Pier-V

Impending Doom of a Thousand Kitties by RalfZ 2022-10-06T00:03:21Z

This game is the definition of maximum meme potential, and I can see why it has become so popular aleady. It starts nice and cute, ends exactly as the title suggests. Very meta, I like the spirit.

The pixel art is nice, the music has the right amount of catchiness (but it's also a short loop to provide the "nyan cat" effect). The theme implementation is actually brilliant, because it's extremely simple and easy to notice, and yet it has the power to completely turn the perception on gameplay as the game progresses.

I found extremely annoying how the side panel pops automatically, especially when I had to feed kittens on the far right but... at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if it was done on purpose just for the sake of adding chaos to chaos.

I have to admit, when I got to this point I felt a strange sense of fulfillment, and for some reason I can't explain it reminded me of how a friend of mine became literally obsessed for weeks with a flash game where you are a constantly running unicorn, all the way back in middle school. It was called Robot Unicorn Attack, if I remember correctly. I completely removed it, so thanks for the memories I guess. Cat Mayhem.png

Ice B0mber by adriczero 2022-10-04T18:43:40Z

The core concept is perfectly in line with the jam theme, and even though its a very straighforward idea it works really well nonetheless! Bombs explosions effectively limit your valid moves, adding a pleasant strategy/managment layer in addition to the reflex times and observation skills necessary to progress in the game.

The game is fun, has the right amount of challenge and does a good job at making you feel the desire to go for another run to further improve your score - I especially appreciated the fact that it keeps track of your best score between runs, and rewards you in case of a new record. My only minor critique is related to the unfreeze function, which feels a bit clunky and makes it really hard to keep pace with the new upcoming bombs.

In a game like this I wouldn't mind some background music, even a short loop, just to create a more immersive experience. But considering the restraints imposed by the jam duration I can see why gameplay mechanics took priority.

Good luck!

Exorcist Patrol by PeachTreeOath 2022-10-07T19:39:18Z

Very very original, and I mean it! I'm always happy when someone tries to improve turn based games, and making it an hybrid with a puzzle game turned out to be fully successful here. The card choice adds a further layer, sort of a game within a game, and now I'm wondering if the reason I got stuck around the 5th boss is simply because I made the wrong choices. Don't get me wrong, though, this is not a complaint! I actually quite like it. Good for longevity, too.

I found the game well polished, and I appreciated the care in the aesthetics as well - great graphics and character design, well written and original music. Honestly, at first music buffled me a bit (not the quality, but rather the genre choice), but the more I was progressing into the game the more it was clear to me what you were after. So, bonus points for the experimentation.

This game went straight up into the list of games I want to master before the jam ends, great job!

Silvi by nardandas 2022-10-07T19:07:25Z

Unfortunately I can't really review this game because I counldn't see the plant, sorry! (I tried both the online version and the download)

However, I like the core idea and the way the jam theme is implemented, since it goes against what you would normally expect (frantic rhythm with a 10 seconds time limit etc.). Considering the genre, both graphics and music were on point.

Hope to see it fixed in the future - meanwhile, good luck with the jam!

Yes, Comrade. by Hugimugi7 2022-10-04T19:45:32Z

@ThatzNiko haha thank you for playing, I appreciate the enthusiasm!

Yes, Comrade. by Hugimugi7 2022-10-04T22:41:42Z

What an overwhelming response! Thank you everyone, the enthusiasm you showed in your comments is really encouraging! You also made many interesting points that I'll be happy to address:

@catellib , @kromeboy @okshirl and @chybby - I see you are people of culture ;) You're right, Papers Please was one of the sources of inspiration for this game, and finding the right balance between quoting some of the ideas presented there while giving the game its own twist was a challenge in and on itself.

Okshirl, Chybby, thank you for your observations about the distraction mechanic! The game was originally supposed to have a longer list of distractions, but some of them had to be cut due to time constraints unfortunately... and by the way, yes, the phone calls are spread across multiple days, and later in the game some additional gameplay mechanics, like knowing whether or not a Country is an ally, come into play.

@save-sloth-studios , @braizen and @blk-dg - Yes, true, the game has a bit of a learning curve, that's why we tried our best to smoothen it by including two different tutorials, one in the form of a cutscene while the other as an interactive in game tutorial. Thank you for your feedback, it's really useful!

@angrybeard , @cambryx - My main role was writing the music for the game, when I saw the notebook implemented in one of the game versions I actually had the same reaction as yours haha. I agree, pretty useful indeed!

@clockmaker , @ghatazorg , @macmist , @eugenik, @zalir and @shemokam - Thank you so much for the kind words!

I hope I answered to everybody, in case I missed something please forgive me, I'm afraid I'm a bit sleep deprived at the moment xD. Cheers, and good luck with the jam!

Yes, Comrade. by Hugimugi7 2022-10-05T12:41:42Z

@zungryware Thanks for the kind words, and for taking the time to write your review! We tried to create as much variation as possible in the mood of phone calls, ranging from funny/ironic to more serious ones, but, as you said already, three days were too little time to implement further variation on a gameplay level unfortunately. We actually ended up discarding many ideas to give priority to game stability and to provide a longer experience.

However, this kind of feedback is extremely useful to us in case we ever decide to continue developing the game (it was mainly done in our spare time as a passion project, but depending on how things evolve... who knows!). I'll make sure to discuss this aspect with the rest of the team.

@ashleyarmstrong So glad you liked the game and had fun! One thing is for sure: we had a BLAST making it as well! Cheers!

Supply & Command by Hare Software 2022-10-06T16:18:07Z

The theme was implemented extremely well, nice job! Easy to grasp mechanics, flawless controls with great feedback, good rhythm with a nice balance between shooting sessions and calmer "repair" sessions.

As a Cortex Command long time player, I obviously liked the graphics and the animations. I found music a bit repetitive but it still made a good job accompaning the scene - on the other hand, voice acting and sound effect were simply spot on.

Maybe a bit easy, but if this ever becomes a full game what I've played so far would make for an excellent first level. Thanks for sharing your game, and good luck with the jam!

The CyberZapper by Vhalenn 2022-10-04T19:25:56Z

I can't believe you managed to create such polished and impactful visuals within the restraints of a jam, and even more so considering this game in the compo cathegory!

The jam theme is well implemented, in particular the fact that waiting too long before warping to the next room depletes your health feels like a clever nice touch. Different rooms present different challenges, and there's even a boss - big plus. It would have been cool to have the boss respawn, maybe with boosted stats every round to give a sense of impending doom haha, but the idea of having a second resting room as a reward, as you yourself wrote in description, is probably better suited for less experienced players and therefore has its advantages. Btw, I reached room 50 as I was asked in the tutorial explaination but the game just kept going: the idea of an endless progression is actually fine, but I would probably remove the "reach room 50" line to avoid confusion (that is, unless room 50 is the cake and you're quoting portal haha).

You did a really good job at differentiating all the different guns, they have a huge impact on gameplay and I had a BLAST spamming the blue one like there's no tomorrow. The slow yellow one, instead, goes in time with music which I found hilarious.

Speaking of music, it definitely fits the game atmosphere and does its job at constantly pumping you with adrenaline, but if you allow me an observation I found it a bit tiring on the ears after a while, due to repetion.

Anyway, I was pleasantly impressed overall. Good luck!

Witchy Sketchy Alchemy by Bruyère Alice 2022-10-04T17:54:52Z

I have a weakness for cute looking games with a pastel color scheme and that's what initially caught my attention, but what came next was really a pleasant surprise! This game not only has a solid aesthetic, but it's also extremely well polished, both in the animations and in the menu/gui presentation. However, aside from technicalities, what I liked the most is how brilliantly you managed to justify the jam theme gameplay-wise.

The choice to apply random mutations to the main character every 10 seconds creates an original contrast between the relaxed, cozy welcome in the main menu and the frantic gameplay, where high levels of concentration and a fair amount of multitasking are an absolute must to avoid a cat-astrophe (sorry not sorry, bad pun intended). And even though the learning curve is a bit high at the very beginning, once you grasp the gameplay mechanics the experience becomes quite fun with the right amount of challenge.

"But wait, how do you justify such an abrupt change of pace, it will surely feel forced, right?" Oh, so wrong! and that's because of the tutorial. Seriously, what a SMART move. Voice acted (in gibberish, which is a bonus point!), funny, entertaining and concise in presenting all the necessary information - the perfect glue. What I'm really trying to say is, I can feel your entire team worked in perfect harmony and with the same goal in mind, and it's really incredible what you managed to accomplish in so little time.

Now, as a composer, when it comes to music I always have very high expectations, and I can confidently say the soundtrack of this game is another big plus. Focusing on solo instruments rather than ensembles felt consistent with the intimate character of the game on one hand, while on the other gave more time to allow for a well written and properly developed accompaniment to what's happening on screen.

Thank you for sharing your game, and good luck!

10 Second Village by Tom Stephenson 2022-10-05T23:05:51Z

I honestly can't believe you have received only ten ratings so far! I mean, this game has everything: perfect implementation of the jam theme, polished graphics in a style that suits the genre well, same goes for music, and the inondation mechanic creates some really interesting scenarios sometimes - for example, I softocked myself on my first run because I neglected a resource and I didn't have enough of that resource to start producing it again XD

Most importantly, this game looks professional and I could easily see it as a mobile game, just to give an example. One thing is for sure: I'll continue playing it until I master it!

A Handy Job by 0X_VOID_X0 2022-10-06T16:41:16Z

This game is polished in so many ways it's insane. I mean, you even thought about the frustration this game would cause, so you added NOT ONLY the possibility to punch your manager, but even the funny trombone laugh. That's some seriously next level thinking, kudos.

Great implementation of the jam's theme, nice graphics and music does its job. But of course in a game like this what counts is gameplay experience, and I have to say, it is fun and original. All the different kind of interactions, combined with the randomly ordered levels, make this game very difficult to master, but in a good way - in fact, I'll probably play it a lot more during the next days.

Maybe I would have opted for a slightly smoother learning curve, introducing all the different interactions little by little, but that's just because the current difficulty level might scare a less experienced player. Personally, I loved it as it is.

Shady business by Peche et Tradition 1867 2022-10-05T17:00:47Z

I like the idea behind this game A LOT, I don't know why but something about it reminded me of Outer Wilds (maybe it's the peculiar way you pilot the ship? Loved it).

I can see in your presentation that an impressive amount of thought went into the concept art, and it definitely shows - the ship is well designed and full of details, and the foggy environment creates the perfect atmosphere for this kind of game. Aside from the main cabin, though, I found the gamma way too dark and had some trouble understanding what was happening on screen at times.

After quite some time, I understood that the green light on the left was a radar and the red button on the right was a fuel indicator: after noticing it it became one of those "silly me, that's so obvious" moments, but I still think it would have helped to have a simple text line at the beginning explaining this detail. However the idea itself, navigating dark waters using your radar, is really beautiful in my opinion.

To me it's not fully clear how the jam theme was implemented... It can't be related to fuel because it clearly lasts longer than that, maybe it has to do with the radio icon that appears in the bottom right corner every now and then?

As a composer, I couldn't help but noticing the absence of background music, but the ambience sounds on their own created a very immersive effect nonetheless.

Overall, I had a lot of fun. Good luck with the jam!

Shady business by Peche et Tradition 1867 2022-10-05T17:42:29Z

Silly me, that changes everything! I adjusted my ratings, thanks for letting me know - and very original idea! :D

CATS AND COFFEE by Graylure 2022-10-06T17:33:30Z

Really nice game, well polished and with extremely curated graphics (we're talking 5 star graphics here). The jam theme was implemented in a very original way, at first I thought I had to deliver the order before the customer's sprite disappears and was about to give up, then I read the rules on the main page and... everything was clear all of a sudden. As it turns out, the jam theme is actually cat related... I mean, of course it is xD

I found the gameplay fun, and all the micromanagment actually takes some concentration. On the other hand, I think this game could benefit from an increasing in difficulty as time passes, and maybe I would have removed the two minutes limit in favor of a score system to encourage replayability.

In a game like this music would have probably improved the experience quite a bit (even a very simple, relaxing guitar loop for example), but I appreciated the care put into the sound effects.

Thank you, and good luck with the jam!

Garden Slime by Amanda Neff 2022-10-05T16:11:57Z

Fun little sandbox game you have here! Somehow it keeps you constantly interested despite having a simple (but solid) concept: maybe it's because the slimes are so cute, or maybe it's because I was just too curious to see what would happen once there's too much happening on screen, or maybe it's the little details like each slime having its own character and preferences - who knows. But I ended up playing the game way more than what I expected, and it was quite fun. I hope to see it completed once the jam is over, it definitely has potential.

How was the jam theme implemented? This was unclear to me, but I assume every 10 seconds a new slime appears - if that's the case, well it's quite clever.

I loved both the pixel art and the music, they fit the game perfectly, but one note about the latter: it would have been nice to have it in stereo (or at least in mono but coming from both left and right channels) and to avoid the long silence before it loops again.

Thanks for sharing your game, good luck with the jam!