SAVE MY KNEES! by Keys Presser

made by Keys Presser for Ludum Dare 58 (JAM)

Bird, debt, and crab races gone wrong.

You’re a beach bird who backed the wrong crab at the races. Now a charmingly unpleasant bookie owns your debt — and he’s fond of kneecaps. Time the tide, dash in, grab shells, and make it back to dry sand before the waves wipe your haul or a crab nicks it. Pay the debt, save the knees.

Снимок экрана 2025-10-07 011740.png

How to play

1) Watch the tide. Beach zones follow a tide cycle: they open and close on a loop.

2) Sprint in, grab shells, run back.

3) Finish assignments to get pearls, buy upgrades and pay down your debt.

How to finish the game

Pay all your debt.

Crab race

You can try to win the crab race, but be prepared to say goodbye to your pearls — there's only all-in bets there.

Controls

Move: WASD

Dash: Shift

Interact/Pick up: E or Space

Buy and bet: LMB

Link	https://keys-presser.itch.io/save-my-knees
Link	https://keys-presser.itch.io/save-my-knees
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/58/save-my-knees

Ratings

Overall	98^th	3.969⭐	34🧑‍⚖️
Fun	171^th	3.719⭐	34🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	208^th	3.578⭐	34🧑‍⚖️
Theme	63^th	4.25⭐	34🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	58^th	4.469⭐	34🧑‍⚖️
Audio	72^th	4.048⭐	33🧑‍⚖️
Humor	47^th	4.109⭐	34🧑‍⚖️
Mood	130^th	4⭐	34🧑‍⚖️
Given		21🗳️	39🗨️

Feedback

gKthegkpchannel

Oct 06th · 23:46 UTC

very nice, i like.
look up the penguin that swam to australia

LDJam user 221750

Oct 07th · 15:18 UTC

Nice, has vibes from old quest games somehow, love animations. Progress is a bit tedious though, feels like first quests should be much simpler...

https://youtu.be/ap-PEQbGFr8

SmVynt

Oct 07th · 21:35 UTC

Nice game loop. Managed to finish on the wave 82. (Slow, i guess?). Art is stunning.

lizardinblizzard

Oct 08th · 14:38 UTC

Fun game with nice art! Cool idea!

Nyakov

Oct 08th · 17:11 UTC

The visuals are beautiful, but the gameplay is simple. Gameplay ideas: increase the width of the field and create safe zones away from the water, including tall rocks. Add more valuable items further from the shore. Battle crabs for shells
And i liked the idea with the gambling seagull :D

anete ainjärv

Oct 08th · 17:24 UTC

I have come across a lot of tax/debt paying games this jam and this silly little bird game has to be my favorite. I wasn't planning on playing for long but I got so hooked. I got so angry at the crabs for stealing my shells lol. Also the bird rolling in the wave and looking like a wet rag after... wonderful! such a well made game c:

Rentem

Oct 08th · 17:46 UTC

Nice game! I emjoyed the intro :smile:

evgenii-petrov

Oct 08th · 21:10 UTC

Nice game with a nostalgic 90s VGA-style feel. The gameplay loop is easy to grasp and has a cozy vibe; maybe the early quests could move a bit faster to get things rolling.

NNO1

Oct 09th · 06:22 UTC

I had so much fun playing! And I really love this pixel art style!

Eugenik

Oct 09th · 14:09 UTC

Very nice atmosphere.

TungGD

Oct 09th · 19:57 UTC

Love the gameplay and animations. I could not help myself gambling all my pearls away all the time.

Sharky3188

Oct 10th · 14:00 UTC

Great little game, the animation of the bird getting wet is so good! Really fun game with a lot of personality.

Linky439

Oct 11th · 14:02 UTC

Insane art! The animation are really incredible, especially the bird rolled by the wave and then being all wet.
As for the game itself, it is quite fun but it soon became a bit too repetitive to farm some pearls, especially since the only changing thing is the amount of stuff you need to collect to complete the quests.

But overall it is quite impressive, and once again incredible visuals. Congrats!

wdebowicz

Oct 12th · 13:22 UTC

really nice art and music fits the theme preatty well! Damn crabs!

atsh

Oct 14th · 19:04 UTC

Superb animations!

Beryelle

Oct 15th · 15:36 UTC

Absolutely loved this game! The art, the music, the fun mechanics - incredible entry!

Nomus

Oct 16th · 13:20 UTC

Such a cute reference to shorebirds, very nice little game and fun backstory too ! Love the graphics and the music, but sadly as the gambling addict that I am, I couldnt pay my debt because of my crippling gambling problems

Carraka

Oct 17th · 18:25 UTC

What a cute game! I finished on Wave 82. Bullying those crabs is so satisfying when you can finally do it. I think the game went on a little bit too long. Maybe just higher pearl rewards or lower requirements to unlock things. Just slightly.

MateusBoga

Oct 17th · 21:07 UTC

Lovely entry, so polished and well executed. Great work! Thanks for coming to the stream, here's the VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2594438642

sangheli

Oct 21st · 02:23 UTC

Such a cute game.

darianifakina

Oct 23rd · 12:51 UTC

Mechanics are intuitive yet offer depth, and the art style is charming. Well done!