The atmosphere is really well done, but I could not figure out how to use the sword that I'd found in the beginning to get past the fallen tree :/

Super creepy! The sound effects were spot on, and the gloomy lighting made me really paranoid, especially after getting the key.

I also had difficulties with the sword at the beginning. I eventually worked out that it wasn't for the tree. The problem is probably lack of feedback when you click on items. It felt like I was failing to pick it up, rather than that it didn't work in that situation.

The mood of this game was through the roof! Absolutely amazing!

The retro look, darkness and music make the game very atmospheric. However, I don't think the creatures fit the visual style and also the gameplay, though a nice idea, wasn't very engaging. I stopped playing after a monster killed me instantly and I didn't know if I was actually hurting it with the sword. Do not let these comments discourage you, this game is still a nice effort!

Cool game, you managed to build a very creepy atmosphere with the darkness and the fog. The gameplay was alright, I would suggest reversing the backwards control so it works more like a car. Also, I think some animations whenever you use an item would go a long way towards making it more engaging.

I loved the ending sequence with the monster chasing you at high speed. It scared me off lol.

By the way, I tried playing again with the konami code but I just couldn't move. Was that a bug?

Disclaimer: I hate scary games so my review may be skewed, because I found it scary.

The good
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* Really nice music and sound effects the fit the mood
* Nice colors (sky, water) that also fit the mood
* Nice UI touch with highlighting objects with the orange outline
* Really cool and scary vibes
* Monsters are creepy (although they are a bit higher definition than the boat / hills so they stand out)

The bad
---

* The scream after losing, feels a bit out of place. There is no point scaring the player after they have lost.
* The hills look ok from far, but the texture is really weird when up close.
* You restart from the start every time you die, which especially for a jam game, can make the replaying process a bit boring, and missing out on the ending of the game.
* (Minor issue) When reversing, turning feels a bit unintuitive. Usually, in steering vehicles, when you steer and reverse, you rotate in the opposite rotation that the one you steer.

Suggestions
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* There could be a hint as to what is needed to open each passage. E.g. the player could think to himself *"I wish I had a sword to cut through this web"* or *"I need something to open this door"*. It may seem obvious, but may really prevent players from thinking they are doing something wrong, or using the wrong item.

Summary
---

Overall a really good submission, the mood is set perfectly and everything contributes to it. Did not make it to the end (too scared), but it definitely feels like a good base game that can be expanded upon. Could use a bit more polish here and there, though.

Congrats on the game and keep up the good work!

Really nice PSX vibe, and the music fits perfectly with the horror atmosphere ! Nice jam entry !

This is great! I dig the visual aesthetic, and the little twist after picking up the key genuinely managed to scare me. Wonderful job!

That jumpscare was unexpected bro :joy: :joy: the water shader is really cool also the eerie music dark lighting sets the mood

@cievers Thank you! The sword (or knife) was actually meant to be used on a different obstacle, the log is an obstacle for later.

@divford Thank you for the feedback! Those problems were mainly due to lack of time to implement. Definitely something I would do if we had a little longer to work on it.

@lucky-zucc Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

@zype Thank you!!

@joni-jarvinen Thank you for the feedback! Unfortunately the sword wasn't for the monster, though that would have been a great addition. Currently the only thing to do is to run away from the monster.

@asdehielo Thank you for the feedback! That was definitely a bug, sorry about that! If anyone else encounters that bug just pause and unpause the game and it should fix it for you.

@venitherich Thank you for such awesome feedback! Adding hints was something I wanted to do but just didn't have the time to implement them. We really appreciate the time you spent writing that all up though, thank you so much!

I really liked the visual style you went for, it created an eerie atmosphere which I loved! I enjoyed the puzzle aspect of working out which items to use, although I did assume the sword could also be used on the monster. The boat controls felt good and I liked the way items were presented for use in the boat, rather than using an inventory UI - it kept the atmosphere going and made it really engaging. Great job! :)

@tom-stephenson Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it!

The atmosphere was really cool (I have a certain fondness of psx era horror games), and the music fit the game really well! I'm kinda sad the game had a monster as I drastically reduced my exploring once I encountered the first one (wasn't sure if there was a combat mechanic so I just "ran" away haha). Good job on the game!

@sodaro Thank you! Yeah there was no combat, running away was the best move there. Glad you enjoyed it!

Mood and the look of the game was killer, I absolutely loved it! Super well thought out and enjoyed every mind of it, good stuff!

Amazing mood in this game, and I liked the .. creature(s?) The lack of feedback when using items was a bit confusing at first, I thought as someone else that the sword should be used on the tree. I really liked the ending, didn't see what the thing greeting me was at first, but felt relief when I recognized it! The music was also very cool, very good fit to the game.

I love this games atmosphere and graphics. I got really scared when I saw the first demon haha. Overall very good horror game.

Maaaan I got a big scare !!! kkkkk Really, when my boat stuck on the rock and the Bugman appeared I jumped out of the chair !!!! Good work! the game is very fun and the mood is very good!

Lots of fun and actually scary, I literally jumped when I got attacked by the monster man

A bit stressful, a great atmosphere. Good job !

Nice game, I love this psx aesthetics. Congrats! The mood is great, and the rush toward the end was quite surprising but very cool, loved it! I was like "Oh god I need to get the h*ck out of here, QUICK!"

I don't enjoy that kind of game, I didn't enjoy your game, So I guess you did it well :D It ticks all the good boxes besides my subjective opinion.

The asthmosphere is really cool ! pretty good game !

I liked the eerie atmosphere and aesthetics a lot. I thought that the exploration aspect of the game was quite fun and intriguing, although it was a little difficult controlling the boat at times.

Overall, I had fun while playing, good job :).

Great mood! You brought the anxiety well with the darkness and the music&sounds. Simple, but good horror elements. I've never before played a horror game with a boat, so extra point for innovation there :)

At the end I died after I already had made it. I don't think that was intentional.

I liked the game but agree with what many of the other commenters said. Some feedback for wrong inputs would also help players know if they were doing something wrong.

I liked the game but agree with what many of the other commenters said. Some feedback for wrong inputs would also help players know if they were doing something wrong.

I liked the game but agree with what many of the other commenters said. Some feedback for wrong inputs would also help players know if they were doing something wrong.

Looks great and sounds great, simple but logical problem solving required. Creepy enemy and in general there was tension the whole time even before discovering it. Good horror vibes. And kudos for having settings to change audio levels before beginning. Fantastic Work!

First time around, i died immediatly after encountering the first monster because i was not expecting it and ran right into him. Second time, i was expecting him so i was more cautious and snuck around him. But then i saw another one a little later in the edge of my screen and heard it coming and from there it was running in the 90s playing on loop. Was so relieved when i found the doggo.

So yeah, good experience in general, but as other said, i would loose the scream when loosing at it's a bit of a cheap trope. Good job !

At the end of the game it feels like you are on a speedboad. But it has to be quick to escape^^ I like how the water looks.

took me a while to figure out that you had to click on the item you wanted to use first, and then on the interaction target. would have helped if there was some visual indication that you had a particular item equipped. also there was a lot of back-tracking involved with getting items which got a little tedious. atmosphere was pretty nice though! game got frozen when i tried bumping into the monster, which led to the game paused screen. trying to leave the menu resulted in not being able to interact with the game, and it just being stuck on an image of the monster's butt lol. also the grass texture was a little weird and seemed to be constantly changing/flickering with each movement, which was a bit disorienting.

Overall though, pretty interesting concept, and generally nicely implemented!

Damn, my poor heart :laughing: I rarely play anything related to horror and again I was reminded why :see_no_evil:
The atmosphere was great. At first I was confused and just sailed around but luckily I found the first object and realized what I was supposed to do. Overall a good game.

It's very atmospheric game. I thought there were no monsters so I was realy scared when saw it and rushed away from them.😅

It was pretty scary but fun
And very atmospheric!
Darkness and music makes me believe that there is a real fog around me

Had some issues with lag that made navigating the boat tricky, but I really enjoyed the spooky feel! The music was nice and ominous, and the creepy sounds mixed in did a good job of keeping me on edge. The monster being half-hidden by darkness from a distance was awesome, I definitely had to get closer to be sure of what I was seeing, only to immediately regret doing so. Nice work!

As promise, I finally had time to play your game on stream :) Here is a link to the correct place in the video: https://www.youtube.be/watch?v=Sx1MQ445u7k&t=8346s

Really atmospheric game with a sense of danger contently lurking around the corner. I enjoyed the controls after a while as they felt correct for a barge/boat. The "find the item to unlock next part of the map" mechanic is good as well as it is not as simple as red card to red door. I enjoyed that the first wooden gate had to be open with a key and not with the axe.

Unfortunately I died without any opportunity for me to prevent it, as far as I know, in the first rapid torrent leading to a monster.

Really cool game, congratulation!

@togis Thank you for playing our game! I enjoyed watching your stream of it. You were right at the end of the game, if you make it past that monster you find your dog on a little island behind it. You can avoid the monster by going left, we placed it on the right side there on purpose, but maybe we should have made it take multiple hits to kill you or something. And a bit more feedback on what was actually happening could have helped a lot.

Great review though, thank you once again for playing it and giving such good feedback!