GRIMM by Malfeasance

[raw]
made by Malfeasance for Ludum Dare 48 (JAM)

"Gretel, wait--!"

Controls:

  • left and right movement: A, D

  • jump: W

How to play:

Stay on the screen by dropping down. Avoid spiky obstacles and try to reach the bottom. crystal.png Picture.PNG 2.PNG

Post-Jam version: https://audreyc.itch.io/grimm-v2

Changes: - Adjusted camera and falling speed

  • Fixed bug that prevented sound effects slider from appearing in pause menu

  • Fixed bug that prevented music from stopping between sections

  • Made spacebar also work as a jump button

(Original link does not have these changes)

Ratings

Overall 1002th 3.473⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Fun 908th 3.351⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1732th 2.5⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Theme 798th 3.73⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 400th 4.122⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Audio 907th 3.203⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Humor 798th 2.813⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Mood 788th 3.581⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Given 40🗳️ 55🗨️

Feedback

pedrocoden
27. Apr 2021 · 00:53 UTC
Nice game!
JaceBeleren101
27. Apr 2021 · 01:23 UTC
Wow, this is a very nice game!
DancesWE
27. Apr 2021 · 01:28 UTC
That is a complete and compelling game. Nailed the theme, nailed the mood. I want to commend you on the visuals. A cohesive style and my eyes always knew where to look.
JaceBeleren101
27. Apr 2021 · 01:34 UTC
@danceswe Thank you so much!
LDJam user 0
27. Apr 2021 · 01:57 UTC
I haven't played it yet but I enjoy it a lot
LDJam user 0
27. Apr 2021 · 02:14 UTC
Hi I'm the dude that enjoyed the game despite not playing it and I have played it and I enjoy it a little
midiff
27. Apr 2021 · 02:18 UTC
Good game. Call me Faker.
manlymanton
27. Apr 2021 · 03:07 UTC
I liked the procedural generation, and the art was effective and looked nice!
Romana Kapustova
27. Apr 2021 · 10:04 UTC
This game looks amazing, I knew that I needed to download it as soon as I saw the screenshots, just to enjoy the art.

At first, I didn't understand that the crystals are dangerous, it seemed like a decoration - I understood after the first death though :D. And also, I tried to jump with space at first, would be nice if it supported both options (at least I would definitely use the space if I could).

Moving to the gameplay - I "planned" my jumps and tried to find a safe way, but the camera was way too slow some times. For example, I had to wait until the whole screen scrolled down, because I didn't see anything under me, so if I jumped down it would be just random, no decisions involved. When I did jump down blindly (mostly by mistake), the camera didn't move fast enough so I couldn't even try to avoid things. So I guess the correct way was to wait, that took away some of the thrill and engagement.

Music! I loved how the music changed with different environments (and also the fact that there were different environments). The game felt really complete, you didn't skip anything (like most LD games do).
So to sum it up, it's a solid entry, the gameplay could use some improvements, but even in this state it looks more like some released games than an average LD game (mostly thanks to art and music).

Good job!
NaBo369
27. Apr 2021 · 12:59 UTC
I got a little bit addicted to this game, the first time I played I somehow managed to get really far into the game and I kept trying to reach that same level again, at which I failed hard.

The only critique I have got is that the audio started overlapping sometimes, but that isnt really important.

Overal a really nice game!
SamurGuy
27. Apr 2021 · 17:09 UTC
Best art I've seen in the jam so far. really clean look and calming music. Perfect difficulty level (to my taste at least) and solid 4 out of 5 movement. I like that the color and design changes as you go down too. great game:)
LePoulet
27. Apr 2021 · 17:19 UTC
I reaaly appreciate the art and music. Control are too speedy for me but it was a cool game. I enjoyed it.
Xenobey
27. Apr 2021 · 17:46 UTC
At first I thought the scroll speed was too slow but after the 100 point mark I was really getting stressed about the tempo.
Well executed and kind of addicting game with a few minor flaws. I really liked the music and the chaos that was in it but over time it was getting really confusing, maybe to a point where it was a bit too much.
Besides that it's a very pleasing experience. Have a vote :)
Eugenik
27. Apr 2021 · 19:40 UTC
I loved the graphics and the sfx! Well done!!.
LDJam user 0
27. Apr 2021 · 22:13 UTC
Yo this game kinda sick yo
Elektroney
27. Apr 2021 · 22:17 UTC
Nice pixel art maybe use a custom font so it fits better
WarTronic
27. Apr 2021 · 22:27 UTC
Very nice Platformer, even tough i would say you dont see some Obstacles as such and more as decoration, but thta besides there is nothing to improve imo
GharliqueBread
27. Apr 2021 · 22:40 UTC
Very cute! Kudos on the art for the title! Beautiful. I liked the music, but none of the tracks for the sections stopped playing. So they all played over each other in a hellish cacophony. Really intensified the experience for me in a stressful, oh-go-the-demons-are-coming-and-they're-going-to-eat-me-and-Gretel-and-my-bread-crumbs-and-then-me-oh-christ kinda way.
JLV
27. Apr 2021 · 22:46 UTC
Very cool down scrolling platformer ! The aesthetic is pleasing, but to me the real strength of your game lied in the excellent level design - I learnt to be careful after a bunch of hazardous jumps :)

Strenghts :
- Crisp audio and sound
- Great controls and level design
- Fun scoring system

Possible improvements :
- Waiting for the camera after a bunch of deaths can be a bit tedious ; but I guess that I just had to use my brain and memorize the layout...

All in all, fantastic entry !
kr0s
27. Apr 2021 · 22:57 UTC
Nice and fun game. I like the graphics and the responsiveness of the controls, the game feels very polished. However, I'd add an option to change the controls, since I kept hitting space to jump, and the restart button requires a mouse click, which gets old after the first dozen deaths.
Melon_spirit
28. Apr 2021 · 02:59 UTC
You did a really good job with the title screen graphics! I liked how the longer you played the more hectic the music got. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but it helped create the mood. The only thing I would change is the jump height. Whenever you pressed the W key the character jumped REALLY high. I kept bumping my head on the bottoms of blocks, so it was just kind of annoying. Other than that, good game!!!
KepperSnapper
28. Apr 2021 · 04:47 UTC
Really like the idea of not knowing what to expect before jumping down, but sometimes having to wait for a long might have been a little frustrating. Apart from that the mood and the art is really fantastic. Great work and clean execution! :)
CharlineF
28. Apr 2021 · 16:52 UTC
This is such a cool game, I love this almost 'reversed platformer' concept! Fits very well with the theme, the game looks great and the visuals give a real sense of progression as you go deeper into the ground, and I find it the right balance of challenge - I may or may not be getting addicted. Awesome concept and execution!
She Wrote
28. Apr 2021 · 16:55 UTC
Falling in this game is so satisfying and the characters look adorable. Well done.
defilerzero
29. Apr 2021 · 00:22 UTC
Nice simple game.

Only issue I had was that the musics sounded like was playing on top of itself, like when changing biomes one track should've ended. Beside that, solid little falling game.
Geo3D
30. Apr 2021 · 14:06 UTC
Nice game, simple and fun.
I think there's some audio overlapping?
Visually great, nice audio and controls feel solid and satisfying.
Great work.
lesinvisible
01. May 2021 · 22:56 UTC
I am hugely impressed with your graphics, it's the best pixel graphics I saw this LD. The gameplay is basic but the twist of procedural generation really keeps it fresh.
blobo
12. May 2021 · 02:37 UTC
First and foremost, the artwork is incredible! The music seemed a bit odd, it sounded like there were multiple songs stacking on top of each other, each with non-synced beats.

For the gameplay, I have one giant piece of feedback. It's never a good idea to force the player in a situation where they need to jump to a point lower than the bottom of the screen with no information about what's below. This is referred to as a "Blind Jump" and from the player's perspective, all it does is make them upset when it leads to their death.

Even in a situation where a blind jump doesn't kill the player, it's still a nerve wracking experience when the fate of the run rests in what's below, and the player has no idea what it could be. At least have some indicator of hazards off screen. when a player dies from that, they'll never feel like it was their own fault, which leads to frustration.

In any case, as mentioned, the artwork is great. I love the title screen, and the little "jump scare" at the end of the game. cool stuff, just keep blind jumps in mind for future projects.
Zathnic
12. May 2021 · 17:57 UTC
Simple but fun. I like how the sections are randomly generated so you can't just remember where the spikes are. Sometimes you can see the ground a little too late so you have to jump blindly; also some sound effects for the player would have been nice.