Signal Chaser by Wisch 2026-04-21T11:50:54Z
Fun challenge, took me a couple tries to get into the swing of things, but one it clicked I got all the way to 41 before getting stumped by a big clump of reds.
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → Users → JynxAudio
| Year | LD | Theme | Game | Division | Rank | Ov | Fu | In | Th | Gr | Au | Mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 59 | Signal | 👥 | Signals in Distress | jam | 122 | 4.00 | 3.73 | 3.94 | 4.20 | 3.47 | 3.80 | 3.26 |
Fun challenge, took me a couple tries to get into the swing of things, but one it clicked I got all the way to 41 before getting stumped by a big clump of reds.
Not sure what the point of getting the pause functionality was, since I was able to just walk through the door at the right time and ignore the green light both times, but the concept has potential. Probably worth trying to just have one complete puzzle that uses your mechanics instead of trying to have multiple unfinished ones, but I like the idea. Perhaps have the signals be sent from a distance too? as it kind of felt like I was physically interacting with objects rather than sending signals to them.
First of all, I love the concept of procedurally generating vibe tracks from pointing at the stars, that's very cool and I've not seen another game in this jam like it, though there are a couple roadblocks I came across:
-The looping of the segments isn't seamless, so it loops strangely most of the time
-The dynamics of everything isn't properly normalised so the volumes mismatch a lot
-Dragging the target around is *painfully* slow, and honestly despite the other two being a little jarring, this is the thing that held me back from playing around the most. Not being able to go from star to star to iterate without up to a minute or more of delay each time really breaks the flow of the game.
I did very much enjoy this concept, and the core of the game is on solid footing, its just those couple things holding it back. Well done!
This is a very, very good looking game that is very on theme! Though, the gameplay left me a little yearning.
-I felt like I had to wait far too long to progress once I'd got the ships to make me money, also nothing was stopping me from just sitting in the first portion making money to save up for the rest of the level, which got quite tiresome.
-It was odd to me that I had to essentially sacrifice the ships for an eventual solve, meaning each level had more than one solution for each level, which I believe was probably the intention, but it didn't sit well that I had to change my layout for every part of the level.
-The ambience was well done, I was very relaxed the whole time, though there was some inconsistency in when some sounds where occurring, and not all of the boat crashes made sounds.
-A simple looping ambient music track would have gone very hard here
I like the concept a lot, but feel it could have been designed in a way to where my solution to the first area helped get me to the next area, rather than just make me money, delete all my stuff, then go again (which is how it felt from the third level). Lots of potential here! Crazy graphics for a jam setting
Neat concept! I think maybe it'd be nice to have some kind of directionality to know where the signals were coming from? I found myself just searching round the whole ship anyway, since I didn't see the distance enough for it to matter to me finding anything. I managed to find everyone though!
Really nice looking game! Couple times where it seemingly showed me it was impossible to get to stairs, and the gameplay loop felt quite simple, but it was very on theme and good looking!
The signal tie in felt a little surface level, but the gameplay was fun and fast paced!
Its good! I think it took a little too long to finish, but I did manage to find a shortcut which made it quicker! It was very spooky, you nailed the mood, but once I realised that the guy didn't do anything to you it became more a... Continue and sometimes stand still simulator? I liked the little minigame for the good end though!
A unique spin on signals for sure! I made it to the end eventually, and overall had a fun time! I will say though, from a purely audio perspective, a couple things:
+The bird sounds need to be more immediately predatory, like a hawk or eagle. Yes, I know lesser known bird of prey sounds are a thing, but to most people, an easy to recognise hawk or eagle scree will do the trick perfectly. That bird sound doesn't instill fear into a human ear, so it takes a few goes before you pinpoint the thing actually making the sound!
+Similarly, the thunder sound is not loud enough in the game mix, a threat to the player like that needs to be much more potent, I had no idea when the thunder was coming a lot of the time, since the thunder was so blended into the rain sounds it felt too natural.
+There could have been a few more detailed sounds in there, like swimming sounds or more jumping sounds etc +the music was cute, but it looped a little weirdly.
good job :3