This is one of the coolest concepts I've seen so far. The game itself is very atmospheric and enjoyable. Love the music and dark mysterious aesthetics :)

Why do I need to scan a QR code before starting the game?

This game is wack! The metroidvania style level was massive, the concept was great, the door mechanic with blinking.
Just a very solid entry to the jam, I'm amazed!

Awesome. 5/5 across the board. Good job.
- had trouble entering the castle once the crown was forged, got lost there.

5/5 from me too. And yea I got the crown too and had to stop when I was trying to get in the castle. There was this one crown piece that was really hard, you know which one I mean. I had to close my eyes IRL to listen to the drop sound when the character goes down the slope. Very polished game. Great job!

MrMaico - You need to scan the QR codes to get hints and some lore.

What a cool concept! love the use of sound effects to help you known where you are when your eyes are closed. Great length for a jam game too! good job

Great game concept and design! Also really nice music! Awesome job :)

I really like the concept, but it is a bit hard to find yourself around when you are randomly teleported. Bu nevertheless it is fun concept and has a great vibe! Music and graphics are great

Bravo! One of the best LD games I've ever played. I feel like I'm the first to finish it here because that was insanely difficult.


I really don't want to spoil anything but I'll give 1 hint because this game is worth discovering on your own. Draw a map.

Some of the things I picked up on my own were great, and I felt VERY accomplished when finishing this. It honestly seemed like you had this idea for a while now, but it fit the theme so well it seems freshly designed. Another great entry, thanks for taking up a full hour of my LD review time lol.

I'd love to play this (especially since this seems to be a different twist on the same idea we had!) but I don't currently have a QR code scanner available. It's a really odd choice to have your game be dependent on that. I'll keep an eye out if a QR-less version of this becomes available.

@hekateras there won’t be a qr-less version, though it’ll only take a minute to install a scanner app on your phone! QR codes are used for a few reasons, mainly cos you can scan them and read at your own pace without worrying about the blink taking you, it also communicates a lot of info in a small space and it’s a perfect fit for the atmosphere of ‘people were here but aren’t anymore’.

@peachtreeoath thank you so much for your awesome comment! The idea was original to this jam, in fact I wasted most of the first day brainstorming. Though maybe not a waste, wouldn’t have gotten this otherwise!

@mrmaico see above, you’ll need a QR scanner app to play! The first QR scan is forced cos otherwise you’ll miss critical info later.

@bozzwtf @wormius I’m so glad you enjoyed, thanks for the comment! Can I ask how you got stuck entering the castle, was it unclear how to do so, did you know but couldn’t execute it or was there a bug preventing it?

Yes, the QR codes had a very interesting thematic consequence to them. It was almost like uncovering ancient runes and using a translator to show you what they meant. This is different from just seeing text in ancient-y font. Or foreign text that animates into English. Super immersive and a great decision!

Very interesting game! Took me quite a while to realize where exactly the entrance to the castle is, though.

Scanning QR codes is sure an interesting mechanic, but it was quite awkward to pick up my phone periodically.

This is probably one of the most innovative LD games I've played. It reminds me a lot of Outer Wilds in the sense that understanding the mechanics and the worlds IS the game. The feeling of discovery here is great. I found it a little clunky to scan the QR codes and sometimes I wouldn't pull my phone out fast enough.

Played through a chunk of the game (had 2 crown-pieces missing) but I have to stop for now. The core mechanic is clever and so far the most fitting implementation of the theme. I love the use of audio effects in the gameplay. The graphics are simple but gorgeous, especially the walking animation.

The QR codes are distracting though, may it's due to the app I used to read them but those always got me out of the game. I'd be curious what you intended to achieve with this mechanic.

Overall I love the game! Really enjoy these cryptic exploration games and the mood, art and music were fantastic. I'd love a full length game that feels like this.

With the QR codes, part of me loves the innovation and the feeling of discovery, but part of me feels they were at odds with the blink timer mechanic. I was hesitant to scan codes because it takes awhile and I didn't know how long I would have. This seems like it'd work better in a game that was more relaxed.

My other thing was the platforming, I'm admittingly not great but I got extremely stuck in room -1-B (where you have to blink jump up those platforms) and gave up. I want to play more but I don't know if I can get past this!

I'll give it another try at some point, or watch a playthrough if I can't get gud. Awesome job guys!

Very interesting, I was not able to figgure out how to really progress in the game aside from the red levels. The other ones I teleported everytime I tried to pass a red gate which was really frustrating. I guess you are supposed to land on good spots but this was really difficult

Love the aesthetics! Graphics and sound design are great!

Concerning QR codes, the idea is cool and original, but it breaks the rhythm having to grab your phone every time you want to read something and so becomes annoying.

For the platforming part, the character feels a bit heavy when it comes to jumps, but overall it feels good.

I probably missed something, but to me it was not clear if the blinks would teleport me or not.

Overall a very nice entry, gorgeous and well polished!

This game is great! TBH though the QR code thing just feels kind of gimicky and not really necessary for the game.

The game mechanics here are pretty genius, if you ask me. Great job! Very impressive that you could pull this off in just one weekend!

Nice Game!

Wow. It's a super interesting take on the game and for the most part, executed perfectly. I only a had a couple issues, the second jump often activated while you were still on the ground (usually on a slope) causing you to effectively only have a single jump, and then the QR code thing is a cool concept (makes the game feel quite mysterious), but it did get a little tedious to whip out your phone every time you see one.

Don't take these critiques as me not liking the game though as I only played it long enough to have them because it was so intriguing. I just wish I could have finished it - I spent ages looking for the last piece but to no avail. Super good job guys!

Amazing game mechanics, such a great idea. Loved exploring the world, music was great and matched the aesthetic really well, and the animation of the plants growing where the player steps was cute.

I thought I'd got stuck / bugged out on my first run through (blinked into 3:G couldn't get back out) so reset the game, but it turns out that I just hadn't learnt one of the mechanics yet. Each of the clues lead me perfectly to that 'aha' moment that all great puzzle games should aim for and it was really well put together.

Platforming controls and feel were great, the whole flow of the game and the learned mechanics really make this game quite fun to replay and attempt to speed run too! (This was my best attempt!) :smile:


Ran into one small issue with 2:G on the climb that falling down skips a room down to the bottom of 2:B, rather than to the other 2:B room right below.

Only other thing that I could nit pick on is that walking up some slopes would sometimes trigger a jump instead, so would sometimes count as the first of the double jumps.

Amazing game, well done!

Great game, friendo! Really enjoyed. Very unique take on theme! QR Code Mechanic mechanic I have never seen before like this. :smiley: :smirk: :smirk_cat:

i've seen this game being played on a stream, i immediately loved it. i don't how much time i have been playing it since, but i LOVED playing it! it's super polished, designs are great, puzzles are super clever! unfortunately i wasn't able to finish the castle part (apparently it went ok with the 3 first jumps, but after it seemed like an endless corridor to the right and no king at the end?)
but this game was fantastic, one of my favorites so far!

Great game, especially for a game jam it is close to a pretty complete indie metroidvania. The QR code is an interesting idea. Level design Is phenomenal. Great job!


I think this is going to be my favorite entry of this jam. The way how different mechanics are taught to the player is pure level design excellence. There are very few games (even outside of jams) where I have seen this done as well as in this game.

There has been a lot of discussion about the QR code requirement so I will give my 2 cents too. I think it was interesting exploration and I have not seen it often used in games. For me, it really made me to wait for the next story bit and actually read the story. In some games the player may just skip all the story parts. In this game it is actually important to understand a bit of the story to actually complete the game so this was a one way to ensure player reads and understands at least part of the story. But I also understand players who have said that it was annoying to pick up their phone and read QR codes. I think the game could have done much more with codes. Now it feels a bit like a gimmick slapped on top of a great game - even though I liked the way how it enhanced the story bits for me.

But overall, this game is a masterpiece. One of those entries where you forget there was a theme in this jam. Maybe the theme was originated from this game...

Amazing game! Very impressive for 72 hours. The art style is nice, with an unique palette which works really well. I love how the blinking is not simply a fade to black, but actually the motion of an eyelid. The mechanic of blinking teleporting you to a different location is interesting, and I love how you discover rather than being told that water prevents that from happening. The plants are a great addition for showing the player what they have already explored.

I'm not sure how I feel about the QR codes. An interesting choice for sure, not something I have seen in a game before. It also adds a bit to the mystery of it all. The downside is that, definitely in a game where you don't have much time, you need to put in the effort of scanning the code. If there was no water that meant me taking a screenshot, pasting it in paint, and then grabbing my phone to scan the code. All those actions take me out of the game. In addition to that, the QR codes feel out of place in the game's setting. The story about a king gives off a medieval vibe, but to read about it we use modern technology.

The ending was a bit confusing to me. I thought that at the castle I had to run all the way to the right, jump over those gaps and hold shift while I keep walking to the right. You barely have the time to make it, so it made perfect sense to me that this would be what I was supposed to do. Not only for this but for the gameplay in general it would've been nice if there was a sound effect for walking. That way the player will know when they hit a wall.

Overall a solid game with great music that helps set the mood of the entire adventure.

This game is amazing! The use of the theme as blinking is really clever, and the audio design is interesting. I like the music too! This game has a great amount of polish for a game made in 72 hours, with all the lore and secrets. I don't see anything to complain about.

Also it was a nice surprise to find that you two were the team who made Vine & Void. I really loved that game and glad to see another game from you again.

EDIT: I realized that I misunderstood the mechanics about water in my first run. I thought I have to both start and end blinking in water to prevent the teleportation. This made getting the fragment in 1:D very awkward. I wish it had a better wording to explain the mechanics.

WOW! WHat a great game. I found about this managore really liked it and posted about it. I like how immersive everything from the world to mechanics is. I started listening to the water sounds without even realizing. Considering how hard it is to sometimes get players to press the correct buttons. You did an awesome job at introducing relly complex ideas. And it was very fun to explore. One thing that frustrated me was I didn't really realize that there was a double jump until I got to the hell area that really needs it. And it was quite difficult to figure out when grasping the blink to pass walls mechanic at the same time. I didn't realize how fast time passed while playin it lol. Awesome, terrific game!

Wow, the mechanics are super unique but work so well. It was so satisfying to figure out how to access seemingly impossible areas, and the narrative that ties everything together makes the whole experience feel really special. Awesome work!

Best game of the Jam so far for me. Only downside is that now my phone is filled with notes from this game.

Very neat game, enjoyed playing it a lot. It was fun to piece things together and slowly get a feel for the layout.

Took me a bit to realize I could double jump. I'm guessing I just missed a QR code explaining that somewhere?

For a while I also misunderstood that you only needed to *end* in the water when closing your eyes. Which made it hard to figure out how to get into the castle since I kept trying to enter starting from the pool of water.

The lore was really interesting, but I can't say I have any idea what's going on even after completing the game, haha.

Really cool game, but there are the remaining keys function (press SHIFT 5 times in a row) that kind of ruins the game's fun a bit, other than that, there are a lot of cool mechanics !

The QR code thing was really unusual. Thankfully, I had a phone and it has the scanner function.

I got stuck in the end for a long time, I thought I would get to the last room of the game by doing some platforming over the 3 pits in 3:C. There are also some nice secrets.

Very polished! I loved understanding the world you created. I think you might enjoy my game too, they are similar in some ways :)

AMAZING GAME


Wow! Great game. I'm struggling to find areas to improve. If anything I'd like the controls to be a little more responsive, but that's a very fine nit to pick.


is this a wr?

What to say, amazing game. The best I played this Jam. The mood is unique, the idea very innovant, the music is great. Congratulations !

That blinking was wild and I loved the mechanic with it. The end puzzles were HARD! Well done. But we all know that now I AM THE RIGHTFUL QUEEN!!! \o/

Oh man, figuring out the mechanics and putting the puzzle together was a lot of fun! Thank you for an amazing game!

Wow eazy 5/5, so much fun and very innovative!!

Yeah, this is rad. In the top 3 LD entries I've played across my 10 participations. Congrats on the mention from Terry! That's a huge nod. A few notes:

* As commented above, would love some walking SFX
* From the same commenter, I also thought that I had to go into the castle, jump over the gaps, and then hold my eyes at the last second and keep walking. What's over there, anyway?
* It could be cool if the pool of random locations diminished over the course of the game. You could probably afford to ditch some once nearby pieces are collected.
* Does the game end when I sit on the throne with the forged crown and close my eyes? The web version seems to just crash at this point. I don't get a end screen with a time.


This was extremely good! I thought the puzzles were an appropriate difficulty but some of the blind platforming was a bit tricky, though the sound clues were helpful.

Can you do anything with the fools? It just occurred to me to try to bring the crown pieces or finished crown to that room...

What an amazing game! Definitely reminded me a bit of Fez and some other puzzle platformers - I am a huge fan of these games where you need to figure out everything by yourself as you play. Also amazed by how polished this game is and how great all the level design is. 5/5 great job! :crown:

Genius, this is on another level for a game jam. When I first saw I had to scan QR codes I felt like this is gonna be something special. And then after some thought, I wasn't sure why there needed to be QR codes if it's just text but after finishing the game I can't imagine the game without them. The pure excitement I got when finding one and having to scan it with my phone would have been completely gone if it was just text in the game. Not only that but it serves as a great way to deliver messages and story that feel out of this worldly. Great addition!

Not only does the game have a sublime way of revealing its story and mechanics to you but the mechanics themselves are also just really creative. Having to figure them out as you play and learning the layouts of the levels is truly fun.

No wonder Terry Cavanagh recommended your game, it feels like one of those jam games that can be built and developed on further. It's fun playing jam games but it's rare for one no matter how short to make you want to play to the end and it's even less likely for one to make you yearn for more and this one did that for me. Truly well done and I hope you decide to delve deeper into this game :)

Wow, yea, this was great. Got lost loads of times, but still knew I had to find the end, very cool concept and execution is almost flawless, very well done.

The way you tell the story with the QR codes is also ingenious, simply clever way to implement it (I imagine) somewhat easily while still standing out as unique.

To top it all off, the platforming is also great, loads of nice features to make it feel nice, and yea, just great overall. Thanks for your submission, very cool!

One of the best games I have seen on this LD. The graphics, the idea, the music, everything is so harmonious and beautiful. It's an amazing job for such a short amount of time.

The QR code messages added special tension and excitement to the game. I have not yet passed the game, as it turned out to be quite difficult to reach the final. But I will make more attempts :)

Bravo! An incredible amount of polish and style for a jam game. This one just feels complete all around. One of the most impressive LD entries I've ever played.

Loved the cryptic atmosphere with the coded morsels of lore, and I thought you adapted the theme very tastefully, more as an inspiration than a hard rule.

Also, kudos for taking a hard stance on not doing a version without QR codes, I respect sticking to your artistic vision.

Good grief, that was brilliant! I'll admit I couldn't quite finish it myself, but I found a speedrun(!!) of it that showed me the rest.

Brilliant use of QR codes, of learning how to play and to complete the game, and with such a magnificent use of the "every 10 seconds" theme. Plus I loved that you could just blink anytime to also just reset the timer, as a lot of the games I've played thus far don't allow you to choose to reset whenever you want.

I'm definitely a big fan :smiley:

So, I liked many things about the game, but I found it distracting to have to pull out my phone to scan a QR code. I also got a link to some Bible quote which I did not understand... maybe I just couldn't piece it together. I like mysterious storylines in games and books but having to scan a QR code made the game less immersive for me.

The blinking and changing every 10 seconds was a really neat use of the theme.

https://youtu.be/Yp7YCi13v_k?t=2784

Thanks for submitting your game to stream!

You pretty much won my heart after the "hold your eyes closed" mechanic was introduced. That was SUPER clever and felt very cool to figure out! I did find the QR code stuff to get a liiiiiiittle tedious near the end, but I did appreciate the unique way you went about telling this story. Fantastic job, all around!

Incredible! This is a full game made during a game jam, not just a small feature demo like it often is. Graphics is fantastic, very retro and together with the music transported me back in time to the C64 days.

Gameplay is very unique, and a great interpretation of the theme. It took me a while to figure out the core mechanic of moving while blinking but after that the game really clicked for me.

Great job, thanks for submitting such an awesome game to the jam!

Simply original!

I loved the game.

All!

Congratulations a lot!

One of the best jam games I've ever played. Very clever design. Reminded me of Braid for some reason. The castle entrance sequence was a little bit confusing tho

A very clever and unique mechanic, with lots of "AH AAAAH" moments. Which is rare enough to mention! Also nice to note that you used the 10sec theme in a way which isn't actually too frustrating for the player, as you will be able to come back to any place whenever you want.
Nice entry!

Very cool game! I really liked the use of the qr codes to tell the story. It felt almost like you're deciphering ancient texts or something xD
I've seen a couple other games that have a mechanic where you are moved to a different room every 10 seconds but one thing I liked about yours was allowing you to skip ahead if you want instead of waiting for it to loop and you also had a mechanic that allowed you to stay in that room if needed too. All around very well executed

Incredible job! You never cease to amaze with your game designs. The design itself is always well thought-out and polished. On top of that, the visual presentation is super effective. Hats off to experimenting with different technology (QR codes)! That was very unique.

Great job on the music as well! It had a long enough loop that it never got tiring. And I liked the pitch effect in Hell.

Congratulations on 4th place in Overall and 2nd in Innovation!

I wish my phone was reading QRs better. But other than that good concept!!