Biblio-Worm by MadR

[raw]
made by MadR for Ludum Dare 58 (JAM)

Or just play it here on itch.io

A retro arcade platformer where you play as a bibliophile bookworm on a mission to recover your stolen collection of three golden books from the evil librarian in the Rat Library.

Controls

WASD / Arrow Keys / Left Analog Stick Space / X / A Button Left Mouse Button / Enter / G / Square / X Button Escape / Start Button

Gameplay Tips

Flying books deal damage - dodge them! Landed books can be picked up and thrown again Avoid stepping on pencil spikes Avoid slimes

Screenshot 2025-10-06 160237.png Screenshot 2025-10-06 160224 - Copy.png Screenshot 2025-10-06 160211.png Screenshot 2025-10-06 160217.png

Ratings

Overall 189th 3.796⭐ 29🧑‍⚖️
Fun 89th 3.885⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 571th 2.942⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Theme 469th 3.558⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 189th 4.115⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Audio 47th 4.16⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Humor 179th 3.538⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Mood 187th 3.88⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Given 24🗳️ 29🗨️

Feedback

Nicso
Oct 06th · 13:47 UTC
1:33:16 🥵
Those boss attacks are quite tricky to avoid

Good job, that was fun. Loved the music
evgenii-petrov
Oct 06th · 13:48 UTC
Neat and accessible retro-platformer with retro-feeling controller and looks. Lens distortion is a bit too much though =)
manabreak
Oct 06th · 13:50 UTC
Awesome little game! Graphics and music were phenomenal. For some reason, arrow keys didn't work for me, so it was a bit awkward playing with WASD controls, but other than that, I managed to complete the game. Nice work. :)
MaxineY
Oct 06th · 20:24 UTC
Wow it's really intense kkkkk
The fisheye effect on the TV is well done!
MrMaico
Oct 06th · 22:07 UTC
WOW! Good job. Simple but very very effective. I can see people speed running this! Not me, as I'm bad gamer.
liumeishan
Oct 07th · 08:08 UTC
so cuteeeee !!
pro4
Oct 07th · 16:38 UTC
Fun little game! Nice artwork and controls. My total time was 1:35:49. The last stage was a little tough, but was able to get past it!
OLEGATOR0270
Oct 07th · 18:26 UTC
Very nice graphics
unpronounceable
Oct 07th · 19:01 UTC
The only improvements that I see would be more levels and some sort of wind up on the bosses charge attack. Enjoyed playing it, good job.
leorean
Oct 08th · 18:00 UTC
Oh boy, the music immedately cought me!! And I love the juicy sound effects and CRT shader - great entry, kudos!
esh_k
Oct 08th · 18:05 UTC
great game!! beautiful graphics, pleasant controls! good job!!
harujam
Oct 08th · 18:06 UTC
Nice retro vibes and spicy hardness. Defeating the mouse boss was a bit tricky though already in the second level.
Eugenik
Oct 09th · 03:52 UTC
Awesome graphics and music!.
Starlight Glimmer is best poney
Oct 09th · 22:19 UTC
![Screenshot_20251010_001546.png](///raw/f90/1/z/6f231.png)

Very pleasant game. A nice and unique play on the Donkey Kong formula. I have nothing constructive to say, though at the end I yearned for more levels.
fritzendugan
Oct 10th · 05:26 UTC
Heyyy I think I recognize this crt shader xD Looks awesome though really convincing vibe, menus are smooth as well. Music slaps, I was immediately bobbing up and down in my chair :D OMG DID I STRUGGLE at that first level lol (I honestly thought that was the end of the game when I finally beat him but was pleasantly surprised you managed 3 levels!!). By the third I felt like I had true mastery (even though I'm probably still really bad). Awesome job!![Screenshot 2025-10-10 at 01.24.31.png](///raw/95a/3/z/6f282.png)
Disvent
Oct 10th · 19:34 UTC
I hated that damn glasses-wearing mouse!!!
I’m terrible at games like this, so beating the boss was really tough - but also super satisfying!
The retro vibe is awesome - music and visuals work perfectly together.
Fantastic game!
graebor
Oct 10th · 20:24 UTC
Dang this is hard!! Great job though, and the music rules.
lectvs
Oct 11th · 20:45 UTC
Fun game and great music!! Only complaint I have is that the boss should have a tell before he's about to dash. Otherwise great stuff! :smile:
LooksLikeSomething
Oct 11th · 20:47 UTC
Love the retro vibe ! That's a great game, very hard though!
johnnysix
Oct 13th · 20:58 UTC
Very cool - loved the character style - very much akin to the old 8-bit era loaded from a tape machine!

Bonus points for the music - great job there. I couldn't make it past the first level, too old and slow for anything that requires skill or reaction time :smile:
jacobingalls
Oct 14th · 03:32 UTC
It felt really hard until i realized that you could just run straight to the book and use the generous invincibility.

![Screenshot 2025-10-13 203051.png](///raw/da9/b1/z/6f5f7.png)
LDJam user 237945
Oct 14th · 16:53 UTC
@jacobingalls oh, record time! So the invincibility makes You go trough the cage... ok, playtest playtest playtest :D
Thanks for playing and thanks for the feedback!
filgru
Oct 18th · 11:00 UTC
Really nice and fun game! It gives off strong Donkey Kong vibes(I used to play that a lot as a kid). The graphics and music are super cool and I love the retro screen effect. Great job!!