rbbhn

Fathom Pond by Mathstr0fficial 2025-04-22T22:22:22Z

God - this just makes me realize how little I know about text adventures. Coming into this with very little understanding of the genre did NOT do me any justice, LOL. I was very disappointed I could not "take fish" in the Twilight Depths, he would have been my eternal companion, and I would have named him Bob.

Anyways, you can probably tell by the fact that I'm avoiding addressing the game that I don't have much to say - I don't really trust myself to critique a text adventure I guess? I suppose I would say that I think the font size could be a little larger, and perhaps that some of the choices on where to go and what to do seem a bit arbitrary at times. Other than that though, I had a really good time! The writing is succinct, but sets the mood very well, and the commands are simple to use to navigate the world with. Well done, congrats!

Clambell's Great Escape by botwoj 2025-04-22T22:14:17Z

Stylish, slick, and easy to pick up and play! This feels like it could be, with just a few tweaks, one of those infinite-scroll phone plaformer games that sucks up all my time, in the best way. Really great job!

Hell R Us by CaptainDreamcast 2025-04-22T21:50:01Z

Cool game! I really like the bullet hell mechanics, and I appreciate the story in-between fights to break up pacing. Attacks-wise, all 3 bosses had fairly easy to dodge attacks, and they all can be spammed-out with the attack - even during their bullet patterns - due to a lack of a cooldown on the swipe. However, playing the game "as-intended", it's really fun! The story is also lighthearted and charming, and I had a really fun time. Congrats on your entry!

Money Maker 2025 by yancharkin 2025-04-22T19:48:52Z

Man, I don't even want to get into the chaos this game is parodying, but it's a very well made game. Very impressive work!

Unbound by LCStark 2025-04-22T22:07:26Z

Very interesting entry! I'm not sure if the world is procedurally generated - considering the fact that scrap doesn't regenerate after upgrading the station, I imagine not - but it would lend itself quite well to the roguelike formula in that sense. The minimap was quite useful for finding scrap, and wasn't something I was expecting to see in an LD entry! The movement method was interesting, but could feel quite clunky at times - such a slow acceleration rate and top-speed made the controls feel a bit sluggish and unresponsive, and the station could lose nearly all of it's momentum by just barely nudging a rock, which felt very punishing (maybe increase the speed values a bit, and give the rocks the same type of space-d out movement, instead of having them be pinned in place in space?). However, despite this, I think this entry was stellar (ha ha ha) and a very good time. Well done, and congrats!

oroBOREos by Whirlwind 2025-04-23T18:02:17Z

This was super fun! I'm not sure if the world is randomly generated or not, but this feels like it could be one of those early flash-era roguelike games that suck up kids' time during computer lab, if you know what I'm saying. Very impressive work! I did get a bit of fatigue with the game as it ramped into the end-game - everything after Move Speed I feels like it needs a price rebalance. Additionally, I know it's kind of a key mechanic, but it feels really bad to get a 2-3k run in, and then lose 80 percent of the yield to the oroboreos barely nicking a stray rock. Additionally, it becomes really really hard to extract a decent run if you do crash multiple times - since the ore doesn't regenerate, it's very easy to pidgenhole yourself into a situation where you'll get stuck broke. However, that said, I overall though the game was very fun! The movement system, upgrades, and visual style were all super slick and fantastic, and I really enjoyed playing this one. Well done, congrats!

Hooked by mira 2025-04-22T22:28:56Z

Super quaint little entry! I really enjoyed this. The art is great, the mechanics are easy to understand, and the interpretation of the theme is smart and well done. If I had to provide one critique, I'd say that the K-L air-pumping mechanic feels kind of like unnecessary busywork? After a while, I realized I didn't have to stop diving to pump air, so I just kept spamming the buttons for the rest of the game. Having some sort of trade-off requirement to pump air I think would be a nice touch, since it could provide a mechanic that may not just end up with me mashing my hand against the keyboard for 2 minutes straight, hahaha! Besides that though, I really did have a fun time playing, and I think you've done a fantastic job for a jam! Congrats!

Schooling by Retrisma 2025-04-23T17:32:05Z

This was super impressive (even if I was terrible at it)! The fact that you managed to make a fully-fledged deck battler for Ludum Dare is incredible, and the polish and juice you've managed to pack in on top of that is commendable. I really don't have a lot to say for critiques, as I don't really trust myself to judge the mechanics of card-type games, but if I had to give one piece of advice, I'd say that adding an in-game tutorial for how the battle progression selection tree system thing-a-majig works would be a good idea for the future. Other than that, stellar job, and congrats!

Deep Bay by Paulsams 2025-04-22T19:38:52Z

Nice entry! I think your interpretation of the theme as "diving" was very unique! I encountered a few issues while playing the web version (a dialogue saying "Web API is not supported on this browser" would appear on launch), but I had a good time regardless! Nice job on the visuals (the water shader and character animation (procedural?)), they were very slick!

Reclaim You Soul by Kobato Games 2025-04-23T17:44:09Z

Cute little title and very fun! I really liked the cutscenes at the start, and I thought the concept was very neat. It was a bit strange how some of the platforms were too tall to be jumped back up-and-over, and an explanation that you had to "flip jump" (jump, then flip as you reached the apex of the jump) to mount platforms would have been nice. Additionally, I also encountered a bug where the music cut out after the first loop (during the gameplay section), and led to a strikingly quiet experience. Despite that, I overall really liked the game, and I'm impressed by what you managed to put together for Ludum Dare! Congrats!

In the DEPTHS by Planetary 2025-04-15T16:18:56Z

Very interesting game! I will forever be fascinated by how people are able to cram entire procedural generation systems into their *jam entries*! Truly truly very cool. I really liked the core game loop. I thought the gravitational, almost putt-putt style traversal system was unique, and very fun to mess around with. There were a few times where the "putt preview" (as I'll call it) was WAY off from where I ended up going, but that's truly my only complaint with the system. Also, the world generation was very cool! The way that rocks become more sparse, and gravel (the rocks you slide across) becomes more common, the way that the flowers and light change, and the ore generation were all very well thought out! I also really liked the roguelike aspects of the game - the upgrade system really lends to replayability, although there isn't too much room to replay with different playstyles, so I imagine that the game could feel a bit stale after long periods. Additionally, I was a bit confused when I initially started playing about how to actually access the upgrades system (for anyone wondering, go to the menu, then click upgrades - your progress will be saved!) - adding a screen between a run ending and the screen asking to do another run or return to menu might help with communicating the game loop to players in a more natural way. Overall though, I was very impressed by this entry, and I had a ton of fun! Congrats.

Down Under by TheLastSlowpoke 2025-04-22T19:43:20Z

This is such a cute entry! I love the interpretation of the theme (diving into a kangaroo's joey pouch is very funny), as well as the backing art and (light, but very fitting) story! I thought the little animation of grabbing Joseph, as well as the arm-"rewind"-type effect after grabbing him were particularly nice touches! A small but very fun entry. Congrats!

Core Breach by joniv 2025-04-23T17:24:15Z

This entry was really fresh, and a solid spin on a classic formula. I really like the 2-bit presentation style, and the slick level transitions. If I had to give some critiques, I'd say that the camera keeping the player fixed in place, but the world still applying a centripetal acceleration (such that if you start moving horizontally with any speed, you are flung upwards into the ceiling) didn't feel very good to use at first, and was often uncomfortable to play around. Additionally, there were also several times where I would fly towards the node at the center, only for the camera to freak out and apply a weird impulse to the ship that would fling me into a wall. However, once I learned the quirks of the movement system, the actual mechanical seeds were quite fun to play around with. Overall, I had a good bit of fun, and was very impressed with this entry. Well done, and congrats!

No Bottom by Manuel Cabrerizo 2025-04-15T16:07:50Z

This is a really interesting take on the theme, and well executed - overall, well done! The gameplay loop is easy to understand at a glance, and the controls feel intuitive and easy to pick up. The art, while simple, I think lends itself well to the idea of the game - overly floral or wild graphics could pull the focus away from the game loop and make it harder to judge how to maneuver around the obstacles. If I had to provide some bits of advice, I'd say that the two things I would change with this game is to make the flying squirrel somewhat transparent and to add a direct-down drop shadow. The perspective of the game can often lead to scenarios where it's either hard to see obstacles behind the squirrel (hence, a transparency mode might be nice) or it becomes hard to judge where you are in space due to the perspective of the camera (hence, a shadow dropped straight down to telegraph the squirrel's exact position in the obstacle-tube might be nice). Regardless, I think this game was very solidly composed, and overall a great entry, especially for a solo-effort! Congrats.

Treasure Down Under by cmaks 2025-04-22T21:54:05Z

As a proof of concept, I think this idea has a lot of merit! The controls feel solid, and the rope-swinging mechanic could be very cool in a larger title. I think it would be a good idea to invest a little bit in reworking the character controller and mechanic itself, however, as the character movement can feel a bit off at times (jumping and moving in the air accelerates the player faster than just running, and lets you reach a higher top-speed), and the rope-swinging feels like it could benefit from a "pumping"-type mechanic - think: the way you would "pump" a playground swingset to make it swing higher. Very interesting entry! Congrats!

Game Graveyard by AntagonistBob 2025-04-22T22:33:30Z

This was an interesting entry. I like the movement method and art, but some of the balancing on world generation and enemy speed could use a second-pass. Having the enemies move faster than the player by default can feel very punishing if you spec into builds that lower your speed, and the phase mechanic can feel really janky since players can get hit if the timer runs out just as a player is leaving a wall. However, that said, building a roguelike for a game jam is incredibly impressive, much less one that is as fully-fledged and fun as this one! I know I laid the critique on pretty heavy here, but I really did have a good time playing. Well done, and congrats!

Canyon Cult by hank_the_tank 2025-04-23T17:10:56Z

The mouselock issues Neon ran into were the same for me - I ended up playing the web version over on itch.io. It's super impressive that you were able to complete a 3D title for the jam - as very much a 2D dev, I'm always am always blown away when I see something like this. The visual style reminded me a lot of Cruelty Squad, the sort of low-poly, slightly off-kilter and "early PC era ugly" vibe of the whole thing actually was quite endearing, and with a second pass I think could really capture that aesthetic quite well. I appreciate the short length, and the bossfight at the end was a fitting conclusion! I do wish there was a bit more story surrounding the events of the game though. Overall, well done, and congrats!

West Coast '96: CIBUS DAEMONUM by rbbhn 2025-04-15T16:31:22Z

Thanks so much to everyone who's played so far! I appreciate all the feedback, and I'm glad you all are seeming to enjoy it as much (ok, maybe a little bit less, lol) as I enjoyed making it! I definitely made something very different from what I typically make, focusing a lot less on gameplay and a lot more on aesthetics this time around. I don't consider myself much of an artist, and it's often hard for me to judge my own audio-visual work, so I'm very glad that the aesthetic flavor, if you will, of the game works as well in practice as it did in my head. Thanks again so much for playing, and for your feedback!

Down The Rabbit Hole by Doppler Affect 2025-04-22T19:51:21Z

The cutaway art was haunting, the writing was engaging and set the mood well, and it's just the right length to make you want to replay it to see what the other choices lead to. Overall, very well done! Solid entry. Congrats!

Depth Bound by LRDJJ 2025-04-23T17:38:22Z

Holy moly, this is super impressive! Making an roguelike is such a time consuming task, so I'm blown away by the fact that you were able to make one as fun and fully-fledged as this one for Ludum Dare! I really liked the balance between taking time to fight, mine, and get rich against trying to out-pace the void - it lead to a really effective gameplay loop that works super well for a title of this scale. Additionally, the high score system and roguelike world generation really inspires replayability, which is not something a lot of games can say this jam. If I had to provide one bit of advice, it would be to perhaps make the damage dealing sources a bit smarter (AI-wise for the enemies) or clearer (I didn't realize there was fall damage until it killed me) - I think generally, adding an in game how-to-play or tutorial would be very beneficial for onboarding new players. Overall, very well done, and congrats!