The Wriggling Path by leckert

[raw]
made by leckert for Ludum Dare 56 (JAM)

Explore a dense labyrinth composed entirely of tiny creatures (that's the theme!!!). Observe their unique quirks and learn how to use them to surmount obstacles. When things (inevitably) break, just reset to the last-visited burrow and try something else! Are you enough of a diminutive being to walk (crawl?) the Wriggling Path?

Featuring:

  • At least 20 distinct little dudes.
  • Multiple dead-eyed worms.
  • The ability to rewind time. Soft-locking has never been this convenient!

... all packed in one big level (for maximum abuse of the Godot physics engine). That means we can call it a "Metroidvania", right?

Ratings

Overall 141th 4⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 332th 3.643⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 85th 3.976⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Theme 71th 4.286⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 310th 4.024⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Audio 94th 3.976⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Humor 157th 3.763⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 270th 3.857⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Given 13🗳️ 17🗨️

Feedback

LDJam user 43351
07. Oct 2024 · 15:26 UTC
This is probably my favorite game I've played so far. WHAT A WORLD you've created!!! I love every single creature in this, feels like everything has so much character, and it feels so unique!! I absolutely love this and it gets a 5/5 from me.
Void4
07. Oct 2024 · 20:39 UTC
This game is amazing, I love it. If you were to take it beyond LD my one suggestion would be to demonstrate what each of the creatures does a bit more clearly (for example I didn't understand what quite a few of the early ones did until quite late).
Hakusai
08. Oct 2024 · 05:25 UTC
The idea and the creature design in game are truly unique. Creatures are fun to explore, and it's probably the game that matches the theme most I've played so far. Amazing game!
LDJam user 383763
08. Oct 2024 · 05:32 UTC
It reminds me of Ori :). I love how you teach the player the controls through the beginning of the game (I'll take it to my other games for GJs ;)). This was a really beautiful platform puzzle. I wanted to play it till the end, but for some reason, I couldn't get through this part. According to "map" on itch.io, the circle part should be in the air but it's not. Multiple "R" keys didn't solve this :(. But, I had a perfect time. Some mechanics even surprised me.![2024-10-08 07_26_25-Arc.png](///raw/31b/d5/z/67bdf.png)
breadstick
08. Oct 2024 · 05:35 UTC
every block is screaming so none of them are invited to my super secret birthday party
wheelsx
08. Oct 2024 · 05:43 UTC
Great mysterious music, really sets the mood
LyaMgtt
09. Oct 2024 · 09:16 UTC
Love the graphics and your color palette !!
RamChops Games
11. Oct 2024 · 14:41 UTC
IN PHYSICS ENGINE WE TRUST

I like how you incorporated the theme itself into the level design and graphics. Not only that the playable character is the tiny creature, but the stage, as well as obstacles and intractable objects are tiny creatures, too! That's a very nice touch.

While I can see what you're trying to do with the the physics-based platforming puzzle in this game, I also feel like some of these puzzles are basically just praying the physics "break" in the exact right way in order advance to the next room. Sometimes I see the level and I understand what I have to do, but the physics of the blocks just wouldn't co-operate with me. At the very least, being generous with checkpoints and the restarts did help to alleviate that somewhat.

Overall though, great game!
drinkycode
17. Oct 2024 · 05:45 UTC
Really interesting physics platformer, loves how it really worked with the theme on tiny creatures and how each creature had its own function that built up into different puzzles. Definitely had some of that classic physics jank where some puzzles were finicky, but nothing that I really got stuck on. Good stuff!
crneumre
17. Oct 2024 · 12:58 UTC
I just want to say this is a phenomenal entry, the world you crafted the music the mood are just top notch.
I would love for this to get polished and better level design would make this game so good. Exploring the world, figuring out the mechanics kind of reminded me of Animal Well which I love.
Most of the last level was me battling against the physics which I bet wasn't the intention haha but overall I really enjoyed the game and it piqued my interest to the end.
Pachino55
18. Oct 2024 · 03:57 UTC
Super cool game!
Rose
18. Oct 2024 · 04:10 UTC
I love how creative this is! It has so much personality and the checkpoint/reset system is great. I'd love to see a video of a full playthrough since I got stuck pretty early trying to get the explodey bird over the bouncy things.
Papaver
18. Oct 2024 · 15:52 UTC
Very original game! The music is cool and all the tiny creatures creating the levels are nice. I like that there are many small levels with checkpoints. You made a lot of content!

I got stuck quite a few times, because I didn't know what my options were.

The controls/jumping could be improved a little bit. Often the interactions with the surroundings felt somewhat unpredictable, like the creature that should make you jump. Sometimes I got stuck to it, and sometimes not. And also the part where I had to jump from fly to fly felt too random.

Overall, well done! :clap:
deadroach
20. Oct 2024 · 18:13 UTC
That ruled af
johnbrynte
21. Oct 2024 · 20:12 UTC
Incredible entry! The janky physics really got me hooked. It reminded me somehow about a really old game called Stickman Escape which was a metroid vania that was also really janky, but in a slightly different way. I loved that game! It had a really vast world and you were constantly asking yourself if you were blocked by the janky physics or you just hadn't solved the puzzle. Lovely! :heart: Unfortunately got stuck in the same place as *wildcodeplay*.