Wow! This was incredible! The game looks gorgeous for how little time was available. The idea of a sword that you ride as the unconventional weapon was very unique, and the manner in which you traverse the world is creative as well. Most importantly, I really think the visuals and the audio is what sold me on this game. I would absolutely purchase this game if it were on Steam or any other platform, that's how impressed I am with this submission. Great job!

Cool concept and I liked the desert storm theme. Found the movement a little slower then I would have liked and eventually go stuck under the sword when it crashed into a wall and was stuck. Good Job!

I really didn't get what was going on, you should really include some instructions on what's going on. gameplay was a little obtuse, as soon as you fall off the bacon you're kind of fucked which isn't really fun.

graphics are awesome, really liked the sprite-y aesthetic, just a shame the gameplay was so frustrating.

Some kind of tutorial would have been nice. Good job though!

This game is beautiful. 5/5 for me.

Beautiful platformer shoot-em-up? Sign me up for more! (And that last pair of lasers is rough!)
For those having trouble early on, don't jump off the sword immediately, and use wall jump to get back on when you see a chance.

Beautiful graphics! The gameplay feels pretty polished. Amazing job for how little time we had. Nice work!

The game has very nice graphics and audio. I love the concept as well, where you sometimes have to separate from your sword to pass obstacles. Very good for just 72 hours!

For a jam this game it's PERFECT! This game is one of may top 10 from Ludum Dare 32.

Fun: Well Done!
Theme: PERFECT!
Graphics: AMAZING!
Gameplay: GREAT! I found some level design faults, but we all know was because of the short period of time.

I want to see this game on Steam someday. Keep developing the game! Congratulations!

Yeah, I agree with the others, without tutorial it's really hard to understand what to do in the game. Understood the jumping mechanic inly after the 5th death at the some thing.
But without that, really nice-looking and polished game

Omg, I understood that you can stay on the sword only after publishing the comment and reading the other ones!
I thought that's just a simple platformer
Now I think it deserves 5/5, but guys, you REALLY need to write, that you can jump on the sword, because it looks like a decoration.

Also, is it okay that you can jump endlessly if you press z+x and direction keys simultaneously?

Really enjoyed the concept and style, but I wish it wasn't so easy to miss the sword at the beginning of the game! Great job

One of the best of LD32 !

Art is amazing, effects especially. Gameplay is dynamic, but difficulty is very uneven (or maybe learning curve is too steep).

Wow, some silver serfer right there, with the main piss-me-off of the nes game, particularly falling of the glide(dying in nes) when touching platform with the guy. Other than that it is a brilliant entry - graphics and effects are super.

Amazing graphics! But, I cant play. I cant charge the sword or I cant grab it. Strange. Rated! Please, rate my game.

Fantastic game :)

Great fun when you're on the sword, boring when you fall off (I guess that's the point!). Very polished entry, loving all that bloom effect.

This is one really nice a cool clever game, but man is it hard. I really like the idea of this having to move quickly to get back on your board but the placement of those enemies was brutal to get passed. Awesome entry!

Nice one! What does one do when the sword is lost? I had to walk on feet. There is a SwordCrafter game in LD32, easy cooperation for a hero with broken sword! :)

Nice game, the art is really good. However, the game is pretty hard.
Well done!

Really amazing game! i love the pixel art and the idea awesome. it was challenging at times but that just made me more motivated to beat it. outstanding entry!

AWESOME!!!!
keep up the good work guys!

Really cool game, incredible effects, and really fun. i've managed to complete the level (y)

Great stuff here. It was kinda difficult to understand at the beginning, but it was fun anyway.

Great work! Graphics are simple in sprites but awesome in execution. UI is quite effective as well, and I liked the mechanic of jumping in and out of the "ship".

Just be careful with players failing the very first jump and being left wandering on the desert... like a friend of mine that is totally not me... :D

Great effects, I like the dust particles, parallax scrolling, laser and explosions.
The game design is weird... falling off your sword accidentally is usually a death sentence. Then there is one sequence where you are forced to leave the sword behind, but it doesn't reappear at the next checkpoint so you have to kill yourself. I was able to complete the game, but I think it needs some more details added. Still a great achievement considering the short time it was made in.

Fantastic atmosphere and feeling. Very polished game imho and one of the best I played during the jam. Particle effects are also cool. Good job! Overall 5/5

Glaring gameplay bugs allow you to complete every section without riding the sword. You can jump-climb all the walls, going over or under pretty much every section. But, very beautiful game. Loved the effect of GAME OVER. Well done.

Really great looking game. Very polished and amazing job with mood. Not that unconventional a weapon, but otherwise really really solid job.

Wow very good game and beautiful effects.

Awesome game! So polished!
And the mood was pretty cool!

This looks incredible however just getting on the sword was a bit of a control nightmare. I had to jump right on to the end of it and frequently failed making dying and replaying an unfriendly experience. The font was also not a great choice as it took me a while to work out that it meant z and not 2. Aesthetically polished, but could do with some work mechanically.

I have very mixed feelings on this.

On one hand, you made something super polished graphically. On the other hand, it is very irritating to play. I mean that not as a personal insult or anything, but as player feedback. A few particular notes:

1. Bloom seems way too strong to me for the sword rocket and the sword beam. In particular, the sword rocket being so bright means you're likely to kill yourself a couple of times trying to figure out the initial jump timing, because there is a gap between the platform and the sword, and you didn't see it very well.

2. Jumping feels very annoying because the height is so low, and the player starts to fall again so quickly. There seems to be infinite walljump, and there is a doublejump, but this still feels counterintuitive compared to other platformers. Also walljumping and double jumping should probably be explained ingame if the game is continued. (Double jumping might have been mentioned ingame, apologies if so).

3. For a game filled with tricky timing and instant deaths, the game over delay is super super SUPER annoying. Many games like VVVVVV or Super Meat Boy may have instant deaths, but I think those sorts of games may also offer a quick path back into the action to avoid frustration. With this game, there are a few seconds where you can't do anything but stare at a bar, repeated over and over. Even if a bar is only 2-3 seconds, multiply that by a bunch of deaths in a session, and a player may literally spend minutes just looking at a game over bar.

4. The powered-up beam attack can apparently not destroy the little blocks that your handgun destroys, which felt odd. It took me a very long time to figure out that the sword could self-fly through the second or third checkpoint.

5. It would be nice to have a clearer visual or audio indicator that the sword charge is full. Sometimes I would get particles but no beam, which might result in instantly dying to an enemy.

6. There is no handgun charge shot, and I can buttonmash to fire rapidly. It would be really nice if I could just hold down the fire button instead of having to mash, since players are just going to rapidfire anyway to destroy blocks and enemies. Might as well be nice to the player! :D

7. Since I can control the sword but not the player while riding on it, it would be really nice if I could fly it backwards. I can accelerate the level by flying forwards, but not being able to stop or go backwards is just an added frustration without much fun or satisfaction coming out.

I hope you will forgive my very detailed comment, but the clash of such polish with several irritating mechanics apparently made me feel strongly enough to take some time typing it out. Good luck in your future development!

For what it's worth, I did manage to complete the level, but the above thoughts are from the process of doing so.

Really cool character art and awesome lighting effects! Could be really good with more work.

Very nice visuals. I had a lot of trouble with the controls and wall jumping in general was difficult for me.

Beautiful game!!! Really nice VFX! Congratulations

Wow, cool effects! great animations! gorgeous work! Congratullations you are really good.