tempted to try foolish maneuvers to survive with many enemies. The graphics and sound are simple but functional, and I like the sonar effect and accompanying sound when the dash is restored. Well done!

Cold Coffee in 10… by Elastiskalinjen 2022-10-03T17:03:09Z ♥ 1

Very well done, I managed to win and become coffee. The land mines, mirrored buddy character, and cannons make up fun obstacles to traverse. The difficulty building feels natural and hectic towards the end. Excellent sound and animation, very expressive walk animation. I'll admit I am not above drinking cold coffee or even microwaving coffee, so my real life coffee drinking habit is not so precarious. Job well done!

Clockmachine Chaos by SirMilkman 2022-10-03T16:55:28Z ♥ 1

Snappy controls and a good hook. Surveying each level is a bit of a puzzle, which is followed up with some tight timing and execution. Jumping and movement controls are responsive and generous. I like it!

Supermarket Scuffle by Panacea 2022-10-03T16:38:30Z ♥ 0

The cart controls very nicely, and I like the cart sprites. The way the new carts appeared suddenly was hard to react to. I also wasn't able to win as it seemed like another cart would swoop in at the last second as I rounded the final turn. But it was fun to bump up against them and try to bomb them. Well done!

Jelly Jar by Asieke 2022-10-03T03:28:04Z ♥ 1

An interesting use of movement for grid based tactics here. Turning on/off the treadmill makes from some interesting decision making once the grid is populated with many jellies. The aggression of the imp when it has topped out makes catching more jellies quite difficult, though there may be a method to keep it at bay. It seems like forfeiting a turn for a swing of the jar will always bring the aggressive imp one step closer until it inevitably catches you. Love the art style here, and the jumping and swinging animations are really well done.

10Flap by PlanetBluto 2022-10-03T03:12:58Z ♥ 1

Very cute, and great employ of the theme. It is "something bad happens every ten seconds," but I didn't feel angered or annoyed. The way the flash ushers you back to the start point has a much better gamefeel than a simple death animation. I love how the music and the flashes are synced up well, the groove matches the gameplay. The speed and control of the bird feels nicely tuned. Well done!

chronis by torcado 2022-04-21T01:55:44Z ♥ 1

This is an extremely clever, brain bending take on a match-3 style puzzler. The time void being a 9x9 square takes a bit of getting used to, but once you get comfortable placing it and acting in time with the falling blocks there's a lot of strategy. The player managing the pieces is... not a real winner. That means you've got to keep an eye on where they're dropping pieces and avoid tall stacks. I think I'm as bad at managing the time void as the computer player is matching, so in that way our demise does feel wholly inevitable. Really well done.

Shot Clock by Nathan Wiles 2022-04-19T13:56:41Z ♥ 1

This is nice, the ball throwing physics are really satisfying. It's a simple concept, but I appreciate how the next target is shown as a ghost, it allows you to plan ahead and try to combo your throw to bounce into the next target. I found myself throwing laterally most of the time, but being able to target your throws in different directions makes it feel quite expressive. The speed of the bouncing ball is tuned so that it is tough to grab if you're not predicting its next bounce. My best was 79. Really well done.

Closure by Junber 2022-04-19T13:15:51Z ♥ 1

Very well done, I love bitsy and I'm happy to see a great display of it here in LD50. The employ of the theme is both somber and whimsical, delaying and holding on to so many different feelings no matter how grave or trivial. I really love the earliest sequence with the candle, there's something so human about fire being intrinsically related to one's first memory, it's a story you hear over and over but it plays really beautifully here. I'll admit some of the abstract visual elements were a little lost on me, I am not sure why the player avatar is triangular in later stages. But the rooms were all vibrant and the color choices work really well. Really well done.

Defend 'till the end by kjscott 2022-04-19T12:50:55Z ♥ 1

Very cute, really solid arcade style defense game. The asteroids are manageable at the start, but by the end there's no chance to save the planet. The slow moving turret and slowdown when firing are well considered, it takes big commitments to swing around the globe. The pixel art here is excellent, the planet breaths life and the impacts feel strong. Really well done.

Lava is Deadly by OadT 2022-04-17T20:10:45Z ♥ 1

This is a really inventive take on the theme. I like sokoban-style games, and the mechanics here work well. Abstract, but it all makes sense and pretty quickly becomes challenging. I like the visuals, its readable and the sprites are nicely animated. Really well done.

Floodgrid by Huntrt 2022-04-17T19:30:29Z ♥ 1

This is an interesting sort of puzzler. It starts with plenty of space, but as the entire field is drowned the movement towards different items becomes quite tactical. The items are crucial to surviving, and are generously supplied even when almost all tiles are covered in water. The power up that freezes all tiles may be a tad broken as it kept me alive for quite a while, and there were even scenarios where two would be on the field at once. The single inventory slot is a nice limitation, it resulted in my strategy of chaining items to ensure safety. Technically all is quite solid, though I struggled with teleporting or dashing onto tiles and not picking up the items with a free inventory space. I also noticed ice tiles cleared with the bomb would be refilled with water as soon as the turn count ended. Overall really well done, 634 is my best score.

Death of an Intern by Papaya 2022-04-16T16:58:14Z ♥ 1

I like to think of my cat as a sanity cat, I suppose. Really cute game, and perhaps a little true to life for folks with desk jobs like myself. Wasting away the days while staring at the screen, all the while the simple things like cooking and sleeping get pushed to the side. A little cruel to think sleeping makes you hungrier and less sane. Definitely true that taking care of my cat is about as strenuous as my computer job, if not more! Really well done.

Captain Starforce by extar 2022-04-16T16:45:05Z ♥ 1

Extremely well polished. Lovely visual design, I love the neon green minimal palette. The music is rocking, it fits well. The Asteroids style shooting is clean and responsive, and the additional power of the laser cutter weapon is quite satisfying. My only critique of the art would be the low resolution of Pico8 makes the detailed sprites a bit large for scale, and the action can be a bit harder to parse in this style. The game physics feel great, the explosions are juicy, and the text entry updates in the bottom left add to the frenetic pace of scouring the screen for your crewmates. Really great job.

Click to Continue by Daniel Foutz 2022-04-16T16:28:00Z ♥ 1

Very cute, extremely well polished and great, clear voice acting. Lots of Stanley Parable vibes here. I do have a problem and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I like to click the button.

Parachute by JulienLussiez 2022-04-16T16:10:22Z ♥ 0

This is brilliant. Kind of like a crossword riddle, but built around the theme with incredible audio and visual polish. Very simple, but it is engaging in all the right ways. Guessing words results in a nice audio cue and the falling character dropping to the ground. The animation for each word is pleasant. I appreciate the audio being somewhat out of the way, not front and center, until you interact and guess a word. Really well done.

Crisis Bot by The Great Gallus 2022-04-12T17:12:54Z ♥ 0

The crisis really is inevitable, each room is destined to fail as you scurry around trying to fix everything. The abstract nature of the icons and spaces make me feel like this would be at home on an Atari 2600 or something, like Adventure or the Halloween game where you're just a set of eyes. Managing the power and recharging results in lots of fast paced decision making. The sparse electricity icons that recharge you are a godsend. The bombs are just the opposite, quickly tanking the integrity of the room. It is very fast paced, making it feel more arcadey than strategy oriented. Overall, well done. I noticed a bug in which I had to refresh the page each time I wanted to start on a new map, not a big deal though.

Desert Oasis by Janku 2022-04-12T16:48:23Z ♥ 1

What an ambitious simulation for the compo. The art and animation here is really compelling, these little blue guys seem totally oblivious to the danger in their world, but you can't help but feel obligated to guide them to safety. Their careless trot about this wasteland puts you at ease until the dino hungers. I want to critique the slowness of the camera movement and harsh fixed angles as they make it quite challenging to rush forward the Blups in imminent danger, however there's a perfect cruelness to it. It's lack of control makes the game much less of a God sim and much more of a locked-box terrarium in which the player's influence is purposefully contorted. This employ of the theme is one of my favorites so far, the inevitability of natural selection running its course in plain sight.

I think I have run into a bug in which the dino is able to eat and restore its hunger level where a previous Blup had died. Perhaps their extinction can indeed be delayed by a sacrificial offering...

Moonshot by Diego Escalante 2022-04-12T16:27:48Z ♥ 2

This is a really evocative and cohesive presentation. The dialogue is nicely written, it ramps up the intensity as the game gradually gets more difficult. I am wondering if there's a true ending if you are able to get through with all missiles hitting the moon, but alas, I am out of practice with my dodging skills and wasn't able to get it. Well polished with great visual effects for the impacts and explosions. Really well done.

IGNA by Bozarre 2022-04-12T16:08:01Z ♥ 1

Wow, this is a really beautiful and interesting Pico-8 game. The overworld and in-rover view shifting is really cool. Mechanically, it's quite simple as moving the rover is quite the basic management of resources, and keeping the interior safe is a matter of checking and fixing after receiving damage. But after my first two failures I was compelled to find my last remaining crewmate and save us from the inevitable cataclysm. My only critiques would be the pathfinding is not generous when navigating the pass-over spikes on the overworld, and that the flame enemies are quite easy to outwit or entirely avoid. As a prototype there's so much possibility, and the aesthetics are already very pleasing. I imagine the interior of the ship could turn into Among Us styled minigames to maintain the various parts. Or in the overworld, one could be in control of multiple rovers and have tactical long range battles or defensive standoffs, maybe with an Advance Wars inspired type of turn-based combat. I'm just spitballing here, but I think what's here is really compelling. Really excellent job.

Stacktics by Sam Bigos 2022-04-12T15:37:58Z ♥ 0

An interesting physics system here and a fun concept. The throwing and movement feel natural and lively. The ceiling crushing down on the blocks feels good, and the way the blocks fly and rotate makes stacking them efficiently a challenge. I greatly appreciate the accurate arc shown as you move your cursor around with a piece selected. Not sure how the blocks are sorted and generated for the player, but I wasn't even able to survive for three minutes. Beyond building a structure very high in the early phase, I am wondering how to better strategize around pacing out the destruction of the blocks to survive longer. Really well done.

Rise n Time by alec 2022-04-09T14:10:10Z ♥ 1

Extremely polished, interesting take on a rhythm game. I've seen rhythm dodging before in a game like Soundodger, but the familiar feel of top-down adventuring is a good fit here. The sleepwalker and their jump resembles Link with a Roc's Feather. Controls are tight, though I feel like the pits are particularly unforgiving. I appreciate the subdivision and color coding in the interface, though when playing in browser it does run so fast that it barely matters. The animation is beautiful and lively, polished to a sheen. It makes the rhythmic clocks and jumping around feel great. The sound is great, tied to the clocks it offers good feedback for the impending sound waves approaching. The inevitability of waking up is an interesting concept, and the challenge of fighting to stay asleep is a take on this theme I haven't yet seen. It's abstract, I like it. It's quite a challenge in the game, but somehow I manage avoiding my alarms in real life with ease...

Don't Freeze by LudumDareDevil 2022-04-09T13:38:58Z ♥ 1

Really lovely graphics, I love the light off the campfire, the snow, the player character. The mitten cursor is adorable. I was able to survive pretty long, and I found a non-firewood item in the bottom right area, though I couldn't figure out what to do with it. From reading the other comments I'm guessing it was the TNT, so I must be blind to not have recognized it. Love the survivalist take on the theme, I've played a couple other extreme cold games for the jam and it's a great vibe, really nailed it here. Some kind of extrinsic motivator, like a timer or a score counter, might help with adding purpose to the survival here. Overall, really well done.

My Type! by Linus Lindberg 2022-04-09T13:03:05Z ♥ 1

Very polished, clear concept. Typing games are a lot of fun and the spatial element of managing the stack of words works well, at some point it becomes about turning your head around and reading the upside-down word that is clogging the channel. It starts a touch slow but ramps up in difficulty nicely. The audio feedback is crisp, perfect for giving that tactile sense to typing the words. Really well done.

Study Breaks 📚 by Puree Adventure 2022-04-08T21:29:34Z ♥ 1

Wow, what an ambitious game for the compo. The art, the minigames, the humor, it all sings. I was able to not only make it to my test on my first go around, but also get a 39/50. The minigames have that distinct WarioWare feel. They have mismatched visual styles but are all built around a mode of control that is easy to pick up and entertaining as it gets faster and faster. The art is all so cute, and the animation brings everything to life even if it's only two frames. Great fun, really well done.

Warming up! by notnasiul 2022-04-08T21:12:40Z ♥ 0

Great animation full of motion, really cute designs in the Pico-8 limitations. The physics of the jumping feel spot on and the tossing of the fireballs is satisfying. Climate change is a great take on the theme, and the steady ramp up in difficulty really does make it feel like it's only an inevitability before you're toast. My high score was 345. Really well done.

DashFight by antonsem 2022-04-08T21:01:07Z ♥ 1

Very juicy, I like the bloody explosions and screenshake. It does feel a bit like a losing battle as soon as two or more enemies appear, I feel like there has to be a way to shake enemies off if they're on both sides. The airdash for mobility is great, I like that you can cancel your jump and airdash low to the ground. A left/right ground and airdash cancel might be enough complexity to make potential multiplayer more fun. I am curious how this would feel in a 1v1 game against a friend.

Here's my broken strategy that got me a high score of... Well, a grand total of 5. If I align myself with a right or left corner and wait for an enemy to strike me first, with a full health bar I will usually be able to mash out and get a kill to regain health, especially if they're covered by their teammates. The problem is returning to a corner before it's been taken by an enemy.

Ice-olation by badoomtch 2022-04-08T20:22:04Z ♥ 1

This is a neat little survival sim. It's a bit slow paced, but the systems work well and I was compelled to survive after my first failure. Because all the actions correspond to time and your meters dwindling, it feels a bit like an idle game, but not in a bad way. The fishing system is just like Stardew, and I like it here even if it's a bit easier. The woodcutting with the X's on the trees is interesting, and I think it complements the fishing well when balancing time between the two activities. The movement and controls for various actions all work well, though I do wish there was a bit better feedback on the fishing controls for casting, hooking, and reeling. Really well done.

Untitled Zombie Shooter by Ismael Rodriguez by Ismael Rodriguez 2022-04-08T17:38:26Z ♥ 1

Very tight controls, I think this turned out great. The machine gun buff you receive from the successful melee hits is great. I love a classic overpowered pistol that rips through enemies, and this nails that feeling. I like the sprite art and flat textures mixed with the low poly, it's clear and readable and is expressive. I think there's a bit of fine tuning that could be done on the melee to make it feel a bit stronger and connect a bit easier, but the controls overall as well as the shooting play just right. Impressive, especially for a first foray into FPS. You'll have to teach me how not to fear 3D one day, I feel like I could live a lifetime in 2D game dev and barely scratch the surface. Really well done.

KEEP THE POWER by caudatecoder 2022-04-08T17:15:59Z ♥ 1

A stunning and impactful employment of the theme here. An autocracy simulation on rails. Success in maintaining your power results in the game mechanics becoming a broken pastiche of themselves as the dictator engulfs the screen.

The game is played by managing three competing variables, in popularity, media control, and police force. You swing this in your favor by killing whoever is most convenient at the moment. That changes as the numbers fluctuate, naturally. Who you choose to kill is ever changing, to the point where the choosing of who to kill is almost entirely trivialized. The paradigm shift occurs when you assert your rule as absolute by changing law, and the dictator grows to occupy all three, or at least two of the three lanes. With full control, it's at that point that you grow yet again after choosing to begin your petty war. "Way to go down in history!" is the glib rationale that precedes the bloodied dictator stomping innocent civilians.

I played around a bit more, and there is an additional ending card should you decide not to follow through with the war. There are inevitable elements explored on a variety of levels. The despot can only attempt to delay their own undoing. Very well done.

Highrail to hell by BadPiggy 2022-04-08T16:20:36Z ♥ 1

This is great, I love the animation and action here. I'll admit I was a bit confused when the timing windows seemed so tight, but seeing the description call it a puzzle game made me understand how to approach each objective. The zombie hoard feels alive and raises the tension every time they bust down the door. The melee combat is tight, and the dodge roll is quite satisfying. When I think "action puzzle" I usually think of Tetris or Panel de Pon, where you're really just playing an increasingly twitchy and fast version of a not-so-actiony puzzle game. The time management and objectives feel puzzling and it employs definite action combat throughout, so it's a really fitting and fresh take.

I wonder how this could expand. Combos, jumping, power-ups... It could all fit for sure. I'm imagining if there were several lanes that would allow for movement along the z-axis. It's a great concept, really well done.

Chronos by Plixel 2022-04-08T16:05:12Z ♥ 1

Interesting concept, but I also struggled with the varying time changes for different watch items. If the age of the player were displayed on screen using a meter or something, I feel I would have understood it better. Knowing only the green clocks were good and grey clocks were bad, it was still a bit of a guessing game, as most levels resolve at the very last step before exceeding 100 years of age. That said, I really like the graphics here, the aging player sprite and environment tiles are well done. I found the tutorialization of the different elements to be clear and the levels get increasingly difficult.

Unfamiliar by tcstyle 2022-04-08T15:44:35Z ♥ 2

Very stunning game. The visuals and sound come together really nicely here. A ton of polish here and it absolutely sings: the echolocation effect, the flapping effect, animation, typewriter text, it's all very impressive. I like the controls, they reinforce the feeling of flying with a bit of sliding and momentum gaining.

I think either the echolocation could be a bit more generous in the way it illuminates the enemy birds, or the hordes of enemy birds could be lessened to make dodging feel more natural. I was never quite sure when an enemy started and stopped moving, and I was usually too late once I had spotted them. I'm taking the inevitable occurrence here to mean death in the harsh conditions for a wild animal, and winning the game is successfully delaying it happening. I do like the internal monologue bits, they add a lot of personality. Really well done.

We Need To Talk by Doot 2022-04-06T00:38:13Z ♥ 2

This is so delightful. On the outset, a very clever take on the theme, but the subversion of the theme at the end is genius. The animation and scale of the text boxes and attack feel juicy and impactful. I'm one of those weird folks that like quick time events, and the string of button mashing that make up the game here is a lot of fun. The dialogue choices are hilarious, "I can't save my game now!" got me good. Really well done!

Goblin Escape by PinballJunior 2022-04-06T00:29:43Z ♥ 1

Really beautiful art and surprising depth in here. Excellent presentation and tutorial here, I latched on quick to the basics and started growing and building immediately. The theme is employed here in an interesting way, the goblin hordes remind me of something like Minecraft when enemies come out at night, but you are otherwise in relative safety. The last town building game I played was Banished (it's been a while for sure) and I feel like this channels that sort of chill but satisfying resource management gameplay in a micro-dose. Really well done.

Heat by Wuppos 2022-04-06T00:12:36Z ♥ 1

Very polished, minimal art that is expressive and evocative. It's an interesting arcade-y take on the theme. I was expecting the little fellas to get burnt to a crisp if they were dragged over a flame, but it's more of a time management and observation oriented game. They could find their own way to the exit and save themselves, couldn't they? Maybe I'm being selfish rather than heroic. The furious clicking is fun, and the crowd that amasses by the 50 point mark or so is a challenge to manage. My high score was 77. Really well done.

Off with the show! by edwigelel 2022-04-06T00:00:45Z ♥ 1

I too had issues with the combining as it didn't seem I was able to connect certain things, like the pedal to the guitar/amp. The art and music are great, and it's an interesting take on the theme in that wasting time backstage might be what a nervous performer would be compelled to do. The show must go on, as they say.

Road Rage Mage by Pious 2022-04-05T23:49:14Z ♥ 4

Really gorgeous art style and great music. The tactics feel kind of like a poker-style bluff calling kind of game, but the placement of the cars on the racetrack really influence the mind game of whether you go aggressive or defensive. Using the nitro shield when the enemy uses combustion feels sweet. I would like to face off against a human opponent to see how that impacts the feel of the game. Very well done.

PlantBad CO. by KewDev 2022-04-05T23:33:35Z ♥ 1

Very polished, love the VO and story elements here. I love how the theme is employed here, and that in both a win state and loss state, the inevitable event occurs. Really well done.

Hole In No by Sapazu 2022-04-05T22:55:14Z ♥ 1

This is brilliant. The animation is excellent, the game feel is very polished. The ball moves in an angular and unrealistic way, but it makes the evasion feel more exciting. I couldn't make it much farther than 11 in my runs, my strategy relied on using the corners on the right side of the screen to draw the initial strike away from me and then panic as the ball careens around. Really well done.

Battery Low by Milestone Games 2022-04-05T01:30:27Z ♥ 6

Very sharp, extremely polished. The controls and auditory feedback on the rover are very satisfying. The ending gives nice closure to the inevitable end for our rover friend. Love the personality in the text and UI, as well as the artifacts strewn about. Really well done.

Fuse Lit! by pdotjpg 2022-04-04T19:34:56Z ♥ 2

This is excellent. Evokes the feel of great Sokoban style games, particularly Pipe Push Paradise for me. I like how it implements puzzling grid-based movement, but it doesn't rely on boxes like other Sokoban games. Moving the fuse and stepping over it results in interesting decision making. I did encounter some bugs, but the core here is really strong. Love the low poly explosions. Really well done.

Timeflight Alpha by Quinn_Patrick 2022-04-04T19:11:37Z ♥ 2

I like the controls and action here. It's fast paced and responsive. One minor gripe would be it's a bit challenging to line up diagonal shots due to arrow key controls. The key item to progress to the next level being hidden makes it feel a bit more rogeulike-y, but the time limit feels arcade-y. Seems like in the easier levels you can use your extra time wisely to score additional points. My high score was 476700.

Enshrouded by Willby 2022-04-04T19:00:04Z ♥ 0

I like the atmosphere and art here. The field of view effect works really well at obscuring the items in the distance. I do wish I could interact with more in the environment, like the mushrooms or gold. My high score was 260 seconds with 14 logs.

BLACKSUN by Davide Rossetto 2022-04-04T16:54:53Z ♥ 1

Really well done. I'm not very familiar with this type of game, resource management with passive crafting like an idle game, but I like it a lot. The scaling complexity of managing the resources is very satisfying. The moving target of what to produce and when to invest in scholarship works great. I do wish the icons were a little larger for my bad eyes.

ZEZ by tengusheath 2022-04-04T16:37:17Z ♥ 1

The visuals here are really cool. The name ZEZ implies REZ is an inspiration, but I also see some Graceful Explosion Machine in here as well, especially with the melee attack. The push/pull of enemy kills/time ticking didn't feel super noticeable as I was always moving as fast as possible to the next enemy swarm to regain my lost time. The movement and melee attack control well, and I appreciate that the slash feels fairly generous on the player's end for wiping out enemies quickly and efficiently.

Down to the Wire by Mieeh 2022-04-04T16:26:25Z ♥ 7

Really well made puzzler. The different icons and increasing complexity feels a lot like The Witness. I wasn't able to make it to the end, but I'll keep trying. The time element raises the stress level of solving puzzles like these. Really like the clean visuals and vibey background music.

Claim your FREE BitBuddy™ TODAY! by danman9914 2022-04-04T15:30:07Z ♥ 2

Try promo code "DUMBIN NOOOOOO" to unsuccessfully communicate your feelings to a pile of bones.

Extremely clever virtual pet. Lots of clever dialogue surrounding what actions you take, even outside the game window. Great art and animation, very expressive in the BitBuddy. We went on a journey together. I'll pay the premium price to get Dumbin back. I'll do anything!

Snooze by NicMagnier 2022-04-04T15:06:29Z ♥ 1

This is great, extremely clever take on a "time attack" arcade style game. I was able to add a minute to the clock in the early game, but then shifted my focus to the +10 and +1 in the latter half. Feels very inspired by Geometry Wars, the art style is super slick. Once the Kraft Singles start populating the center you have to do some serious space management. My high score was 715. Very well done.

Sea Level Rise by oda 2022-04-04T14:55:03Z ♥ 3

The jump physics are pretty good, though because it's a fixed height the game only gets so difficult. Generous horizontal movement and coyote time make every leap possible, it feels. If only we as humans had a never-ending stream of platforms to escape our world...

Stuck In Space by ThatRandomProgrammer 2022-04-04T14:40:06Z ♥ 1

Really well done. The polish is excellent, the opening scene adds a lot of character. The physics feel quite good, kind of floaty like Defender or something. The placement of the fuel and O2 seems generous enough to survive for a while with some close calls. I love the visual effect when the O2 is draining, everything around you goes dark. My high score was 7000.

SandCastle by sdelay 2022-04-04T13:14:34Z ♥ 2

I really like the use of the theme here, it's an inventive take on something I imagine lots of kids do when playing at the beach. I was able to last 21 waves, I am wondering if the optimal strategy is protecting a column of sandcastles with a vertical line of holes or if a horizontal row of sandcastles will last longer once the player's speed increases enough.

B-Game by squaxcom 2022-04-04T02:19:49Z ♥ 4

The art here is really great, love the color and animation. The scale and movement around the world is a bit challenging, I follow the lead and hope to avoid potential storm clouds. I like the motion and liveliness of the bee army, I feel like there's an RTS or some other kind of strategy game in here. When playing in browser, I was able to move really quickly when I gestured the mouse far outside the window. I'm not sure if that kind of speed is intentional, but it feels really nice to glide around.

Delay the Destruction!! Danmaku Downfall by matthewrobo 2022-04-03T21:11:52Z ♥ 1

I'm a bit out of practice with bullet hell games but this is a lot of fun. Once I got the feel for the focus fire I was in business. Mechanically feels very solid, the breaks in between the kills make this feel like an endless boss rush. I got a bit of stutter in browser, though I imagine this is the kind of game that would run more reliably if I downloaded the .exe anyways. Not sure what the bombing does for score/survival differently than dying, so I'm wondering why it's worth it, but the effect is nice. The inevitable aspect of the timer works well with grazing, I feel like that where I felt like I was controlling time the most. For score: My best was 6057 with 1:40 on the clock. Overall really well done!

Prakzar's Problematic Potion Puzzle Pit by Echo GameWorks 2021-10-21T15:23:07Z ♥ 1

A frantic little arcade action game, I quite like it. The breaking of the beakers is very satisfying. They are quite fragile, so moving them around to match up the colors is pretty challenging. The auditory feedback is really well done. I found the toughest obstacles were the yellow beaker's seeking projectile and the grey beaker's toxic sludge, those two did the most damage to me. I got to around level 9, and at that point I was letting the beakers break themselves as they were coming in so fast. Really well done!

Infiniraft by LDJQ 2021-10-21T15:10:55Z ♥ 1

An interesting sort of survival roguelike. I find the decision making comes in when you have to parse out a path with the fewest open water or broken raft pieces. Since stepping on the broken raft is the same penalty as stepping into the open water, sometimes the pathway with two or three broken rafts could be circumvented by going right over the water. I am interpreting the broken rafts to be essentially the same, but since they're visually similar one might accidentally step onto the broken raft if rushed forward. I agree that it's a touch too easy, as it seems to offer plenty of health packs when you're critically low. Lots of different design avenues to chase with something like this, to make it more punishing or widen the possibility space with items, different terrain, and so on.

Overloaded Server by kbf123 2021-10-21T14:56:54Z ♥ 1

A very pretty game, though I wasn't able to really get much out of the instability of the computer/connection. It seemed to me like easy mode was mostly error free, but medium and hard had so many that I couldn't serve a dish. The depiction of the desk and elements outside the game is a cool touch, though I feel auditory feedback here would be really helpful to help the player know what buttons are being pressed. I like the different ways that the instability affects gameplay, with popups, lag, and so on.

Dream Dog Dilemma by potatolain 2021-10-21T14:46:42Z ♥ 1

Wow, this hits the theme in a abstract and interesting meta way. The art is really nice, I like how each layer pops with different colors. The sprites shifting between layers was always clear, I didn't find myself lost or questioning what the tiles were supposed to be. Kudos for making it as a proper NES game, I imagine these sorts of interactions, even just the changing layers, are really challenging to program without modern tools. I am reminded of a game like Anodyne that displays a colorful dystopia, there's a more naturalistic feel here but the shifting, colorful landscapes brought me there. Really well done.

Harmono by leon75 2021-10-14T16:00:41Z ♥ 1

Wow, I really love this concept. It is a really cool way to tutorialize improvisation over chord changes. The visualization of the green, orange, and red keys is really cool for illustrating notes that are in or out. It would be cool to show the chord names as you play along, or even be able to set up your own chord changes and play over them. I am thinking the idea of playing the orange notes before/after the green notes is supposed to illustrate the concept of passing tones, but I am not sure I fully grasp how they work in real life or in the game. Really cool and inventive take on the theme, not one I would have ever expected but am happy to play. Really well done!

Frogmented World by spudboy 2021-10-14T15:42:00Z ♥ 1

Really excellent little puzzles here. The mechanic works really well, with a button press the camera locks and the player can wrap around the room. Definitely a lot of potential here, I can imagine a mind bending Metroidvania with this mechanic and the myriad ways it could expand with items, powerups, big maps, and so on. The pixel art and music are nice, it is a relaxing atmosphere. Nice job!

Unstable Speed by Maksim Chugunov 2021-10-14T15:31:07Z ♥ 2

So simple, yet the responsive and dynamic controls and well considered audio here make this really tactile. It feels excellent, the scrolling of the moons in the background and the blipping that increases speed as you launch yourself forward. It feels pretty authentically like an Atari classic, like a Missile Command or an Asteroids. It does a lot with a little, and I like that about it. Extremely challenging, it almost feels like a test of my ever-dwindling patience. I was able to make it to the end after many deaths. Would be fun to see speedruns on this, I imagine it can be completed in a second or two with a good amount of luck. Really well done!

Bomb Mania by Stefan Jovanovic 2021-10-14T15:17:07Z ♥ 2

Really stunning art, the bomb character and the environments have a lot of personality. The platforming works really well and the premise is clear. I like how getting hit by multiple fires causes your fuse to burn faster, it incentivizes being more careful when lit and gives you more time to find the extinguisher. The mechanic could go down a more puzzling route if the bomb character had different platforming abilities when lit, it would be a puzzle to solve when to touch the fire and where to go with greater speed or something like that. The stages are short and sweet. I found the boss to be a touch easy if you hang out in the corners but for a cute platformer, a boss like Kirby's Whispy Woods that's a bit of a pushover is par for the course. I encountered one error that forced me to quit out, in which the fuse on the bomb character stayed lit on the third stage and the level did not reset after death. A really solid game, well done!

Cowabunga by Sestren 2021-10-14T15:02:09Z ♥ 1

The milk as a shared resource is interesting, it took me a moment to realize I had (almost) as many jumps as I wanted. The enemy attack patterns are honed in on the center, so I spent most of my time dodging down there and trying to hit 2 or 3 enemies at once with my shots. The graphics are nice, though some things are hard to read at the low resolution the action is very clear and the controls are precise. Well done!

BIG BAD LAB by ddolgov 2021-10-14T14:54:57Z ♥ 1

This is very cute, it nails the theme and the minigames to keep your ship alive are well considered. The pixel art is colorful and charming, the side-on view and machines are all clear and readable. The most challenging bit is threading the needle on the blue machine, but with some focus and a couple failed attempts I was able to reliably complete that one. The wavelengths machine was the least frequent in my playthrough, and I am not sure I was able to get the hang of it. That one reminds me of Genesis Noir, not sure if it's an inspiration but there's some similarity to a sequence of tuning machines in that game. The button presses on the right I was able to get pretty reliably. My only criticism is that it seems there are some periods of downtime after solving one or two machines, there might be some fine tuning to be done with the system that triggers the errors and making sure that there's not too much wait time in between. All in all, very well done!

UnstableOS by ZwodahS 2021-10-14T14:39:22Z ♥ 1

It's an interesting and abstract idea, I quite like it. I was unsuccessful in saving my ship, due to a variety of errors with the operating system. The blue screen of death got me pretty good. I am not sure I fully understand what a good strategy would be to win, I think a bit of auditory feedback would help keep track of the notices at the top of the screen as well as the mining portion. Well done!

Stronkey Kong by 100th_Coin 2021-10-05T13:54:09Z ♥ 1

Just wanted to quickly pop in to say I am getting a crash when attempting to start up on my machine, with both the packaged versions on Itch and github. Not sure if the error report is worth anything, but let me know if you want to take a look, happy to send it over.

Tectonicalypse by alec 2021-10-05T13:35:13Z ♥ 1

Really beautiful pixel art in motion here, the crashing of the buildings and concentric rings of the earthquake have a lot of life. The music is nice, and the gameplay is cathartic. I hope this wasn't inspired by a breakup, but the integration of the theme is good here. It's a lot of fun chasing the little people around. Really excellent art and auditory feedback. Well done!

The Juggler by Gabriel Naves da Silva 2021-10-05T13:16:48Z ♥ 1

The concept here works well, though the character may be the least competent juggler around the controls are nice and responsive and the movement and aim always goes just about where you want them to. The rings are quite small targets so you do want that level of accuracy. I like the pixel art, it's simple but it's very readable and charming.

I noticed the highscore meter kept ticking up between my games, but I made it through about two screens of rings. I would like to see how the design progresses with different targets, more wild physics, or some obstacles or other friction working against the player. Well done!

birdbell by PaperAeroplane555 2021-10-05T13:06:58Z ♥ 1

This is so cute and clever! I love the minimalistic monochrome pixel art here, it's very readable and the sprites are nice. The behavior of the bells breaking all adjacent platform blocks and hitting everything as they fall to the bottom is clever, and the puzzles built around it are thoughtful. The addition of the "scaredcrow" adds some faster platforming challenge to the mix. I do miss the auditory feedback here and I think that would be a great addition down the line. The instability of the ground fits the theme, and I suppose the horse character goes along with it, though the abstract mechanics mean the character could be just about anything. One of my favorites so far, really well done!

Uprooted by Zettelkasten 2021-10-05T12:45:40Z ♥ 2

This is a really nice puzzle game. The sokoban style block pushing on the isometric raft pieces feels similar to A Monster's Expedition. The pixel art is colorful and cute, and the guitar soundtrack is relaxing. Really great job!

RIFT by Pavocado 2021-10-04T19:24:11Z ♥ 1

The flickering shaky objects really help establish the unstable theme. I appreciate that the early part of the game very clearly tutorializes how the light and objects work, it's really thorough and well done. Puzzles are clever. Great job.

Wiggle Bird by SamDemaine 2021-10-04T19:12:19Z ♥ 2

This game is really cute, and the wonky controls are a lot of fun. I like the animation style and the gameplay is clear and readable with the color contrast. I do wish the bird's hitbox was just a touch smaller, level 5 almost had me rage quit. Well done!

Antenna Antics by Vectrex28 2021-10-04T19:00:02Z ♥ 1

A really beautiful game, gorgeous sprite work. Lots of content, very impressive for the compo. The controls are tight, the tuning is pretty challenging to get pixel perfect. Tons of personality here, and 100% authentic NES. Really wonderful.

Shoved Serenity by Solah 2021-10-04T18:35:01Z ♥ 2

A very silly but fun arcade style game. The absurdity of it, along with jarring guitar and screaming sound effects make it seem like the perfect addition to a Warioware game. I found myself crouching most of the time and focusing on the jump timing, that seems to be the hardest of the three challenges. The zooming in of the camera when tipping over is a nice touch. Really well done!

Alien Disco by Ludokultur 2021-10-04T18:28:04Z ♥ 1

Chasing the spotlight is fun! The color coding bonus seems to be crucial as your buzz wears off quicker. My best score was 141.93 seconds. The visuals and sound are all very cute, really well done!

Hammer Keep by BadPiggy 2021-10-04T18:10:13Z ♥ 1

This rules, I love the concept of the health and attacking being linked. I kept my meter right between red and yellow to survive most hits but be able to send stalactites crashing down on enemies. The hammering sound effect is punchy. Controls are tight and responsive. Nice job!

RUIN ESCAPE by reccy 2021-10-04T17:49:40Z ♥ 1

Would love to see the solutions on these levels as I can't seem to make it through. It's a fairly simple mechanic but some crucial rules like the floor breaking when adjacent walls are shot make it deceptively challenging. I found myself straining a bit to see the difference between the broken and damaged floor tiles. There's definitely depth here, and a plethora of sokoban puzzle mechanics could be thrown in to great effect. Well done!

Manoe's Quest by Mahjoub 2021-10-04T17:28:25Z ♥ 1

I really like the combination of the challenge of setting the platforms up just right and then executing with the pachinko drop. Aesthetically very pleasing, good pixel art with a nice palette and the music and sound effects add to the vibe. A really inventive idea, really well done.

Unstable FLESH by foresherd 2021-10-04T17:19:13Z ♥ 1

The platforming feels really solid, love the backwards jump and ledge grabs. It took me a couple tries to get an idea of where the oscillating danger zones would appear, but after coming up with a route I was able to make it through. Well done!

Kattonauten by Elastic 2021-10-04T17:08:38Z ♥ 1

The 1 bit art is really excellent. I love the auditory feedback on the charging, checkpoints, and explosions. I am pretty terrible at it, but it feels like a Lunar Lander type game sped up x100, with short sections and fast respawns after many deaths. Well done!

gunstable by torcado 2021-10-04T16:41:38Z ♥ 1

Really lovely game. I love the wind-up mouse and cheese collectibles, very cute. The switching of the different types of fire is fun, and there's a lot of variety.

Helico Pter by 3LSTMsInATrenchcoat 2021-10-04T15:37:51Z ♥ 1

This is a helicopter made of Lego bricks, golly. Much like Lunar Lander, I find myself trying to convince the game that my touchdown was indeed soft enough, and that I am a safe pilot. Very fun!

AIROBICS by mausimus 2021-10-04T15:28:35Z ♥ 3

Really nice but stressful game. It's like Mini Metro but people will die if you fail! I suppose it is only a training simulation. The graphics here are really well polished and sell the theming and feel. Calculating the delays is clever, and made me feel incompetent at this job I am definitely incapable of holding down. Really well done.

Dr. Frank by enricomandelli 2021-10-04T15:20:34Z ♥ 0

Really visually appealing game, the TV filter and sprites are nice and contribute to a spooky season kind of game. As I continued to play I got better at predicting when the monster would attack again, and timing my shots at him to make sure I didn't overextend. My only criticism is that the filter makes the outline around the flasks somewhat hard to see. Well done!

Horse-d'oeuvre by drtizzle 2021-10-04T15:09:17Z ♥ 1

This is hilarious. The constant rotation of the low poly horse legs is endlessly entertaining. Either the AI is really good or I am terrible, I was only able to take one life off of them in two games. Props on the theming with both the horses and unstable character control. The music and announcer add to the weird vibe in the best way.

Tables & Tremors by SlimmerBurger 2021-10-04T15:00:37Z ♥ 1

This was a lot of fun. The punching works kind of like a Celeste air dash, and the tables are the little green crystals that replenish it midair. The controls are spot on, and the punching and ground pound moves are snappy and responsive. I'm all about the pixelated boxing gloves. Really well done.

Unstable Concoction by theviraldragon 2021-10-04T14:44:50Z ♥ 1

Very charming game. I like the brewing game of gathering the potions, and learning which ingredients make which brew was fun. The music and visuals fit the vibe really well. It would be cute to add a recipe book that fills up like a Pokedex or something. Really well done!

Critical Mass by RatoGodoy 2021-10-04T14:31:56Z ♥ 2

I love the visuals here, they're simple but the colors pop and give a lot of life to the objects. The dodging gameplay is fun, and the varying size of your hitbox keeps you on your toes. When I started I focused on dodging, which incentivizes staying in a low health range to be more agile. The enemies that dart will quickly dogpile you at the edges of the screen, so the center feels safest. By level 20 the darting enemies are dastardly quick. Very fun, well done!

Unsteady Bounce by Comfy 2021-10-04T14:14:40Z ♥ 1

I had a lot of fun trying to get a hang of the controls. The hand drawn charcoal style is visually appealing, it reminds me of something like Crayon Physics. I see that wall jumping wasn't intended from your comments above, but I did have fun with it, and I beat a couple levels with some high power jumps moving into and then away from the walls. Nicely polished, well done!

The game is...Unstable by Nebiros 2021-10-04T14:04:59Z ♥ 1

I like it! I think I understand the premise of the game but the solve is not coming to me. Scrolling between the tools was a bit buggy, as I lost a few letters and had to restart. The functions of the tools seemed to work just right for me and it is pretty satisfying copying, cutting, and gluing letters together. Lots of potential to expand with more wordplay puzzles, other tools, and so on.