Lower Lower by Bokonon

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

* explore a dank, dim, and labyrinthine cave complex in search of a fabled _albino grinch_. upgrade your gear as you delve deeper underground.*

DESCEND + SWING screen2.gif EXPLORE + FIND UPGRADES fiffy2.gif

Controls:

WASD/ARROWS : Up, Down, Left, Right
Space: Jump/(hold)wall jump while descending
z:cut rope/ toss rope
c: throw flares (when picked up)
shift: respawn at fire

If you are playing the html5 version, please use Chrome or Edge. We have noticed severe performance issues while using Firefox. Sorry!

Ratings

Overall 89th 4.167⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Fun 134th 4.019⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 44th 4.296⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Theme 27th 4.481⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 571th 3.963⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Audio 510th 3.63⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Mood 72th 4.352⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Given 26🗳️ 33🗨️

Feedback

niksg
27. Apr 2021 · 16:27 UTC
fantastic entry, I love ropes and rope like physics and did something like that for my own jam, although I didn't get mine to respect collisions like yours! Great job I had a lot of fun playing it. Z to throw the anchor was a bit cramped for me though with my fingers on a and d!
snonk
27. Apr 2021 · 16:29 UTC
simple but really effective graphics! the lighting and audio really set the mood and the gameplay is v engaging :)
nyanpierre
27. Apr 2021 · 16:32 UTC
I really like the idea!
lumue
27. Apr 2021 · 16:36 UTC
Good mechanic - movement (especially swinging) feels very good!

The mood and the whispering is spot on. Good job!

:fish:
Trusty
27. Apr 2021 · 16:38 UTC
Was fun to swing with the ropes, and the lighting really helped set the mood. The control positions were a bit cramped. I was able to chain rope swings a few times, reminded me of worms armageddon. Thanks for the game.
azaliya
27. Apr 2021 · 16:38 UTC
HI! Thank you for this game! I really like art, sounds and I think this game is great! And I think You must publish it on steam or on whatever else)
Anchry
27. Apr 2021 · 16:42 UTC
Very neat game, smooth mechanics that feel good so overall really good. The audio however hurt my ears quite a bit
patvanmackelberg
27. Apr 2021 · 16:43 UTC
Great game! I got to the second fire and then a little bit further after dying 20 times or so. It was fun, I loved the spooky mood - you could definitely expand this into a full fledged game, it felt great!
Wallkysek
27. Apr 2021 · 16:44 UTC
Hello, nice concept. I realy liked it. One thing that bothered me was sound, for me it was too loud and I didn't find any way to adjust it or turn off (I mean in-game).
Chartle
27. Apr 2021 · 16:44 UTC
Wow, lovely aesthetic. The rope worked really well, I couldn't really find any bugs with it. I did have to mute the audio though, a volume slider would have been nice :)
iorena
27. Apr 2021 · 16:47 UTC
Really cool game, interesting mechanic. Liked the lighting with flares. Only thing that bugged me a bit was the guy's movement seemed a bit sluggish.
La bread
27. Apr 2021 · 16:52 UTC
Gameplay and controls are solid, I enjoyed the small optional side upgrades which provide a fun self-imposed challenge. The sound effects also really help set the atmosphere!
MetalFox Dioxymore
27. Apr 2021 · 16:58 UTC
Very solid game ! The character is a bit hard to control, but I guess that's the whole point ^^. Sometimes, the solid surfaces were a bit too hard to see, but overall I really enjoyed the experience !

There is a little (funny) glitch : if you hold "up" before throwing the hook, the character will become invisible and "climb" it even if it's not anchored, resulting in either a negation of the fall damage or a softlock if the distance between you and the rope is too long (the character will be teleported out of bounds, I think).

But don't be fooled by this, I really enjoyed the game :) !
ID-Sketch
27. Apr 2021 · 17:08 UTC
One of the best mechanics I've encountered in this jam so far. Super fun game
🎤 Bokonon
27. Apr 2021 · 21:03 UTC
@iorena thank you so much for playing! We have noticed the game runs very very slow on Firefox(but not chrome or edge), I am just curious if that was the browser you were using? It may be that you were experiencing this performance issue.
m11
28. Apr 2021 · 16:22 UTC
Brilliant game - a super fun mechanic :)
🎤 Bokonon
28. Apr 2021 · 16:49 UTC
@trusty thank you for this feedback! we had included the ability to navigate with the arrow keys as well, just in case WASD felt too cramped with the Z and C buttons, but I don't think we did a good job of advertising it=) Thanks for playing!
pnkvrt
29. Apr 2021 · 12:02 UTC
Fun game! The lights add a lot to the mood though sometimes it felt a bit too dark. Great mechanics, the sound when you die is very unsettling, love it :D. Great work!
ShaunJS
29. Apr 2021 · 14:53 UTC
Thank you for submitting! I hope my in-stream feedback was helpful!
Sheepolution
30. Apr 2021 · 11:53 UTC
Very nice game! I feel like this type of game is the obvious choice with this theme, yet I doubt anyone did it better than you guys. The rope mechanic feels good. The graphics and music make for a great atmosphere. It's challenging to get at some spots but never too hard, and if you die the game is quite forgiving with the checkpoints. Dying is also a good opportunity to check out the other route. Well done!
NicMagnier
06. May 2021 · 17:02 UTC
Easily one of my favorite entry I played for LD48. I was totally hooked.
The game is brutal (especially the beginning), with instant death, lack of visibility, sparse checkpoints, but that really makes the experience unique and tense.
I also love the minimalist approach. There is no enemy or score or timer. This is just you and the cave.

The music and sound effect also participate in making the descent incredibly moody.

Great work!