Lost in the Reef by VeniTheRich

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

The Ocean Exploration and Research Society (OERS) have discovered an underwater coral labyrinth. Scans of the sea bed have revealed that there is an artefact of great power hidden within, and as expedition leader your job is to locate and retrieve it.

Good luck!

Controls

Q / E - Rotate left / right, W / S - Propel forwards / backwards, Space - Interact, Esc - Return to Main menu,

Keep your oxygen levels from depleting by entering in pockets of air.

The artefact is located in the deepest part of the labyrinth, where the pressure is greatest.

Ratings

Overall 1390th 3.237⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1580th 2.842⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1333th 2.895⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1032th 3.553⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1330th 3.263⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Audio 616th 3.528⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 832th 3.556⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Given 6🗳️ 13🗨️

Feedback

Magnie
27. Apr 2021 · 08:45 UTC
The atmosphere felt very relaxing and chill and it got you to feel like you're actually deep underwater!
But the rotation made it kind of disorienting for me to navigate and remember where ive been.
Overall pretty nice experience! Thank you for the game!
Mighty Mufflon Games
27. Apr 2021 · 16:37 UTC
I could stay like forever in the depths with this sweat background music. <3 Really enjoyed your game.
theernis
27. Apr 2021 · 16:38 UTC
pretty good game just controls(rotation) are not very comfortable for me
Alexandre_VS
27. Apr 2021 · 16:45 UTC
Thanks for your game ! It was very relaxing !
Because I play on an azerty keyboard, it would have been nice to make Z and A alternative keys for, respectively, W and Q. It makes the game way more accessible :)
PurpoAppo
27. Apr 2021 · 16:50 UTC
I feel like it is very hard to make progress in this game. I couldn't tell where I have been, and it was hard to see the environment. It would be better if the screen was more visible or some kind of Minimap.
zlc122
27. Apr 2021 · 18:08 UTC
I like the colors used in the art! Ultimately a pretty chill game with simple mechanics and details that make it fun and relaxing to play. However, I do agree with the other comment that the rotation made it kind of disorienting, although that might just be due to my issues with motion sickness. It was a bit challenging to navigate, but a fun challenge because you really have to remember what certain parts of the maze look like to see if you've tried those portals yet. Great job!
John Chapman
29. Apr 2021 · 00:19 UTC
I really enjoyed the overall vibe of the game. Once I got used to it, I actually enjoyed the way the submarine handled. Given more time, I'd add some player feedback to let them know when the oxygen is getting low and some visual landmarks in the maze to help get your bearing on where you're at instead of everything looking so similar. But either way, great job.
nablaz
18. May 2021 · 13:50 UTC
Great little game! The atmosphere and pace are nice and the music, despite being very simple, works well to set the mood. I really got lost at first, until I started memorizing the labyrinth a bit and it became progressively more feasible to reach the goal... Then I discovered I needed to return to the start! I would have preferred the classic "a" and "d" to turn, but I still really liked the handling and I think it was a good choice to make the world rotate, instead of the submarine, as it made it more difficult to take notice of "landmarks" in your surroundings. Speaking of which, a few more "notable" spots could have been useful to navigate the maze...
All that said, great job on this one! Cheers
Empty Set
18. May 2021 · 15:42 UTC
I liked the vibe of the game. The controls were a bit weird - WASD is so standard that I don't see the point of "QWES". I ended up mostly just not going backwards since it was awkward to press S.
Paul Nadan
18. May 2021 · 15:43 UTC
I really liked the 3D aspect of the maze. The music was very calming, although some more variation could have been neat. Having the rotation of the screen lag slightly behind that of the submarine could also make it a little less visually disorienting. Nice entry!