Free The Slime! by Christian Zommerfelds

[raw]
made by Christian Zommerfelds for Ludum Dare 54 (COMPO)

Play on the browser here: 👉👉👉 https://zommerfelds.github.io/ldjam54/ 👈👈👈

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You play as an intelligent slime that is trying to escape the maze. This is a puzzle game with a special mechanic: if you move towards a slime block you will automatically merge with it, allowing you to reach more areas, or get stuck!

Screenshot 2023-10-01 235147.png

Tech

  • Haxe (programming language)
  • Heaps (game engine)
  • LDtk (level editor)
  • Aseprite (pixel art tool)
  • jsfxr, sfxia (online tools to generate sounds)

Playthrough

If you really can't play, you can watch the playthrough here (WARNING: SPOILERS):

https://youtu.be/LBAa3L4Ihd0

Ratings

Overall 53th 4⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Fun 51th 4⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 97th 3.761⭐ 25🧑‍⚖️
Theme 80th 4.091⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 157th 3.614⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Audio 106th 3.528⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Humor 21th 4.024⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 68th 3.786⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 20🗳️ 24🗨️

Feedback

September-XYZX
02. Oct 2023 · 16:58 UTC
This is a fairly fresh take on a very classic genre of puzzle. I thought at first that the specific way to fuse the slime would be annoying, but I got used to it in the first few puzzles, and it quickly became intuitive.

The only part of this I would definitely change would be the mechanics of the introductory text, which I rewatched like five times while trying to skip it, because pressing enter just brings you back to the menu without unlocking the first level.
🎤 Christian Zommerfelds
02. Oct 2023 · 18:46 UTC
Thank you for the review @september-xyzx! To be honest I'm not sure how that's possible with the enter key. Maybe you pressed the back button? I allowed myself to make a small patch to remove the "Back" button, to reduce confusion.
Zerbu
02. Oct 2023 · 19:22 UTC
A really fun puzzle game! However, there's a bit of a clash of styles between the game and the text screens. The text screens would look better if they were more retro to match the game itself. Other than that, it was great!
TrebleColby
02. Oct 2023 · 19:25 UTC
Fun puzzle game concept. It feels very satisfying combining blobs, great job!
kasperhangard
02. Oct 2023 · 19:27 UTC
Really good game. Super well designed puzzles, great sound effects, good story. Really well done, and feels very polished.
Strato
02. Oct 2023 · 19:40 UTC
Fun game and good use of the theme. An interesting take on the sokoban style of puzzle navigation. I would have liked to see more mechanics and levels though, it ends just as it starts getting puzzley! Small bit of criticism: the sound effects are really hard on the ears. I had to mute the tab.
pascalbros
03. Oct 2023 · 11:24 UTC
Woah that's fun, very simple but effective gameplay, very satisfying! Awesome job!
andreasc26
03. Oct 2023 · 22:11 UTC
Great game, very nice use of the theme! I liked the sound design and the funny bits between levels. It felt rewarding to end the game and be considered a super intelligent slime :)
🎤 Christian Zommerfelds
04. Oct 2023 · 06:56 UTC
Thank you all for the feedback <3

@strato: I very much agree that I could have added more mechanics! I had three ideas in my notebook, but prefered to polish the game a bit vs adding the new logic. (Ideas were: a laser to split you, breakable tiles that require a certain size, a destroyer tile that can trim your body).

If anyone reads this, I'd be happy to get feedback on the difficulty of the puzzles.
Soul Grinder
04. Oct 2023 · 19:15 UTC
Great thinker of a puzzle game with a decent amount of levels. The only feedback for improvement I would of suggested really is some background music to give it more atmosphere. Good work!
Flashlight13
05. Oct 2023 · 23:16 UTC
Hey! Very interesting and attractive puzzle :slight_smile:
Well done!
Linus Lindberg
06. Oct 2023 · 18:26 UTC
Great puzzle game. Can't believe you managed so many clever levels. Audio and graphics are all perfect for the game. Well done.
Harmadillo
07. Oct 2023 · 17:52 UTC
Excellent game. Making the different shapes to complete levels was fun. Got stuck on level 3 trying to make a shape rather than move around the other slimes.
silkworm_sweatshop
07. Oct 2023 · 18:09 UTC
Great stuff! Nice little twist having momentum decide whether you stick together or not. Good design and nice presentation as well. For some reason level 8 broke my brain (it's a good level) but the other levels went pretty smooth without being too easy.
sebbernery
07. Oct 2023 · 19:18 UTC
Yeay nailed it ! Ok, I have to confess, I watched the playthrough to get an indice on exp 9.
You found a very very good concept and you successfully created interesting variations. The realisation is well executed, the little sounds and animation make the game feel pleasant to play.
Congratulations for your entry !
LeviDSmith
07. Oct 2023 · 21:58 UTC
Neat concept. I made it to the third experiment. I couldn't figure out why sometimes my block would stick to other blocks, but other times it wouldn't.
Yuio
08. Oct 2023 · 02:46 UTC
The puzzle design in this game is absolute god tier. Insane job!
rekate
08. Oct 2023 · 02:53 UTC
Great puzzle games with interesting levels. However the block sticking can get a bit confusing, especially in the 3rd experiment as you try to figure out why you stick to some blocks and not to other at different directions.
Guardaro
08. Oct 2023 · 19:57 UTC
Very fun! Simple-to-grasp mechanics that lead to some interesting puzzles. I got stuck on #8, but I came back the next day and powered through the rest of the game in a few minutes.
StrangerYann
20. Oct 2023 · 10:31 UTC
That's a great little game you got there!

The main mechanic takes a bit to grasp,

The fact you're gonna add blocks to your body then you move "into one",

But that won't be the case if you move "beside one"

I feel there could be more emphasis on that as you're playing the game like in the tutorials or the such, 'cause it's fundamental and feels frustrating a bit at the start until you get it

Beyond that, it's a modern twist on classics such as sokoban in my sense and it's pretty fresh!

The way the game is hosted and menuing is straightforward and satisfying,

The little story is fun, there's lots of levels, the wink towards Ludum Dare in the last one is nice

I really enjoyed that!

The form can be improved in the graphics and audio departments,

But the concept is very much on point and further iterable

Great job, thanks for the experience :grinning: :sparkles: