Rhythm Reaper by BtheDestroyer

[raw]
made by BtheDestroyer for Ludum Dare 52 (JAM)

Defeat biblically-accurate angels to harvest souls as the Rhythm Reaper!

Attack in-time with the music to perform combos. Gamepad is also supported: A and B attack, X and Y dodge

Credits:

  • Alex Winestock - 2D Art
  • Bryce Dixon - AI, Modeling, Rigging, Animation, Mechanic Design, Programming, and Shaders
  • Elgin Ciani - Music, SFX, and Sound Design
  • Shivam Bhatnagar - Level Design and Modeling

TutorialMovement.png TutorialAttack1.png TutorialAttack2.png TutorialSoul1.png TutorialSoul2.png

Ratings

Overall 127th 3.926⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Fun 235th 3.648⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 93th 3.87⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Theme 316th 3.833⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 320th 3.815⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Audio 69th 4⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Humor 477th 2.7⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Mood 423th 3.426⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Given 22🗳️ 33🗨️

Feedback

Antsa
09. Jan 2023 · 15:24 UTC
As an avid rhythm game player, I really enjoyed this one. Also the vim movement bindings worked nicely for attack and dodge

At some point I accidentally went trough something and got stuck outside of the playing area for a moment between the crosses. Some sort of solid invisible collision wall around the playing area would probably solve this
sliphtrex
09. Jan 2023 · 16:22 UTC
Yo, I could see this being a real good concept if you keep going with this. I like the theme of a rhythm based combat game where you play as the grim reaper. I think the combos could use some work though.

I should clarify that I'm not really sure if I was successfully doing them or not. I noticed some different attacks like throwing the scythe vs. swinging it, but nothing really stood out to tell me "this is a combo". I feel like having the combos in the top left while the track is at the bottom also makes it hard to think about them in the moment.

I found myself either looking at the combos and pressing when I thought I was on rhythm or looking at the track and just trying to stay on beat. I think if you displayed the combos right above the rhythm track (or even found a way to transpose them directly onto it) it would do a lot to help the player figure out what they're supposed to do.

That being said I really liked this game. Definitely better than my hunk of garbage :sweat_smile:.



In other news, what's up fellow dP :dragon:'s :smile:! It's so cool to see people I know on here. How's life been since the good old days (2017)?
dkdwrek
09. Jan 2023 · 22:17 UTC
Very cool game! I love the menu/intro graphics. The gameplay is pretty neat as well, works pretty smoothly.
serpo
10. Jan 2023 · 22:23 UTC
This game is quite fun. I really like the way the combo mechanic is implemented. Having two options for the next combo input adds an extra layer of depth to the combat.

The music is great! It really fits the mood.

For sound effects, I'd love for there to be more auditory feedback in future versions if the game is developed further. I was really missing a 'player hurt' indicator sound and found myself dying because I didn't realize I had taken a few hits until I looked at the soul mete. I'd also suggest adding some input-trigger type sounds...something that provides auditory as soon as an attack input is registered like a small impact or low-end hit cut as close to the transient as possible to provide some immediate, audible timing feedback. The scythe sounds are great but the natural, slow attack of the sounds makes it hard to judge how your input is registering relative to the beat.

Overall, great game! I also really loved the soul pickup sounds...great design choice!
mactinite
11. Jan 2023 · 02:43 UTC
Wow so much polish! Really liked the game mechanics, but I was able to cheese it by mashing the keys. Great entry!
Torban
11. Jan 2023 · 02:49 UTC
Very cool design and implementation. Combining two distinct genre of combo rhythm and action combat is genius and you executed it very well in 72 hours. The mood feels great with the music and modelling. The shader/vfx and model/animations of the enemies are superb. Well done!
kimch
11. Jan 2023 · 09:33 UTC
This was good fun! Great music, mechanics ran smoothly and the game overall seemed really polished (big fan of the opening menu graphics). As mentioned above, I think some more feedback on successful combos and their placement near the rhythm bar would enhance the experience. I'm also not entirely sure if different keys produce different attacks (throwing v. swinging). The game is also pretty generous in soul harvests, so I kind of expected a fever mode or ultimate for when the meter filled up.
This is a really great entry, its pretty satisfying to slash up the angels :D
Deamonus
11. Jan 2023 · 16:26 UTC
Not a big Rythm game player, but this game was simple enough for me to understand, yet challenging enough to make me actually focus! Well done!
Cloughd
11. Jan 2023 · 17:41 UTC
I have no rhythm heheh. Managed to make it through to the end though. The graphics were really cool, felt like a retro title bad had that modern rhythm game combat. You really start flying around with dashes and cool combos when you get in that rhythm. Well done.
Exezur
11. Jan 2023 · 17:52 UTC
I loved everything only thing that kinda bugged me was the ui it just doesnt go with the rest of the game otherwise really great!!
magicstunts123
11. Jan 2023 · 18:30 UTC
First, the music was great and it did not matter that it is the same loop going on all the time. The zoom effect at every beat was a great visual way to represent the beats.
I did not really understood the combo mechanics, but i managed to do the combo where you throw the scythe.
One time i glitched through the fire at the first stage, but could find a way to bug me out.
Animations were also top notch!
Zach Hsu
12. Jan 2023 · 03:26 UTC
Visual are awesome and the rhythm mechanics were super fun
Harmofish
12. Jan 2023 · 03:26 UTC
Good game mechanics, excellent music and action, though I sometimes struggle to fit the rhythm.
deadgoodnik
12. Jan 2023 · 10:11 UTC
I do love a good Rhythm Game and this one is loads of Fun, Bloody Hard though but I really enjoyed it and I really Love the Title Screen too (I have a thing about Title Screens haha)
GrunkGrunk
14. Jan 2023 · 04:51 UTC
As an avid rhythm game player, I really enjoyed this one. Also the vim movement bindings worked nicely for attack and dodge.
That being said I really liked this game. Definitely better than my hunk of garbage sweat_smile.
VoidN7
15. Jan 2023 · 15:19 UTC
Sound on the buttons is just like on Sherlock's phone on notifications :)
The idea of the game is not bad, beat enemies to the rhythm of the music to get combos - it's interesting. But I would have given more time to hit the beat, because sometimes it seemed that I pressed on time, but the game thought otherwise.
Also the main menu is very colorful, really wanted to compliment it separately.
Keep up the good work, you have a really cool game
TweekStudios
16. Jan 2023 · 22:06 UTC
Gotta say, I love me some rhythm games! And the presentation is great!
maartene
21. Jan 2023 · 15:15 UTC
hmmm. I really like rhythm games, but I feel the learning curve here could use some work. Tempo is pretty high and you need to keep track of a lot of things on screen at the same time. And not just time, but also move around/aim. I would probably like it better as a pure rhythm game. So I didn't play for a long time. Too bad, because the game sounds and looks extremely well. And the main menu just oozes polish.
La bread
24. Jan 2023 · 19:02 UTC
really fun gameplay wise, I think the formula of on and off beats could work well if you all decided to make a post jam version! For the tutorial it would've been perfect if there was a looping temp at 60bpm or something to ease the player into combat, I found myself spamming the attack to the beat but it did feel like I wasn't doing much. Maybe include a sound effect akin to Patapon that emphasizes your key press, subtle feedback like that would be appreciated. I do like the menus and UI, only issue is that I couldn't select stuff from the main menu with my keyboard, a little arrow or highlighted text would have been nice. Overall I dig the music, art, and overall gameplay and I really hope you fellas make a post jam version!
Carei
27. Jan 2023 · 17:29 UTC
Maybe I'm looking too much into it, but I assume the enemies are supposed to be biblically accurate angels, and, if I'm correct, that's genius. You managed to do some amazing things, and they integrate into the game really well, especially for the jam game. The main menu, for one, is very well polished. On the other hand, most of the mistakes I saw in the game would have been easy to fix, and would help a lot to the mood of the game: firstly, you should make the movement a bit more responsive, and make it clearer whenever you manage to damage an enemy. Edit the loading screen a bit, it's a little off-putting, and also change the in-game UI with something as pretty as your main menu. Finally, on linux at least, the in-game resolution is too small, so you can work on that. This game has a lot of potential, if you plan to continue working on it after the jam.