(I am now in a rush to test as many games as possible to help, so please do not mind the cursory reviewing style.)

[testing the navigator version]

1. the context (through description and captures) seems immersive and funny; by the way, the giant ‘boss’ Grim Reaper at his desk on the cover reminds me of Thanatos from [*Necrow Co.*](https://itch.io/jam/gbjam-9/rate/1208403)
2. "Didn’t have enough time over the jam weekend to finish the game so I decided to turn this into an EXTRA" -> Oh! :o I wonder if you can have several entries, if they are in a different format… (I was myself considering partaking in Jam instead of Compo to enhance the game, but stuck to the challenge, while pinpointing separate updated versions)
3. "Statistically, there are 18 deaths every 10 seconds. But that’s not coincidental, no! That’s a mandated quota for Soul Reapers." -> I was thinking of *Grim Fandango* right from seeing the cover, and I get an even bigger such vibe X)
4. I like how the objective is a *precise* amount, as opposed to a minimum; this is not so often the case
5. are the cats an allusion to the nine lives concept (or rather a joke about cute kittens)? By the way, this would mean you only need two cats! ;) [later: explained in game; all right, reference to nine lives, but I get the logic, a cat can have lost some lives before; this is clever]
6. launching the game; wow, great dramatisation-introduction!! Haha, and great humour (the volunteer bit) (including the contrast with the groovy music)
7. and already great sound effects for the interface
8. Controls are layout-independent, great! :) (I have an AZERTY keyboard) AND arrow keys are enabled.
9. my God, this is insanely hard!! :o I just lost at the first round for my first four runs!!
10. managed to beat one round; then overflowed?! Oh, I get it: I had completely forgotten one cat is **not** necessarily worth only one life! X) So, I must have been super unlucky the first four times around, stumbling upon low-life (!! XD) cats!
11. I think I reaped a zero-life cat; is this a bug, or did I see wrongly? A bit later: oh my, I am a complete imbecile… I totally forgot you had to properly **collect the souls by moving onto them** XD
12. first real legitimate non-idiotic run: lasted 6 rounds
13. I was wondering where the strikes were shown: only now do I realize these are the white cards at the upper borders of the screen… I thought it had something to do with the lower-right counter, but now, I think this is the total cumulated amount of reaped souls. Suggestion: add some name or icon for this (and other?) counter
14. ah, looks like you can sometimes collect a soul by touching it with the scythe! Expected collision?
15. 7 rounds, this time
16. just checking the borders of the scenery/arena: I see, fence posts; nice! :) By the way, I realize everything is cleverly lively through 3D *movement* rather than (complex) animation. Great job

**Takeaway:** efficient clever concept, loads of humour, efficient cute graphics (including through movement and luminescence), absolutely fitting sounds (maybe a ‘meow’ could also be used? ;)) and music, clear-cut explanations (although I managed to play as if I had not read them XD Once again, maybe an in-game tutorial rather than written explanations would help, but I understand this is not easily set up in general), simple yet original main mechanic and objective, fine interface (although some counters could be made just a bit clearer, I think): frankly, this is a great self-contained piece. If I really wanted to ~~be mean~~ nitpick, I would ask for even more originality in how the 10-second cycle/theme is handled, but, great job.

Honoured to be the first one to comment and cast a vote for this little gem. :) Thank you for it!

[Do not forget to review and rate other games, if you have enough time; it will also help yours get noticed and have testers and feedback. :)]

@mossieur-patate Wow, thanks for the detailed review. The game indeed starts off hard but becomes easier once you understand it and develop a strategy, which I'm glad to see you were able to go several rounds after a while.

UI comprehension was something I was struggling with. I was hoping the numbers would kind of make sense without having titles for everything, but it seems it might just be more clear with it.

The scythe collision was not initially intended but I left it because it rewards with a strategic reach but also a potential risk.

Good eye with the animation :smile: You're right, it's just a velocity driven animation of the characters' vertical position. I wanted to add a bit more but jam games are full of compromises, heh.

It's addicting, I'm still playing it from last night

@dzolkin Yay! That makes it worth it, haha. I'm so glad you're enjoying your time with the game. Thanks for playing!

I loved the minimalist style, the bouncy walk animation, the smooth attack and the orb gathering feel so great

It's a nice concept but the execution is a bit confusing. I would often collect more/less than 18 souls and the game would still advance me to the next round, but sometimes it didn't even when I had exactly 18! Other than that massive bug, I think the game is quite fun and humorous. Good job!

Cool intro. Love the story and concept. Graphics are great. Took me a minute to realize the little balls are the souls. It clicked after I lost. I think the heads up display could use some improvement. Maybe add some labels and better feedback when you are under over, etc..

Nice work!

Really nice game!

I like the style! Positives:
- I love the humor/style. "Exactly 18 lives every 10 seconds" is great.
- The "9 lives" adding randomness is particularly fun.

Other feedback:
- The UI isn't so clear.
- I missed the "each kill away from 18" thing at first, and thoughts "wow it's way too easy to collect >18 souls". I don't know if this is an actual criticism or just me reading too fast while trying to rate more submissions though :)
- Movement / particle collection sometimes feels frustrating. There were a few times I wanted to collect juuust 1 more particle, but I didn't feel like I had fine enough control over the collection hitbox. I know that's partly the point, but it didn't feel like the "good" kind of difficulty.

Thanks to all who played! I've made a small update post jam which adds some text to the UI. Hopefully that should be more clear. I do think it's an improvement (even if it's visually less minimalist than my ideal), so I appreciate the feedback :smiley: