Cool concept just found the art made it a little hard to read. Was a cool story though!

This is amazing. The minimalistic atmosphere serves perfectly the point of the game which is the story. And the Level Design is on point and provide some very cool video game moments.
Overall a very solid interpretation of the theme. Congrats !

this was such a neat experience, i loved the way it switched between the different game mediums, and i was excited to see what would come next. i'm really impressed with the amount of work it took to make so many separate pieces, and it felt very cohesive. great job!!

Very interesting. I'm kind of torn on the player restarting. Was it technical or meant to be part of the theme? I feel like it's a cool idea thematically but when it happened it sort of pulled me out of the experience. Either way, good work!

Wow so many games in one! This was very impressive.
I really like the art and the music, the dialog is pretty engaging too!
I loved the mechanic where the yellow text expanded the sentences (the first time, the second time it was just a continue button :P)
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The art at first moved a bit much and hurt my eyes, but overall i think it was pretty unique.
I got stuck here and couldn't finish the game :( is there a control i dont know about?
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Great job overall!

Yo! Loved this experience! Great story and such an interesting way of telling it. Having all of these separate 'games' could not have been very easy to accomplish. Great job on this, one of my favorites so far!

It was very fun to see a whole narrative play out. Unfortunately I got stuck on one of the block puzzles later on, so I wasn't able to see the end. Still, this is one of the most impressive entries I've tried. Really wonderful job!

@peco @joerenglish There is a link to a walkthrough on [the game page](https://solid-squid-contingent.itch.io/hikari-7?password=give%20up.) for the puzzle below the "Play Game" button if you just want to see how a specific level is solved. But if you want to skip that whole thing entirely, just go [here](https://solid-squid-contingent.itch.io/hikari-8?password=Because) and you can continue with the game.

Wow, this is very alternative game. I really enjoyed it. The story is really something to process. You did a great job. I feel quite moved. I have hard time believing this was made in 3 days! I played it for like an hour! Simply amazing.

Wow, this was amazing! I loved all of the different styles of gameplay, and was very surprised upon getting to the block-pushing (so many different mechanics just in this one section!), the 3d-top-down exploration and the 3d-first-person exploration. The story also feels really well done and is written very well. I liked being able to click through the words to expand the Hikari's thoughts. The art and music meld really well too. Nothing else to really say - this is such a polished experience, super well done!

Wow, this was incredibly deep and meaningful, especially for a jam game. There was so much story covered here, plus all the different forms of the game - this was a lot of work! I liked the old school atari style, and it was neat when it turned into a 3D version. I also liked the click the text section - it made an otherwise text heavy section much more interesting and interactable. I also could not get past the Sorting my Thoughts portion - the controls and requirements were unclear. But overall a very engaging way to tell your story!

Wow! What a great entry! The story and game mechanics fit the theme really well. The music is good too! It's so cool that you made so much content in such a short time, even made some extra puzzles.
Also thank you for making the walkthrough video, it really helped. Keep up the good work! :)

Wow, just finished. Listening to the recommended song as I type this! This was so creative from every angle. The contrast the end brings is just awesome. Like others said, it really is crazy how much you all fit into this jam game.

That being said, if I had one piece of feedback it'd be that I felt it was too long. Maybe it's just because of the expectations for jam games, but even though I was enjoying each part, I felt like I was ready to see it wrap up for a while there towards the end; particularly the Sorting puzzle game felt a bit long in the tooth. Though, to be fair, this is coming from a guy who didn't get nearly enough levels into his game in time, so what do I know haha. The story being so interesting was part of that too; I just wanted to get back to it and see how it finished!

Specific props:

The dialogue effect, particularly the first big wall section; other people have mentioned it, but it really is a unique way to keep the player engaged.

What also helped was the fact that the writing was really good! I feel like it's easy with games covering what this one does for them to feel a bit melodramatic, but it was really tastefully put together.

Great job all of you :thumbsup:

Interesting game! I would have liked to played more but actually got a bit motion sick from the background movement so had to stop.

Wow, this is insanely impressive for a jam game. Probably the most polished, fully realized game I've played so far. The fact that you guys were able to squeeze in so much content in such a short period of time is amazing. I'm legit curious, what was your process that allowed you to work so fast across multiple genres?

Anyway, onto the actual review.

Story: At first I was worried the game was going to simply be about a person wallowing in self pity, but I was relieved when it started moving in a more positive, supportive direction. I think my favorite bit was the section where Hikari confronted the sources of his anxiety one by one, and realized that his depression was preventing him from accepting their support and working to improve his life. Watching him overcome this was cathartic, and I thought it was very well done.

Art: The simple art style works quite well as a portrayal of a more abstract story (And I imagine a nice way to finish within the time limit). The color choices do a good job of making what you can and can't interact with readable. I was really surprised when the game suddenly shifted to 3D, and played around with different styles. For the most part, it worked really well. The only section I felt was a bit lacking was the first person platforming bit at the end, it felt less cohesive visually than the rest of the game. Which I suppose was the point, since he was waking from his coma, though I think it detracts a bit from the clean minimalism of the preceding sections by looking unintentionally amateurish by comparison.

Music: I thought the more thoughtful solo piano really served the simplistic visuals of the game well, while capturing the ponderous nature of the story. In particular, I like how the section after the puzzle bit was the same song, but in the major key instead of minor. A small touch, but a nice way of portraying the character working through his problems.

Gameplay: The variety of game modes was unexpected, but welcome once I got used to it. Exploring the world and talking to NPCs was very engaging, and the clickable words added some nice interactivity to the written sections. The puzzle section in particular was well thought out, and could have easily been a game jam project on its own. I can't believe you guys even had time for some bonus puzzles, lol. A few (hopefully constructive) nitpicks:

1. The top down 2D section at the beginning had some clunky movement. You had to hold the arrow key down for waaaay too long to move across multiple tiles in the same direction, which meant mashing the keys was the fastest way to get around. I imagine this is because it was reusing movement from the puzzle section later? Speaking of which...
2. The controls during the puzzle section were a bit overly sensitive to me, it seemed really easy to accidentally do inputs twice when doing actions like switching characters. I don't know if it was reading key inputs based on some sort of timer or simple when a key went from unpressed to pressed, but the latter would work much better.
3. The platforming during the first person section at the end felt unnecessarily clunky. I would remove the hallway with the tiny platforms entirely, as it doesn't add anything to game and it breaks up the pacing of the final section.

Overall: Despite my nitpicks, this is easily a 5/5 jam game. With a bit more polish and time, I could easily see this being a solid, full-fledged game. You guys should be proud of what you've accomplished, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with next!

@nick-shooter Thank you so much for the kind words and in-depth feedback!

As for making so much content: One thing that made it easier was using game engines that make creating things easy. Most of the sections were made in either Bitsy or Twine which allow for a really fast pace. The puzzle section was made in PuzzleScript which is also amazing (so not the same movement code as the other top down sections). Though all of these come with their own restrictions and trying to go beyond those or working around them often requires extra effort again. Beyond that, the secret is just working too much...

@junber Ah cool, that makes sense. I actually went to college with the guy who made bitsy! Small world, lol.

What a game! This is one of the best I've played in the jam so far. I love how the presentation and genre changes as you move through the game, and how it's tied into the narrative. Reminds me a little bit of Evoland, but I liked this a lot better. The narrative themes were very emotional and mature, and overall a lovely take on the unstable theme. The music was great - I particularly liked when the solo piano piece switched from a minor to a major key in one of the game transitions. Loved it!

P.S. I lol'd at the Jojo reference - was not expecting that AT ALL

I couldn't figure out how to get past the first minigame. It seems like itch.io went to full screen on the first game so I wasn't sure how to follow the run game again instruction mentioned. Interesting idea from the screenshots posted though and eerie music in the first minigame.

edit: I guess this was the missing link? https://solid-squid-contingent.itch.io/hikari-7

definitely gets more interesting after that first part, nice entry. Part of it reminds me of alter ego the NES homebrew. interesting narrative as well.

@chromableedstudios In the first game you need to click on pixels of specific colors to advance the animation. The very first thing you need to do is click the white dot in the center of the screen. The 'Run Game' instructions only become relevant after the end of this animation; full screen should automatically end then.

The link that you found already takes you pretty far into the game, skipping a lot of the story.

A great game, which pulled me into playing. I loved the abstract world which was totally destroyed (and disturbing) in the beginning, and it was a pleasant suprise that it evolved into a more concrete-stable world as Hikari progressed. In the text based parts, it was a nice touch on how pressing the yellow text unwrapped additional content. The story of self-reflection resonated with me very well (my game was also about a similar topic), and I think it was very nicely explained. I liked that getting out of coma would be via a set of puzzles (which for some reason I could not solve - I must have missed something obvious...). The music and the simple piano was resonating very well with the story. The only really minor thing is that sometimes i entered dialogs twice, and did not know how to cancel... anyway a super nice job for a jam game indeed.

I'm absolutely speechless. Maybe the jumping part at the end was a bit too hard for a concluding act, but overall this game is a tiny masterpiece, thank you very much for making it. ありがとう

Wow, what an impressive piece of work.

This game left me amazed, there was so much to it, so much content for 72 hours, and so much of it was relatable. I loved the minimalistic feel of it, the experience, everything. Wonderful job, I hope to see future LD entries from you guys again!

Really cool, I loved the combination off interactive fiction and I guess walking simulators. Really interesting visuals, the music also fit the game really well. The sudden swap between 2d, text, 3d, back to 2d, a 3d platformer. I loved the jumping between genres, fits the theme nicely. And the story does too of course. The abilities in the sokoban part being described by the characters thoughts... So many interesting things. Did you also use multiple tools/engines/don't know what to call thems to make this? -- Twine for the text? Bitsy for the first parts? What engine for the other parts (Godot?)? Anyways, I am just trying to say this was a great experience. Very impressive. Probably my favorite game I played this LD. Great job from you all!

@tygrak Thanks a lot! Yes we did use multiple engines: The text parts are indeed Twine, the 2d-exploration parts are bitsy, the 3d-ish exploration part is 3D-bitsy, the puzzles are PuzzleScript, the first-person section is in the Quake engine and the opening 'cut-scene' was made with Flickgame.

Thank you a lot @arya-s ! Your reactions on LadyMistLeaf's stream were a joy to behold. You really made my (I'm the writer) day. Glad to see the game resonated with you and many other people here.

I liked it. Very contemplative game

After playing, I was speechless for a while.

Writing, Graphics, Music, Game design were all absolutely extraordinary. Even though the writing and story development was sticking out especially.

It was an emotional experience, and I'm glad for the uplifting and encouraging ending. Some of Hikari's thoughts definitely hit home.

The scope of the content felt several entries worth, and how you tangled them all together to a harmonious and cohesive experience was impressive.
When the flat 2D world was suddenly three-dimensional, I had the biggest smile on my face. Very nice effect!
I liked the puzzles, which would have already received good ratings from me as their own game.

All in all, this is the most remarkable entry I've played so far.

Thanks for the experience. You did very well!


To improve: In the last (FPS like) 3D environment, I couldn't pan the camera. The only interaction I could do was movement with wasd. I'm not sure if this was intentional, it didn't feel like it, since I couldn't really explore the levels as much as I'd liked.

@simonl Thanks a lot for the great feedback!

Not being able to turn the camera was indeed not intentional and I have no idea why this happened. What OS and browser did you use? Were you able to turn the camera in the 3rd-person 3D part?

It took me a while to understand what I should do in the very first screen. At first I though the game was loading. I pressed f5 a few times till I understand I should click the white dot. The game is incredibly artistic. It woke up some feelings inside me. The way the narrative is built by clicking and interacting with setence really gave me the feeling that I was questioning my own life and existence. The whole experience is very unique. I1m glad I found this preciousness in LD.

This game was really thoroughly beautiful from front to end. The writing was great and the multiple pages were really innovative. I loved how many different ways this game could deliver a story. Thanks for making this.

@junber
I'm on Ubuntu 20.04 with Firefox 93.

I'm not sure if it was possible in the third person 3d part. I definitely didn't do it there as well :D But I also wasn't expecting it there. Would you happen to have a direct link to that section? Then I could try.

@simonl For me it works with Ubuntu 20.04 and Firefox 93. Maybe something on your system prevents the game from taking focus or control of the pointer? But I would guess it's not an issue that a lot of people face so this is not too important. Thanks for your help!

If you want to try it in the third person part anyway, you can go [here](https://solid-squid-contingent.itch.io/hikari-6?password=will%20not).

Simply amazing. I lost for words. The story is interesting. The constant new mechanic showing up is an awesome surprise. The music adds a lot to the game atmosphere. Excellent job!

@junber thanks for the hint! I had figured out part of that first minigame but I guess I stalled out after the character appeared. Maybe if after a sufficient timeout the part to click blinked or something noobs like me might not get stuck there :). Holy cow was this part I had missed heavy--really impressive writing for an event like this. Really an impressive and moving game. Good work.

Wow.... atmosphere and feels and heartstring pulling and *so much sympathy for the main character* all in one game. This is exactly what I've been looking for this Ludum Dare: a serious game about mental health where the character's unstable mental state isn't used jokingly. Poor mental health is no joke, this game really captures the seriousness of it. I was barely breathing during the dialogue parts, you had me so captivated and in awe.

Also, *multiple engines for one game?!?* I'm amazed at how just a few people managed to make such a game, it really is awe-inspiring. And now I know why I kept having to jump all across Itch. 🤔

I do feel like the Sokoban-style parts had quite the extreme difficulty curve, I barely managed to get to The World even with the walkthrough and I just ragequitted then. (Sokoban is one of the few games that frustrates me enough to ragequit)

Overall, I'd rate this game as Perfection/10. This is an absolute masterpiece, one of the greatest games of LD49. Thank you for making such a beautiful story about dealing with depression and anxiety, and not making unstable mental health be a thing that is mocked for bonus theme points!

When I made my post yesterday asking for art games, this is exactly what I was looking for. You mixed everything I liked about a game jam game, that goes beyong the common genres and that challenges the perceptions of what people are looking in a game. In this case, you expressed art. Not only that, dealing with mental disorders in games is a big plus for me (well, my LD 48 is about Autism and my LD 49 about Van Gogh's mental instability).

10/10!