I'm surprised to see how nicely it comes up together even though the art and gameplay are very simple. Nice work!
PS : RIP, Simon.

Never played a story game before. But i liked it the art style and the sounds in the background. Very well done :)

i happen to be stuck to "you found the rest of the photograph" :/
that's sad, i really wanted to test the game !

This was a really fun game. The story was well delivered, though the text was hard for me to read while it was scrolling. The audio was well selected and helped with the immersion. Poor Simon, I hope Christine is getting along.

Good pixel art. I liked the lighting and the blues music. It created a very nice mood.

This was a nice experience! Mood was perfect and the narration was well written.

Nice little story, the way it is paced out and delivered is very good. Was curious about the mining machine, but I couldn't find anything to do with it. RIP Simon indeed.

The atmosphere is nicely conveyed with art/music. I wish the step sounds were more synchronized with the animation. It was nice to discover this small story :)

I find Simon (

@herbyvor Hey! Sorry about the confusion. Finding the photo and leaving the mine is actually the end of the game. Glad you enjoyed it!

That is an interesting little game. The story seems clear, though a little gruesome.

I kind of like the hint of the strikers actually winning, but I kind of sad that after all they had to suffer through they decided to just abandon the mine rather than take it over.

The gameplaywise the game is simple but solid.
It would probably help if the text appearing letter by letter would not expand sidewise as it appeared. Kind of made it harder to read it as it appears.
Also trobably could show "Press E" for the interaction you already made a different color, so in case there are several POIs nearby you can better recognise the one you didn't read yet.

There appears to be some space petween the ladder and the platfor in some spaces, but since you fall very slowly and have mid-air control it is pretty easy to get back onto a ladder, so not a game breaking bug, but a bug none the less.

@hilvon Thanks for the review! We decided to try and go for the story and atmosphere over the gameplay. You're right about the ladder bug, we could have tried adding tighter collision boxes around the ladder to prevent it but decided to leave it in as is to avoid you sinking through the floor.

In terms of the interaction stuff, we actually made several changes to try and improve readability, but unfortunately we didn't have the time to make the text as clean as we wanted.

All in all, I'm glad you enjoyed the story!

Interesting concept, I liked the art style and the music was just perfect.

Good Job.

@thomas-olsson Thank you so much for giving it a shot. RIP Simon.

@hoeleboele I'm glad we got to give you a story experience you enjoyed!

@rocket-and-blanky Yeah, unfortunately we had some sustained problems with trying to combine stylistic choices with readability, it's something we worked on till the very end and didn't have time to perfectly clean up. RIP Simon.

@codeforjoycaro Thank you for giving it a try! We're glad you loved the music we chose!

@iorena Thank you so much!

@bmacintosh Yeah, there's some secrets around the ore-grinding machine...they're slightly hidden, but maybe the next time you're exploring Substrate Mines Project 42-B, you'll find some more clues. Thank you for playing. RIP Simon.

@nuelijarma Yay! Thank you so much for trying the game out. We're glad you enjoyed the story! Syncing the footsteps and the animations was something we would've loved to do if we had more time. Definitely something for future updates.

@brutor RIP Simon

@mololo Thank you! We're really happy you enjoyed it!

Yeah i like it! The footsteps sfx really makes good atmosphere. I only wish it was longer but anyway really nice and solid game. Good job!

Nice little story game, it's really impressive to develop a cohesive story in a jam game, with such little time. Good job!

Good job on this. the atmosphere was good and the story was intriguing. I just wish there was some sort of better end to the story. it kinda just ends when you've explored everything and I'd relly like to see some sort of resolution to the story.

Well done! You relly created a nice environment for exploring. I really like the sounds and the narrative. The graphics fit aswell.

A Ludum Dare project about a mine filled with anti-union propaganda? SAME

Really enjoy the idea of going through and piecing things together, atmosphere was fantastic, and I feel the player moves at JUST the right speed to keep it atmospheric without being slow. Solid job

I really like the concept of this no-gameplay exploration that tells a story. Very strong atmosphere, well done.

I'm glad so many people are enjoying the story!

@jes-draws We were thinking about multiple endings but unfortunately time put a stop to that.

@the1 Thanks for playing! We definitely wanted to add so much more which had to be cut to meet the deadline. Glad you enjyoed it!

@icarusdev Thank you!

@teezah Yay! We're so happy you enjoyed the mix of the sound design, narrative and art. We tried to make sure it was all cohesive and made sense together, so it's really nice to hear it works.

@caladrius NO WAY! Definitely checking out Burst Vein, it looks epic. Really excited that you enjoyed the game.

@ditam Thank you for trying it out!

Great visuals, simple mechanics help tell the story.
I did try to get the tooth from the painting though, it seemed like something I could do.

Very nice experience.

Well done.

Absolute banger. The lighting in conjunction with the footstep sounds and the creepy ambiance work together to create such a great atmosphere. Great job!

The atmosphere was dark and creepy like an abandoned place. I like the torch and flickering lights in the dorms. I would like the flow of the player to be more circular with less need to backtrack over places you have already been. How you put the information to solve the grinder puzzle into the world was well done.

Awesome feel and story. Feels like it belongs to the world Disco Elysium, what with the union and all. Loved the music touch. Loved the gameplay and graphics, they are simple enough but convey a lot with the words. I think eldritch monsters'd have made the story less realistic and less able to touch the empathy. I'd be honored if you play my game! It also relies a lot on the narrative.

I really like the art style of the game. Smooth lighting makes it even better. Only "problem" I found while playing was a minor glitch where I got stuck while climbing ladders. Other then that, a solid game. Good job

Congrats for the entry! Interesting concept!

That was really cool ! The concept is quite unique, the atmosphere is really on point and the storytelling is good. The character is a bit slow and even if it is probably for narrative purpose, maybe speeding it just a little bit could make some backtracking less slow ^^. Otherwise, great game ! I would love to play a longer a deeper story from you !

I didn't thought that games that focus on story would be that interesting this jam. Even though your story is rather simple whole atmosphere did great job and overall I enjoyed it. I think I only encouraged small bugs with footsteps(I didn't heard them like 2 times) but otherwise game looks rather polished and fun to play, good job!

@xeke-death @eugenik @crow-seeds @caiolima Thank you all so much for your kind words!

@hijomo Great that you enjoyed solving the grinder puzzle! Designing it into the narrative was a lot of fun! And yeah, map design is a skill I hope to improve!

@dante2001 Disco Elysium is one of my favourite games ever, I'm honored someone compared something I wrote to it! I'm definitely going to try and check your game out!

@v0idpointer Glad you enjoyed our artstyle, @steve-dragon tweaked the lighting until he felt it was perfect, glad it paid off! The ladders are a bit janky, but we'll just call that a "surprise platforming section" ;)

Good mood and art. I was stuck on the found photograph, not sure what I missed.

@doctortm Thank you for playing!

Pressing X at any time ends the game and the found photograph is actually the ending, with you discovering the photo as you're leaving the mines. Sorry for the confusion, but hopefully it made sense otherwise.

I really liked this, learning about the miners was interesting, and the environmental storytelling you had made this small world feel full. You nailed the atmosphere you were going for.

really nice game

The story told in this game is very compelling. You did a great job making me care about the characters involved. I really enjoyed the simple but effective lighting and the little particle effect of the torch. Well done.

A fan of Disco Elysium, I can respect it :)

Anyway, whats here is well done! Had fun with this game. The graphics were solid, and I enjoyed the use of lights even if the lighting did seem a bit 'jarring' and 'non-2D' at times. Again, great game!

great ambience & lots of content to explore

@volt450 Thank you! We're really happy you connected with the story and enjoyed the atmosphere!

@nyanpierre Thank you for playing!

@jacobrutter We're happy to hear it. @ilyas-aqil worked endlessly on the characters and plot, trying to make them feel just right. Glad you enjoyed it!

@chiyeon Disco Elysium rocks!

So thankful for the kind words. Thank you for trying it out!

@verysoftwares Really glad you enjoyed the ambience! Thank you for giving it a shot.

Interesting concept, reminds me a lot of the game Uncanny Valley both in terms of mood and visuals. Does what it sets out to do even if its just walking around reading notes. Being able to stop reading text at any point by moving would be nice, I accidentally reread some notes more than a few times and it makes me sit through it every time. Overall a nice game though.

@cdunham Thank you! It is definitely inspired by pixel-art horror games like Uncanny Valley and the Last Door, the comparison is really flattering!

We would have definitely loved to experimnet with features that would allow skipping text and making the notes slightly more defined, but unfortunately the constraints of time made that a little difficult. Hopefully it wasn't too annoying.

Again, thank you for trying it out!

Loved the narrative and light in the dorms. The game has a special mood for sure

Super well done! I really enjoyed unfolding the story and thinking about what had happened in the mine. The art was great, the sound design was perfect, the writing was captivating. I had a few issues with the gameplay (wish I could skip/fastforward text, the ladder falling thing), but it seems like you're already aware of those and they did not take away from the game too much. Overall, really great stuff. Felt different from the other games i've played so far. Heck yeah!

Great mood, nice art, good narrative.. having the player with a torch revealing things as they move added to the impact. I'm sure time constraints hit you guys but in a polished version it would be nice to be able to skip text (if you accidentally interacted with something you previously read and not want to read again) as well as being able to speed it up if you want to read faster. But overall great job!

Great moode. Everything is well composed.

I'm all about well made walking simulators, and this just might be the best one I've seen on this jam yet. The atmosphere was great, and the artwork and music went along quite nicely. The narrative was short but personal which added to the air of mystery, but you can still piece together the whole narrative without too much blank spaces. The "leave anytime you want" was also a plus, as actually encouraged me to walk around more. Amazing work and props to everyone on your team!

Very well made. You've created a really nice atmosphere with the music, footsteps, and lighting. The pixel art is great too. My only complaint is I wish it moved a little faster. The text dialogs could be sped up a bit, as well as the player walking. Other than that good job.

@romanempire @ilyas-aqil @steve-dragon Never have I wanted to send a letter this much! Very moody story.
Everything was perfect, the speed the story, the music, and hints of what happened.
Great job :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Great atmosphere in this well done exploration game. Must have been one bloody strike down there. And it seems that the foreman got what he deserved... oh, and poor Simon, still there :sob:

Keep up the good work!

@agrdev Glad you enjoyed it!

@xxnolanxx @lithia-studios Thanks for the kind words! We will be sure to include skipping text in a post-jam update.

@szymon-ogd Thanks for playing!

@not-as-artistic We are happy you enjoyed the game, and thanks for the support!

@tengusheath Thanks for the feedback! I hope being able to skip the texts will help with the speed of the game.

@incd021 Its genuinely encouraging to see people enjoying the game so much, thank you!

@cvetk0 Thanks for the encouragement! RIP Simon.

Congratulations on the game, minimalist graphics but a very beautiful art, in the future you can fix some possible bugs on the stairs, managed to get the message and immersion into the game very well, I appreciate the opportunity to have known your work, a big hug to everyone, and I look forward your ratings regarding my game.

The machine was a really scary thing! Not sure if I got the ending right, but the whole narrative puzzle seems make sense to me. Pressed X once I explored all the rooms!

Here is my playthrough:

https://youtu.be/jVbKhSa5ucw