Rise of the CatMancer by Daniel C

[raw]
made by Daniel C for Ludum Dare 55 (JAM)

MainMenu2.PNG

In the realm of "Rise of the Catmancer," shadows weave tales of both wonder and dread, painting a tapestry of mystery across the land.

The choice is yours, dear adventurer, but remember: in the world of the Catmancer, every step taken carries with it the weight of destiny, and the line between salvation and damnation is thinner than a whisker's breadth.

[GAMEPLAY] You have a little aura around your cat that damages priests, click on corpses to spawn skulls that protect you. Do you have what it takes to reach the S-Tier?

[DISCLAIMER] The in-game music is made by our amazing musician friend, bandcamp link below :D The menu themes and grade themes were created using the AI platform https://suno.com/ - please keep that in mind if you rate our Audio

Ratings

Overall 340th 3.79⭐ 52🧑‍⚖️
Fun 171th 3.931⭐ 53🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 745th 3.196⭐ 53🧑‍⚖️
Theme 221th 4.127⭐ 53🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 842th 3.304⭐ 53🧑‍⚖️
Audio 341th 3.62⭐ 52🧑‍⚖️
Humor 91th 4.067⭐ 54🧑‍⚖️
Mood 412th 3.755⭐ 53🧑‍⚖️
Given 60🗳️ 115🗨️

Feedback

kuviman
16. Apr 2024 · 11:42 UTC
![Screenshot from 2024-04-16 15-42-00.png](///raw/7e3/32/z/63969.png)
Ghostdev708
16. Apr 2024 · 11:57 UTC
I LOVED IT! I really did!

The voice lines, art and gameplay were AMAZING (funny af)

The sound over all is a bit too much at times. If you haven't, you should add a limiter (using your program of choice) so that no sound goes over 0 db. You could also maybe BitCrush effect. Whatever it is, it's a bit too much especially later on when it gets more hectic. The main menu music should also be increased, its significantly more quiet than the rest of the game.

I don't know if this is intentional, but the character also moves faster diagonally. This is a very common problem when first starting to make games, because the two movement get combined (diagonal and horizontal). It's a pretty easy fix, you can find it everywhere online.

In the parts with the weird building it's kinda hard to see the bodies,

Lastly, after about a minute of playing the first time the game crashed. I couldn't replicate the crash so it probably doesn't matter :)

Don't let all my criticm here confuse you. This is probably one of the best games in this Jam I've played so far. Keep it up man, I'm sure you'll make even more amazing games in the future!
Bananplyte
16. Apr 2024 · 12:08 UTC
@ghostdev708
Everything is very much bitcrushed :)

And yes - the game is definitely extremely loud and chaotic
I think the mainmenu being quiet in general is actually more of a case that I discovered a bug where our "mainlevel" just ignores all the volume options and "please don't be extremely loud" settings we had.
At the end of the day we just went with it.

Thank you so much for your nice review!

Edit: I will strike my co-developer on the finger for not normalizing the diagonal movement ;)
Tudvari
16. Apr 2024 · 12:33 UTC
![asd.png](///raw/a2d/8/z/639c3.png)

At first the game seemed odd, the graphics was a bit confusing, I didn't know what is background and what is not, the corpses were a bit hard too notice... BUT THEN!!! ... This is an awesome game! I had so much fun, I don't really like chaotic games, but due to the chaos being increased step by step, I enjoyed it and replayed it a few times! :smiley:

I can only recommend this game, even if at first it seems a bit odd. After a minute or so sou start to like its quirky and absurd atmosphere. :laughing: by the way, are those voice lines inspired by Half Life? They sounded oddly familiar, like the "Why won't you die???" one.

Nice entry, cheers!
Tudvari
16. Apr 2024 · 12:33 UTC
<my comment was sent twice due to... clicking too fast on the button? :confused: And I couldn't delete it, so I edited it>
Bananplyte
16. Apr 2024 · 12:37 UTC
@Tudvari Thank you so much for the nice words <3
LDJam user 385878
16. Apr 2024 · 12:59 UTC
What a ride that was
LDJam user 382819
16. Apr 2024 · 13:01 UTC
Your game had me laughing so hard, I've got the giggle abs! Great job, my friend – you've got the humor game on lock!
Bananplyte
16. Apr 2024 · 13:01 UTC
@potatofinch
@drgcandle
Hell yeah, thank you so much <3
Pelmanable
16. Apr 2024 · 14:23 UTC
![11123.png](///raw/aae/d5/z/63ab7.png)

Started a little bit boring and slow. But a sudden increase of speed is a good drive. So the beginning was only a time to get along with the mechanics. Gameplay is really fun.
Bananplyte
16. Apr 2024 · 14:25 UTC
@pelmanable No way, I think you're the first one to reach S tier!

THE SCORE OF THE GOOOODS
Sargonius
17. Apr 2024 · 06:28 UTC
![LudumDare55Project-Win64-Shipping_BTHuKhO2uB.jpg](///raw/9e5/e1/z/63fe8.jpg)

One of the best games I've played! Very amusing :D
Bananplyte
17. Apr 2024 · 07:27 UTC
@sargonius
Thank you so much for letting us know :D !!
LDJam user 375016
17. Apr 2024 · 14:19 UTC
![YAY.png](///raw/8e8/b5/z/64173.png)

at first I thought that is slow but then it get heated ..:D
orbitaldot
17. Apr 2024 · 14:21 UTC
I was already laughing at the audio, and then I noticed the progress bar twisting and turning. 10/10 entry.

My only complaint would be that it got a bit hectic and at some point it was hard to see dead bodies under all the particles and other enemies... but I feel like the chaos adds to the game's charm (yeah, let's call it charm ;D)
MatthewDrake
17. Apr 2024 · 14:22 UTC
Haha, my sides! Really great humour in this game, title screen music is awesome too. Loved the rapture bar gag of extending in weird directions and all the voice lines. Really solid entry, 5 stars across the board, good luck!
LDJam user 382819
17. Apr 2024 · 15:08 UTC
Regardless of what others say, I absolutely adore cats. For me, this is a bonanza of cat games, hooray! Moreover, your game is so entertaining that I found myself laughing throughout the entire play experience. I wholeheartedly thank you for bringing such a fun game to us; it's bound to put me in a good mood for the whole day.
Bananplyte
17. Apr 2024 · 15:26 UTC
@janinna21 @orbitaldot @matthewdrake @drgcandle
Thank you so much :D
This is going to put me in a good mood for the whole day!
Artemy Zen
18. Apr 2024 · 21:35 UTC
At one point the game became a complete craze! I loved it!
theheheo
18. Apr 2024 · 21:41 UTC
![catmancer.PNG](///raw/e0b/43/z/6461b.png)

Great entry! Found the overall experience very enjoyable, liked the hectic combat and loved the voice lines. I was blown away by all the different music you had for the different grades. Overall really fun game !
Baluj
18. Apr 2024 · 22:00 UTC
Today is not my day. It's an interesting concept and I like the game. Good job!
Bananplyte
19. Apr 2024 · 07:49 UTC
@artemy-zen
Thank you so much for those nice words!

@theheheo
THE SCOOORE OF THE GOOOODS
You're the second documented person ever to reach that far! Well done!!

@baluj
There's always tomorrow!! Thank you :D
CaineTinyArms
19. Apr 2024 · 19:07 UTC
I loved this game, slow start but I loved it when it ramped up afterwards.
🎤 Daniel C
19. Apr 2024 · 19:16 UTC
@cainetinyarms Thanks for playing :D
SStyles93
19. Apr 2024 · 19:21 UTC
So much fun in so little time, great work. The audio just killed me x'D !!!!!!
Bananplyte
19. Apr 2024 · 19:27 UTC
@cainetinyarms @sstyles93
Thank you so much :D
Pegasus
19. Apr 2024 · 19:29 UTC
I love how silly this game is, the audio clips are great and just the whole theming of it is really enjoyable. Gameplay felt good although it can be hard to see the things you're supposed to click once it starts getting chaotic. The health bar timer thing made me chuckle, not sure if something was supposed to happen eventually but once it got to a certain point it just kept restarting the same section over and over and the gameplay didn't really change after a point. Wish there could have been some kind of increased spawns or something like that to keep it interesting.

Overall really good job guys!
Bananplyte
19. Apr 2024 · 19:31 UTC
@pegasys
Thank you so much <3
Alexis Brochec
19. Apr 2024 · 19:32 UTC
WOW amazing game, very funny and right on point with the theme.

Where did you find the in game voice line ?

Amazing entry, everything is on point: short, esay to understand, fun to play and with cat !

Tha soundtrack is great to.
Bananplyte
19. Apr 2024 · 19:41 UTC
@alexis-brochec
<3 Thank you so much
We made our own voice lines!
Nishikku
19. Apr 2024 · 21:19 UTC
I have to admit...I am not a fan of horror games. But this one was interesting :D Very funny idea for the ld55 and it has...CATS!!! :cat: :heartbeat:
alxander
20. Apr 2024 · 01:19 UTC
Great fun game, the bulldozers gave me a small jump scare :D Soundtrack is amazing and suits the vibe. The cat images are pretty funny, would be nice to see them as digital art if you update the game in the future :thumbsup:
Risminator
20. Apr 2024 · 07:53 UTC
So fun to see when the game turns into complete chaos. The humour of it ridiculously good haha. It is difficult to click at all the corpses at the end, maybe an ability to activate a bunch would help, but it's still fun to unleash all this power!
Great entry!
Bananplyte
20. Apr 2024 · 09:35 UTC
@nishikku Wooo cats!!! 😺😺 makes any game better!!

@alxander Absolutely! The cat-screens were a last minute addition, and I would have loved for our artist to have as much time to make a pixel-art beautiful version like the menu - but we ran out of time

@risminator Yeah, it goes crazy at the end, thanks for playing!
Akusan
20. Apr 2024 · 12:20 UTC
Woah man ! thanks for this fun experience. I was kinda tired from my jam, this lightened up my day
PatteDeCanaard
20. Apr 2024 · 12:49 UTC
The more you play, the more chaotic the game becomes, and the more fun it is. About the graphics, there are some odd mixes, but I have to admit that it's very funny! I liked the audio. I had a great time. Well done to the whole team!
Bananplyte
20. Apr 2024 · 13:16 UTC
@akusan
Cheers man! Thanks for playing our stupid game!

@pattedecanaard
Hahaha thank you! The graphics were often times the programmers throwing in random stuff and then our one artist trying to keep up replacing our placeholders with pixel art - in the end - he couldn't replace it all
pres2300
20. Apr 2024 · 13:57 UTC
This was hilarious! From the rapture progress bar to the holy killdozer, I kept wondering what whacky thing would happen next! My one critique is that I didn't realize the background art could be walked on. The spikes made me think I was confined to that area, or that I would take damage by touching them. Eventually I wanted to see what would happen, and sure enough you can just walk right over them. Overall, great job! I had a lot of fun playing this.
Trevor Lentz
20. Apr 2024 · 19:02 UTC
![cat.png](///raw/79b/35/z/64913.png)

Animated leaves on the background are a nice touch on the menu, the menu music evokes a sense of epic wonder for the adventure to come. When returning to the menu later, The music takes another turn entirely. Even though I'm not a huge fan of that specific genre, it brought a smile to my face.

Options menu seems to be a bit bugged. Accidentally turning down sound levels sometimes mutes it to zero and there's no way (in game) to pull it back to the right. Restarting the game brings those levels back to default though.

I was confused about the background art like @pres2300 but after figuring this out, I really enjoyed the free range of motion given. Though, you can walk into the black of the map too?

I had a lot of fun with this one.

"God forgive me for the smackdown I'm about to deliver to this f*%&ing cat" I'm dead. XD. Sorry if I misquoted this one, I was too busy fighting off priests - some altar boy probably
Bananplyte
20. Apr 2024 · 21:24 UTC
@pres2300
The holy killdozer!!!! I made that!!!
I love you hahaha thank you so much for appreciating our dumb game! The spikes are absolutely unclear, that is valid criticism! Next time we will do over and do right!

@trevor-lentz
I also did the leaaaves!!
Sorry about the options, they only work in the menu haha, I didn't have time to bugfix it! The volumes are tied to the "max of master" and it's also unintuitive.
Your quote is word for word perfect I believe from memory!
Klemen
21. Apr 2024 · 18:25 UTC
The best 2D game I've ever played! The voice lines are just on point, you've managed to include many memes, it feels so real, I mean the npcs lines don't sound like npc lines, if you know what im trying to say, I did managed to glitch myself trough the wall which is pretty interesting, I was clicking the body's and accidently switched of of the window so I alt tabed back into it and my controlls started automaticly going towards the top right corner of the screen, I love the game soo much An incredable job, guys keep it UP!![Screenshot 2024-04-21 202041.png](///raw/e74/e5/z/64a1d.png)
bjornstenlund
21. Apr 2024 · 21:11 UTC
@klemen thank you so much, glad you liked it! Yeah it's a bit buggy when switching to another window :P hah yeah the voices came out great, bananplyte made them and just kept adding more

Edit: I didn't even see the 100,000 damn that's really impressive! :O
Bananplyte
22. Apr 2024 · 07:57 UTC
@klemen Thank you so much!!!

@bjornstenlund The voices are always with me, I'm just introducing them to everyone else <3
zablas
22. Apr 2024 · 11:20 UTC
So good! Had a big laugh while playing this!!! The corpse explosions were so satisfying as well. And this is all done in Unreal. Tell me, did you use Paper2D + PaperZD for this? :D
Hadik
22. Apr 2024 · 11:23 UTC
Hilariously chaotic with a fantastic voiceover and fun gameplay mechanics, though the audio balance needs work. A very strong entry that keeps players entertained and laughing throughout!
LanceJZ
22. Apr 2024 · 19:32 UTC
I got a B my first game, cool! I died as my mouse went out of window. (I have multiple screens.) I love this game, best one I've played yet. I love the theme so much I would give it a 10 out of 5.
Bananplyte
22. Apr 2024 · 20:04 UTC
@zablas
Honestly we just threw the spritesheets together in photoshop and used the paper flipbook thingie, but we have a great artist leading the way in @isacb!

@hadik Thank you! Yeah the audio kind of goes too far, but I feel like that's almost part of the charm

@lancejz Sorry about the windowed shenanigans but then again you got to hear the B-theme which is one of my favorites - RISE OF THE CATMANCER HEYY, RISE OF THE CATMANCER HEYY
Utopia
28. Apr 2024 · 22:07 UTC
36k scores, lol I like this game, super relaxing and fun to play.
🎤 Daniel C
29. Apr 2024 · 08:20 UTC
@utopia Thank you so much for playing :D
Lixiao
01. May 2024 · 08:24 UTC
good
Bananplyte
02. May 2024 · 07:04 UTC
@utopia @lixiao
Thank you so much for playing our game!