Very hard game. The graphics and music are pretty good.

i like the idea, but if the sacrificed soldiers will give us an advantage it will be more meaningful. cool art, cool gameplay

I am a terrible leader... RIP soldiers.

Interesting concept! It feels like a reverse tower defense, that's something I haven't seen before I think.

Congrats on the game, it plays nicely. A little too hard right at the start though :)

A cool game overall. it is hard because single key controls makes me feel very limited and helpless in commanding the soldiers. This frustration feels like something scratching my stomach. But I think it really interpret the jam theme very well. A little bit advice might be that the way where the soldier will go could be illustrated more clearly. Thank you for creating this cool project.

@purpoappo , thank you for your feedback. They say, it's easier for selfish people, so you seem to be a true altruist! :smiley:

@wheatleyscience , glad you like it! Thanks for advice, we had some thoughts on sacrifice meanings as well, but ran out of time…

So, for now they just should motivate you to want to win even more, so their sacrifice won't be for nothing :)

@cowa , thanks for your kind words! We didn't think it like that, but yeah, you're right — it's kinda reversed tower defence.
And please, don't pressure yourself — you're a great leader. Go and show them, who's the boss! :)

@bmopapa , huge thanks! Good advice on marks, indeed they could be more visible. And we also weren't sure if we need more controls… Any suggestions on that?

And sorry for your stomach. Probably some bubble tea could help with that :smirk:

Interesting concept and take on the theme! I ended up just focusing on a single soldier to make it through. Sacrifices were made.

I am so bad at this, but it was so much fun! I really liked the idea and execution. The only complaints I have it the gun shot sounds were kind of annoying and occasionally when I would press space to move, my soldier would move about a step or two and stop, so it kind of delayed my movements. Pretty awesome over all.

I like the idea alot. Maybe making the bullets bigger but less frequent would allow the player to strategize more and be able to save more soldiers. Also the audio is a bit annoying after a while. Other than that the visuals are nice and the concept is solid. I had fun playing it, so good job!

@silkworm-sweatshop , thanks, highly appreciated!

@boyturnedrobot , glad you like it! Sorry about lags, next time we'd try to optimize the game more.

@belonzik , good suggestion, we'll definitely try that, when get back to finish this game. Thanks for that and your nice words!

GG! I didn't manage to finish it though, focusing on only the frontmost soldier got the rest killed (nice take on the theme :D ), and eventually even the front guy ate a bullet. It's hard to think of improvements, I like the elegance of having only one button but perhaps it would be better to select a soldier to run with, select a path, and then having to sacrifice soldiers to enable the others to pass. Oh, and good graphics :peace:

Took me a while to figure out who where the controlled character, and I missed the line in the menù about the single control via spacebar. Other than that a good idea, and very hard game. Great work!

Interesting idea and design, but still missing any info how to play, I also spend a while clicking everything when I figured out what to do, any info at the begging would be nice ;) But good job anyway!

Very cool and solid entry. Love the idea. I see potential on mobile, it's easy to control (just a tap) and very addicting immo! With levels and maybe powerups or one extra hitpoint on the first soldier, you get the idea.

I like it. I was determined to beat it. It was difficult to move with multiple men at the same time but once I got down to my last man, every move was easier to time, although more tense as I got further. Got to the helicopter. Well done nice game. What engine did you use?

@dining-philosopher , thanks for playing and the idea! We really want to keep that one-button controls, and yet looking for improvements on the mechanics.

@kromeboy , @chaczyk , thanks for feedback! Definitely need to add some hints on how to play for a few first seconds on a game screen.

@rhewid , thank you! Some powerups would be good for sure.

@hawkie , wow, congratulations on making it! Respect your determination :) Did it take long (in time or number of attempts)?

We used Defold, which we picked for a game jam just a week before. It definitely has some issues (don't forget to save every minute!), but after all, it played well.

Such a fun and original idea! Simple and effective, fits the theme well, looks good. There's a fair amount of strategy involved in deciding whether to advance your furthest soldier or preserve the maximum number of soldiers. Really impressive effort.

Hi @zetorama, it did only take three attempts. (I was always down to one man after the third station). I may have had a bit of luck but I waited at each station to watch the pattern of bullets and made my move only when I knew what to expect. It reminds me a little of the classic old game cannon fodder. Thanks for letting me know the game engine you used. Good luck in the competition. Do you have an ambition beyond the jams? Cheers Hawkie

Great idea for the theme! Nice graphics and mechanics!

Graphics and music are great, but it's too hard for me :laughing: Well Done !

Прикольно!) Можно было разбить на несколько лвлов) От лёгкого к сложному))

its hard af but everything else is soooo well done amazingg job

@justalocalhero , thanks so much for nice words! And good catch about the strategy!

@hawkie , thanks for these details and for referencing "cannon fodder". Personally, I didn't played it, but have just taken a quick look (on youtube) and now can see why you remember it :) We definitely want to go beyond jams, and that's why appreciate so much every kind of feedback. And so many positive words really motivates!

@fede , glad you like it!

@kasaki , thank you!

@sumathbrod , спасибо! Согласен, левелы так и просятся)

@zayah0-0 , thanks!

Quite difficult (in a very positive way) the learning curve makes it more fun to play(IMO)
It took me a while to realise what I was doing or who I was controlling but that was quickly forgotten once I go-
t into the actual game! Good submission!

Very nice game, works great. Very difficult, too hard for me honestly haha, but that's good thing. Game mecanics arre really clever. Great job :)

pretty cool idea, took me a bit to figure out how it worked, but once I got it, it clicked easily. Wish the bullets were bigger, kind of hard to see them

Pretty cool, simple concept. Hard but fun.

Oh boy it was not easy to see the bullets. Plus my guys wouldn't always run when I pressed space.
The idea is cool, a simple survival game. I don't think it reaches the theme of this game jam. Sacrifices must be made implies that as a player I should lose something in order to progress. This felt more like sacrifices are going to happen, but it doesn't matter.
Cool look and a TD feel always get me to try it out, so you got me.

Very nice idea but the game is really way too hard. I was able to get 1-2 soldiers to like 20% of the path. Nice graphics, little bit annoying audio. Maybe some telegraphing for the enemies (animation before they start shooting) would help but that would definetly not be enough to make it playable for people like me :D Overall very nice entry for first Ludum Dare :)

Really cool concept! It was fun, but also very hard for me - I managed to get around 70% of the way with two soldiers, and then they both got killed :)

Cool game! Definitely an interesting concept, and the graphics look nice, although I think the bullets should be a little bigger. I think it is too hard, because it's pretty much impossible to time it so that all soldiers crossing to a new cover will be safe, so its actually easier to focus on just one soldier and forget about the others. I really like how there are X marks on the ground to show where they will move to each time. Overall great job!

@matank i got finish just once ) tnks for feedback! the game will be easy by first steps )

@azayiah , @benjouille , @miziziziz , @daniel-grinshpon , @drlaserbeast , @wolar , @matank , @kypello and everyone else,

Thank you all for playing and your feedback! There are definitely things to be improved, and we appreciate all of your suggestions, as well as kind words. These truly motivate us go beyond LD and make it _the_ game :)

Wow, that is really hard! The game's design and gameplay is simple and this would have potential especially for a mobile game, yet I really couldn't manage to get through the middle of the map :/ That was a little bit frustrating. The gameplays sticks to the theme but I felt it could be easier with the addition of checkpoints or separate small and easier levels; maybe selecting soldiers to move or being able to block some could be an interesting thing to balance the game ? Good job! Cheers!

Really cool and different take on the bullet hell kind of game!
I enjoyed the appearance and sound effects - I think the mechanic was really interesting and it was challenging trying to get as many people as you could as far forward to give you a fighting chance at reaching the end! It was a cool take on the theme too, as eventually you have to accept you will lose one guy to push another forward etc.

I did think it was a bit hard understand the first time you play it, but once you work out the movement and that the Xs mark the steps then you get into it alot more.

well done a good jam game!

@knarf , thank you! And sorry for the frustrations — you're right, game could be easier at the start, and also levels were on mind, we just ran out of time.

@limnori , you've got the whole idea totally correct! Thanks for such detailed review)

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One more time, this was an incredible first experience for us. What a wonderful community here on LD! Thank you all and Happy New Year everyone!! :fireworks: