Neon Saber by Kaish

[raw]
made by Kaish for Ludum Dare 49 (JAM)

Cartaz2.gif

In a galaxy right around the corner...

REDIS protect the entire Universe from evil. Hook Skycatcher is a Redi. There aren't many in the Universe these days. This question is raising doubts in your mind and making your power unstable. Your inseparable neon saber (the Redis' deadly weapon) is no longer obeying you. It's a bad time for that, as your planet is under attack right now... "

title2.png

tela 2.png


How to Play 🎮

• A S D W or arrows to move.

• Space for the shield (Don't abuse it. You can use it for a short time and must wait for your energy to return before using it again).

• Neon Saber doesn't forgive anyone.

• Watch out! Neon Saber acquired the power of enemies.

• The shots hit by the Neon Saber will be fatal for all.


Team ⚒️

• Euler Moises: 🎵 Audio and 🎨 Art (https://soundcloud.com/user-234133765)

• Felipe Inoue: 💻 Code

• Kaish Kuny: 📐 Game Design


Descrição em PT-BR

Em uma Galáxia ali na esquina...

REDIS protegem todo o Universo do mal. Hook Skycatcher é um Redi. Não há muitos no Universo hoje em dia. Esta questão está levantando dúvidas em sua mente e tornando seu poder instável. Seu inseparável Sabre de Neon (a arma mortal dos Redis) não está mais obedecendo seu mestre. É um péssimo momento para isso acontecer, pois seu planeta está sob ataque nesse momento..."


Como jogar 🎮

• A S D W ou setas para se mover;

• Espaço para o escudo (Não abuse dele. Você pode us-alo apenas por pouco tempo e deve esperar a energia carregar para usar de novo);

• O Sabre de Neon não perdoa ninguém.

• Muito cuidado! O Sabre de Neon adquire o poder dos inimigos.

• Os tiros rebatidos pelo Sabre de Neon serão fatais para todos.


Equipe ⚒️

• Euler Moises: 🎵 Audio e 🎨 Arte (https://soundcloud.com/user-234133765)

• Felipe Inoue: 💻 Código

• Kaish Kuny: 📐 Game Design

Ratings

Overall 64th 4.18⭐ 91🧑‍⚖️
Fun 100th 4.067⭐ 92🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 199th 3.85⭐ 92🧑‍⚖️
Theme 482th 3.826⭐ 91🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 145th 4.378⭐ 92🧑‍⚖️
Audio 8th 4.528⭐ 91🧑‍⚖️
Given 42🗳️ 61🗨️

Feedback

LDJam user 262525
04. Oct 2021 · 21:22 UTC
The game appears to be password-protected.
ELVEVERX
05. Oct 2021 · 02:27 UTC
Hi, you need to turn of the password protection or else we cannot play it! :O
Spike Studio
05. Oct 2021 · 02:31 UTC
Just a heads up, the game has a password on the itch page
MrArc
05. Oct 2021 · 02:33 UTC
Password protected, can't play.
Bhughes
05. Oct 2021 · 02:33 UTC
password is reuired to play!
publicidadeba
05. Oct 2021 · 02:39 UTC
faltou o password
Seracrooce
05. Oct 2021 · 02:47 UTC
This looks cool from the screenshots! I wanna try it!
Koolruz
05. Oct 2021 · 02:58 UTC
I'm commenting to remind myself to play this once the game is up! The screenshots look really cool, and the story made me smile!
CinderBlock
05. Oct 2021 · 03:02 UTC
Would love to play, but, password protected haha...
Euler Moises
05. Oct 2021 · 05:57 UTC
I apologize to everyone. I fell asleep as soon as I turned on the game and forgot to release it. It's all right now and I hope you all have fun.

@dennis-magnusson
@elveverx
@spike-studio
@mrarcBhughes
@bhughes
@publicidadeba
@seracrooce
@koolruz
@cinderblock
EOShadows
05. Oct 2021 · 08:03 UTC
Great game! The graphics / audio are well made, and I also liked the music. The concept of trying to fight enemies with an unstable weapon was really neat! It was also challenging. I couldn't make it past the red themed robot (I believe this was after the ship exploded?) Anyways, I think you did a good job on this! Well done!
publicidadeba
05. Oct 2021 · 10:49 UTC
CARAI! If this one does not make to the Top10 then something is wrong! Amazing. Loved everything about, but the core mechanic is what did it for me. Fitting and pleaseant. One thing I would different, increase the speed of the main character a bit. Congrats!
GabrielGameDev
05. Oct 2021 · 12:47 UTC
Bom demais e difícil pra caramba! haha
Very nice game to play. Very challenging. Simple and elegant art. I found it very difficult, I would increase the shield time a little, maybe, make the shots slower, I don't know. But I enjoyed a lot
LDJam user 269161
05. Oct 2021 · 13:00 UTC
Brilliant Soundtrack! it makes the game even harder!
curleyrach
05. Oct 2021 · 13:14 UTC
Love the graphics and audio! The story was quite amusing as well :D I found it a little difficult but thats a good thing as I felt myself getting slightly frustrated but wanting to play on and try again. Nice one!
wormius
05. Oct 2021 · 14:18 UTC
I wish I could give more then 5 on the audio. Great job!
Koolruz
05. Oct 2021 · 14:29 UTC
This felt like a neat variant on breakout/arkenoid, and the graphics and story were both very cute!

As I got to the later levels, enemy attacks felt a little bit overwhelming, because it felt like the time that I spent standing still to use my shield and deflect my saber would immediately get me killed once my shield went down and I was surrounded by bullets, so I ended up mostly ignoring the reflecting mechanic once I got past the robot boss, and just let my saber bounce around until it cleared the screen, focusing only on dodging enemy bullets. I wasn't able to beat Yo'guhrt, so I didn't get to see if there was anything that came after.

Overall though, I really enjoyed your game! You did a really good job putting together a polished experience! :)
gamepopper
05. Oct 2021 · 15:06 UTC
If only I can rate this game on humour, because the music and the idea of a chaotic lightsaber is hilarious whether it's intentional or not. Love the bloom/neon glow, and although it's hard to dodge the lightsaber, the levels are short and rewarding enough.
Andreadbx
05. Oct 2021 · 15:13 UTC
Very nice! The artstyle is cohesive and the idea is very fresh and intresting, amazing sound and music work! the saber at times is too much fast making it very very difficult to react to it, nice game overall!
Solah
05. Oct 2021 · 15:36 UTC
What a cool game ! The Star Wars game is great, the music is fun and the story is well written!
LDJam user 262525
05. Oct 2021 · 17:04 UTC
I really like the overall presentation of this game. The visuals are nice, and the beatboxed music and sound effects really make the spacey/Star Warsey vibe strong. I do, however, feel like the game was a bit too difficult for me. It took probably five attempts to beat the first level. I think the game would be improved if the entire game was slowed down by a bit. I really like the fact that you took the time to write a little story to go along with the game. Great job.
madjackmcmad
05. Oct 2021 · 17:10 UTC
A++ audio, high marks for quality sprites, and I like how each new area creates a new twist on what the saber does when it bounces off the big bad guys. Great work! Please keep making cool things.
geist_191
05. Oct 2021 · 17:53 UTC
Awesome soundtrack, graphics and story! Wonderful experience even though I could not finish the game completely due to not being a good gamer :(
Seracrooce
05. Oct 2021 · 18:04 UTC
The game looks really good. Solid art direction and the implementation in the game in addition to the particle effects is super nice. Bullet hell with a bouncing around sword is really fun!
Tory
05. Oct 2021 · 18:23 UTC
Just a masterpiece! I have no words, only emotions and all positive!
legionGrifst
05. Oct 2021 · 18:24 UTC
For all 5 points Thank you cheered up!
CodSalmon
06. Oct 2021 · 02:11 UTC
The game was great on all fronts. Visuals, music, and design were all done very well!
Tattomoosa
06. Oct 2021 · 02:29 UTC
This is very nice! The audio is great -- Those harmonies are definitely not unstable! The gameplay definitely is though. The story is a nice touch and I love the 2 tone + glowing colors. I also really appreciated the very fast re-spawn, because I found it really difficult.
nardandas
06. Oct 2021 · 02:30 UTC
Really good looking game! I found everything a bit fast. The bullets and the lightsabre both often moved too fast to really react to. A bit more slowness would make the player feel like they have more agency I think. The story was really charming, and the music as well. Overall great job!
Rein
06. Oct 2021 · 07:25 UTC
I gave you my feedback during my stream earlier, but I just wanted to congratulate you again on a job well done.
Jupiter_Hadley
06. Oct 2021 · 09:41 UTC
Very nice graphics! I included it in my Ludum Dare 49 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :) https://youtu.be/JFLObqK2o9M
Denhette
06. Oct 2021 · 11:28 UTC
This soundtrack is just glorious!
Alexthehuman2
06. Oct 2021 · 15:33 UTC
It was a skycatching experience of a bullet hell. It was thoroughly enjoyable, the sound were not too loud, the theme was amazing and it fits, the gameplay fabulous because of how the lightsaber interacts with the bullets themselves. Good job on all of you!
Wendel Scardua
06. Oct 2021 · 15:56 UTC
Why didn't you want to be rated for Humour? (I see what you did there with the Vi'Kooreentcha planet :) ) Also, are they called Redi because they di over and over again?

But seriously, I really liked the soundtrack and effects, and I love how the game is both a really hard bullet hell and very forgiving (as being hit just restarts the level instead of making us play from the start).

![redi.png](///raw/bdb/1/z/477dc.png)
Steve7411
06. Oct 2021 · 18:53 UTC
This game is really fun. I like the pixel graphics
xsangyhix
06. Oct 2021 · 21:46 UTC
Love the sound, the art department really put some heart into it. Visuals were coherent and thanks to the use of colors, levels felt distinct. It took me a while to figure out what the indicator on the shield being recharged is. It could also be of benefit if you leave an option in the menu to see all levels. I could not get past bouncy robots.
MysticGames
07. Oct 2021 · 01:15 UTC
Great Game Very Fun
potkirland
07. Oct 2021 · 02:32 UTC
bab baraa the journey was deep the yogurt was tasty the saber was unstable it was a chaotic fun! it can be made into a full game with a little more control to the player. because now somethings feel out of reach
Simpathey
07. Oct 2021 · 02:51 UTC
The game was good, I might give the character more mobility. That would make it more fun when it gets to the bullet hell part! Great visuals too!
Tuile
07. Oct 2021 · 06:58 UTC
The mechanics were on point, the rule sets were clear and I had a blast dying and retrying this! Thanks for sharing this with me!
GreenRadiation
07. Oct 2021 · 11:30 UTC
I really like the soundtrack and the sounds. They make the game a lot more fun.
leokrechmer
07. Oct 2021 · 13:56 UTC
Amazing soundtrack! A lot of soul in it!
Interesting gameplay and adorable arts! Great submission in general! Thanks!
Vectrex28
07. Oct 2021 · 17:28 UTC
A bit on the difficult side but it was very enjoyable! Loved the whole Star Wars pastiche thing. Just wishing the player was just a little faster

The sound design was brilliant though, I especially loved the little "Ay" when you get hit, hah! The art style was lovely as well
JustinMullin
07. Oct 2021 · 17:53 UTC
Very cool. The art and the acapella sound track were excellent, as was the writing. Gameplay was good, each boss was relatively unique which was fun. I did find myself a bit helpless at times, the difficulty seemed just about right but sometimes I felt I was just lucky with the way the saber bounced, and on occasion it seemed I would die to something I didn't have much opportunity to dodge. Maybe I'm just bad though. =P I really enjoyed this!
rayriver
07. Oct 2021 · 18:07 UTC
Nice game play and AMAZING sound :laughing:
2CCs
07. Oct 2021 · 19:06 UTC
This game looks great and is super fun! The controls are nice to use, and that acapella audio is absolutely hilarious! Nice work! This is definitely one of my favorites in the jam so far.
BougieBirdie
08. Oct 2021 · 00:02 UTC
Good game! Really enjoyed myself, loved all the nerd lore
Sarah
08. Oct 2021 · 03:54 UTC
The thing I love most is the graphics \o/ It's a super cute game and I really loved the octopus (maybe I'm biased towards pink, but shhhh) The chaos that ensues from the frantic flying is amazing and really fun!!

Its super polished and sounds amazing as well! I loved the animation when your shield disperses or whatever. The neon sabers look really good and overall a really good job :3

Thanks for submitting your game for me to try it <3
Dioinecail
08. Oct 2021 · 11:29 UTC
cool game!
LadyMistLeaf
08. Oct 2021 · 14:17 UTC
I loved this game! (Even though my reflexes are bad) It was funny, adorable and I loved the parody of it all. The graphics were simple but cute, the music was fitting and it all fit very well with the theme. Two thumbs up! Thanks for the entry!
Blood_Jackal23
08. Oct 2021 · 16:21 UTC
I enjoyed playing this game a lot. Although the art style is beautiful and cute, The main selling point was actually the humor. The music, with every sound effect were actually made by someone's voice. Now that's dedication.

Nicely done
RobinDBois
08. Oct 2021 · 18:59 UTC
The audio !! I start to dance and didn't look at my character sometime ;p
Very fun, my reflexes are a little slow but great game !
kaytrill
08. Oct 2021 · 19:45 UTC
This is a definitely a game with great potential but just falls short a tiny bit in balance. The concept is great with dodging both the enemies and your own blade. Essentially playing squash with your own face. But to me the players feel far too reactive and very limited in making strategic and tactical choices.

The sword moves a bit too fast and player has a lot of trouble trying to catch it and redirect in the proper direction. I feel like a slightly lower game speed for enemies, bullets, and the sword, whilst slightly improving player speed would improve this balance massively.

I love the idea of playing squash with your own face, but the shield power takes a bit too long to active, is a bit too short in duration, limits the players control massively by making him stationary, and perhaps too powerfull by making it a full 360 degrees shield.

Perhaps some small powerups would increase the games fun as well. For example making your shield temporarily better. Make it 360 degrees shield. Temporarily increase the gamespeed 5 fold. Make all object 3 times as big. Etc..
NPr0nn
08. Oct 2021 · 20:32 UTC
Amei todo o conceito do jogo, os efeitos de som com a boca ficaram perfeitos e deu uma astmosfera muito única, além de os gráficos e os efeitos de brilho neon muito incriveis, mesmo sendo dificil em algumas partes me fez querer continuar jogando ;)
notke
08. Oct 2021 · 23:18 UTC
Loved the game! The story is great. When is the prequel trilogy coming?
Bajtix
08. Oct 2021 · 23:25 UTC
I found some of the levels too hard and had to rely on my femboy friend to see the ending. Loved the fact that the color palette had a lot of contrast - it made avoiding the sword way easier. I also really like the jokes, breaking the 4th wall. Good job!
minibobbo
09. Oct 2021 · 02:57 UTC
This was a lot of fun, but has made me the most frustrated of any Ludum Dare game I've played so far. The graphics were perfect for this, the sound effects and music were great and the entire experience was good.

I wasn't a fan of how the NeonSaber would randomly change characteristics while flying around. Multiple times I thought I was fine only for it to suddenly grow in size and kill me. I thought the space level was the hardest of them all though since often the robots would shoot two bullets on top of each other and they would bounce off each other and fly randomly after hitting a wall.

Nice work!
etrealjunior
09. Oct 2021 · 05:46 UTC
Parabéns não era para esperar menos quando se junta um grupo de pessoas tão talentosas, talvez pos jam possa pensar em evoluir o game e transforma-lo em uma versão comercial, maravilhoso trabalho um grande abraço a todos!
caudatecoder
09. Oct 2021 · 16:03 UTC
A very funny and beautiful game! Great work on the art and music! The meta-ness of it is pretty funny too. I'm not sure why you opted out of the *Humor* category it would be a 5 from me

Gameplay-wise I wish there was some more dynamic to it. Maybe at some point you could control or adjusts the trajectory of the saber for a moment. Bullets that went invisible and then visible after reflection felt a bit unfair and hard to predict.

It's still a very solid and polished game, I had a lot of fun with it! Nicely done!

Thanks @euler-moises for submitting it to my stream. Here's a recording in case you want to rewatch/refer to it later https://youtu.be/nr6n3tF5CHY
Your game starts at 1:06:36
GustavB
09. Oct 2021 · 17:58 UTC
Soundtrack was amazing, and the story mind blowing :smiley: Kind of felt that the saber did all the cool stuff though and I was just standing around.
lucasvb
10. Oct 2021 · 18:10 UTC
Extremely well polished all around. I just wish there were some more visual interactions between the saber and the walls, like some sparks. It feels a bit bland compared to everything else, despite being a central element of the game. It just felt a little neglected.

The pixel art is surprisingly good. Considering the limited colors and resolution everything reads very well and has a lot of charm. Controls feel very smooth too!
gdesecrate
10. Oct 2021 · 19:52 UTC
Thanks for the game.
Dannyk1994
10. Oct 2021 · 21:04 UTC
Great game, very funny ! Well done :V
WolfMeryX
11. Oct 2021 · 07:43 UTC
Fun game! Liked the mechanics and artstyle lots.
elysiagriffin
11. Oct 2021 · 19:14 UTC
Hi there! Thanks for submitting your game for me to play live during my Twitch stream!

If you’d like to rewatch the playthrough, you can find it here:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1173646881?t=4h19m19s

Good luck on your ratings, see you next LD! :D

💜 Elysia Griffin AKA Button Feedback Lady

https://www.twitch.tv/elysiagriffin
AdrianKrawczyk
11. Oct 2021 · 19:33 UTC
Oh soo cool
I love the looks of it and gameplay is soo addicting and satysfying
Good job!!
BluishGreenPro
11. Oct 2021 · 19:35 UTC
Lots of fun, but it felt a bit out of control; some levels I managed to clear without even looking at the screen, while other times I tried my best, but couldn't get past the boss enemies. Maybe you could give boss enemies HP indicators?
xpoho
12. Oct 2021 · 09:48 UTC
Первая игра, которой я поставил 5 за аудио. Действительно - оно стоит того. В остальном тоже отличная игра, смешная, веселая и цельная. Спасибо разработчикам!
atmospherium
14. Oct 2021 · 16:57 UTC
I love the sound and visuals for this so much, SUPER great work. I've been singing "bom bom bom bom" ever since first seeing this game on a livestream. I wish the gameplay felt a bit less random, particularly after spending 20 seconds trying to get one remaining enemy. But that's not a major complaint, gameplay on the whole was still a lot of fun. Great work!
Kiwi663
16. Oct 2021 · 15:21 UTC
Wow nice graphic. Nice work !
Omiya Games
17. Oct 2021 · 02:05 UTC
Will type up a full comment soon, but here's the recording of my stream playing through this hard, hard game:

https://youtu.be/EWJKsLF4MMg?t=1042
Omiya Games
19. Oct 2021 · 05:27 UTC
Alright, the full comment.

I thought this game was too erratic for my liking. To be clear, the presentation of this game, including graphics, music, and sound design, are quite excellent. I like how the cutscenes plays out, and much of the game feel is pretty solid. I thought that needing to rely on the shield could have been a really interesting game mechanic as well.

That said, I honestly did not enjoy playing this game. I didn't feel like I had much control over the situation, and having the gameplay almost solely focused on dodging bullets and lightsabers isn't a concept I find very fun. Not only that, but the gameplay is at odds with the objective of the game: if I have no offensive abilities to defeat any enemy, then how am I supposed defeat all of them to get to the next level? Since the saber bounces in unpredictable angles, and thus gives the player no strategical benefits, the game often felt like a time-based survival minigame, where how long the game took was a complete luck-of-the-draw.

I was also disappointed with how ineffective the shield was. It seems the only purpose it served was to briefly keep the player protected from the saber and bullets; otherwise, it just mirror-reflects the bullet in a completely useless direction. When the objective of the game is to defeat all the enemies, this behavior becomes insufficient; I would have liked to see bullets retro-reflect off the shield, back to the direction they came from. At least that would make the shield potent, and justify the short duration it stays up, as well as the long cooldown the ability suffers from.

Clearly, this team is very talented and capable of creating an excellent experience. I think as an experiment, there are some interesting ideas this game serves. That said, personally, I found the flaws to be too glaring to feel excited in exploring the potential opportunities the game mechanic provides.
mharring
20. Oct 2021 · 02:10 UTC
Fun but challenging. Some feedback on the enemies charging up before they attack would have been made it feel less punishing. I also would have liked some sort of progression, perhaps gaining more abilities over time. That said, well done! I loved the music and sound effects, very effective!