Good game with an original idea and a cool mood.
I would have liked to be able to chose the character by clicking but 48h is short and overall it's a very great job !

I really like the graphics on this one, you get better with it with every new game honestly!. I got stuck the first time because the collider is exactly one tile and I excavated a 1x1 hole and I couldn't jump back haha. Good job!

so i got like 3 magnet upgrades and i went everywhere, had 4 critters to change too. i couldnt find where to go for some reason.

@helagos, thanks for playing! Personally, I don't like mixing keyboard and mouse except in specific 2D games like a top-down shooter. Of course, if the game were more complete, I would include the option to change the input map. Thanks for your feedback!

@alvaroromeral, it's one of the things I was testing, it's not that complicated, really, try it. Thanks for playing and for your feedback!

@jcmonkey, thanks for playing! There's only one step left: descent to sunrise! :)

Best game I got to play on the jam til now.

- Level design 10/10

- Characters with different abilities hit the sweet spot, although I wanted to have more character-specific puzzles.

- I loved the atmosphere, the characters and overall simple but on spot design.

A bit of crit;

I'm nit-picking here because what is feedback without criticism right?
I would say maybe the character feel could be improved. The movement is stiff and the transitions between jumping to landing felt off.
(But this is not something I would expect from a game made in a weekend and it completely blew my mind!)

Amazing work!

Really nice game, cool progression with every unlock being taught how to use immediately. Great game!

Lovely graphics and nice atmosphere!

Really nice retro asthetic and atmoshphere. Figuring out the different abilities was a lot of fun even tough I got lost quite a bit within the maze

@benski: Wow! What an honor, truly! I don’t think anyone’s ever told me that before, at least not that I can remember! I really hope it stays as your favorite. You’re right about the animations, I would’ve loved to work on them, but I actually spent most of the second day designing the level. As you know, 48 hours isn’t a lot of time! Thanks so much for your feedback and your kind words, it’s things like this that keep me excited and motivated to keep making games. I really appreciate it!

@bridgeonastick: Thanks! Yeah, I really like trying to make new abilities usable as soon as possible after you acquire them, even if sometimes - like with the frog - it’s not absolutely necessary. Thanks for the feedback!

@reaktori, @bene-labs: Thanks a lot! I was going for a cavernous, fantastical atmosphere, and the darkblue visuals along with the flute music really helped bring that to life. The maze does seem big at first, but it turns out it's not that big after all! Thanks for playing, really!

We're free!

Anyway, really enjoyed this one! I loved the switching characters mechanic, and the magnets were very cool too - especially one you gathered a few :) The graphics were pretty cool - especially the water/light effects near the top - and the music was relaxing and nice. It's very impressive that you managed to make a complete metroidvania in such a short time! I did get lost a few times near the end and a map would be appreciated, but otherwise, great entry!

Very nice game !
The little characters are so cute, I was lost at a moment but I kept going because I wouldn't leave them in the cave haha

I think that the less appreciable part is switching character, which is sad as it's an important part of the game. Maybe make them switch using keyboard arrows with a direction for each one would have been simpler ?

Otherwise the graphics with the retro filter are pleasing, and finding news powers to be able to go on it very rewarding.

Good job !

Nice puzzle! Enjoy the music. Minor suggestion - Q for action and W to switch feel awkward, E would be better.


you're welcome it was a cool ride. The idea is cool, It would be nice to have a little more feedback on the characters and interactions...but this shooting mushroom is still practical.

Very charming! I liked the little instrumental
interludes. The "rainy" areas were also a very pleasant surprise that
helped break up the level a bit.

The
double-jump felt a bit off to me. Maybe I'm just not used to having that
combined with jump "cancellation" when releasing the spacebar. To maximize jump height I needed to press, hold, then do a quick release and re-press, which I'm not used to.

That game is very cute, I reached the ending! The level design is good too :) I'm just wondering about the overlap between one of the animals that jumps higher and the magnet that just makes every animal jump higher. You probably thought about it already, and maybe just didn't have time to implement it (which is totally understandable for a COMPO entry), but ideally, I would have loved to have the magnets replaced with power ups that improve each of the animal capabilities, instead of having one single generic "jump higher" from the magnet, but again, this would probably fit better outside of a 2-days game jam and I'm sure you did what you could during the available time. Great job!

Frog is OP :-)

Cool, I like that it became about collecting magnets! The ending was a cute little touch. Nice job!

@frogman: Thank you so much! 😊 Yes, I added the shader effects because those parts of the hallway were very long (I couldn't make them shorter due to the map design), so I thought it would be nice to add something visually interesting that wouldn’t interfere with the gameplay. I noticed that adding some visual impact made it feel less boring, and it also allowed me to give the player a visual clue that the exit is above (you can see there's a surface with dirt and sky). Thanks a lot for playing!

@yvanor: I'm really glad you managed to save the little creatures in the end 😊. As for the controls, that's something I'm still not fully settled on. At one point I used the arrow keys for movement, but some people preferred WASD, others the opposite, and some said it would be better to switch characters with the mouse click. I'm trying to please everyone, but it's impossible! I'd love to include custom controls, but with just 48 hours, there's not enough time if I also want to add graphics, music, etc. I'm really happy you enjoyed it, truly. Thanks a lot for playing!

@ein: Thanks for the suggestion! The thing is, others feel the opposite, and some even prefer switching characters with a mouse click. I really wanted to add customizable controls, but with only 48 hours, there just wasn't enough time. Sometimes you have to pick a control scheme that not everyone likes. Sorry it was uncomfortable for you. Thank you so much for playing! 😊

@piero-pbes-studio: Hahaha, yeah, honestly I would’ve loved to add animations and more character interactions, but the level design took up so much of my time! Thank you so much for playing and end the game! 😊

@henk: Yeah, maybe I should've made the double jump more neat and concise. During playtesting, I had to fix some other issues and people doesn't notice me. I hope you enjoyed the game. Thanks a lot for playing! 😄

@jeremyfa: Exactly! My original idea was four creatures with four different items, but as the hours passed, I had to cut things down. The first day was spent on mechanics and visual art, and the second day was mostly level design, polishing mechanics, music, and special effects. The idea with the magnet - or what I call anti-gravity - was to let the creatures use their ability vertically. You can see it at the end, but I didn’t have enough time, so this moment ended up being linear. (You can kind of see it when you pick up the third magnet.) I did think about your suggestion of a power-up that strengthens each character’s abilities, but I left it out because I felt the experience would stay the same; at the end of the day, it’s still about going through walls, breaking blocks, or digging through rocks. The only thing it would’ve done is make the game longer without adding anything new. I hope that makes sense. Thanks so much for playing! 😊

@hubol: Yeah, the frog is way too OP, I’ll have to nerf it, haha. My original idea wasn’t to collect three magnets, but due to time constraints, I just stuck with three and wrapped up the level design. Thanks a lot for playing! 😊

I liked it. There was times when I wished there was less running back and forth but I think it was redeemed later in the game when the different sections connected. I wonder if adding some detail to the environment could have eased the experience.

I think this could have worked without the items though and instead focus was on the individual skills of characters.

Good work!

Great graphics, love the idea of switching characters. also cute detail that every character has a unique jumping sound! seriously well done :)

I really like the mood and atmosphere. My biggest criticism is the player movement. The character feels too floaty. The variable jump height is good but I think the character needs to decelerate a little bit upon releasing the jump before falling down. I also think the gravity needs to be stronger such that the player falls down faster. Great entry! Reminds me of what I enjoyed in Animal Well.

Cute game :) well done combining characters features to gradually allow the player to discover more and creating a nice mood and cute characters. I think it could be worthwhile to add a 1 or 2 frames animation to them to make the game a little less static, as long with few traps to challenge the player a little :) Also I became a flying frog nice ending and nice move predicting we'll try to reach that sky :)

Very cute! All the characters were charming, as was the CRT style effect. I think the game could have benefited from some kind of mapping (either a minimap or clear visual indicators to help prevent getting lost), I found I often had to wander a little before I realized where I was intended to go next. The movement/collision also felt a little stiff, but if that was the cost for getting the magnet ability to work that's understandable. I think the ways the character abilities interfaced with the magnet/gravity reverse were very clever and satisfying to work out. Great job :)

Lovely, short and sweet. I wish this had a better control scheme, but everything else is top notch. Had a blast playing it.

overall i liked the game but the controls felt just a bit off -- it could be that i had trouble adjusting to the different characters that jumped differently as well -- thanks for making the game.

Excellent game. Love the exploration aspect and the mechanics of the different characters. Having QWE be the controls was a little difficult when using A/D for movement, so I'd suggest adding some other keys to the left hand for such things next time. Really loved the visual and the chill music. Great job.

Watching others play your game is probably the best kind of feedback, so here goes

https://youtu.be/IJ-gzFAW6X8

Neat game, appreciate completing the full game. I like the combination of reverse gravity and the other abilities, it was a nice touch

A really good entry, I like the CRT effect :D. It is impressively big and the map is well done. There are also good sound effects and the music make it look really polished, as it is with the graphics. However the indicated keys were not matching the keys on my keyboard, because I have an AZERTY keyboard. The controls were also too close one another and I ended up pressing the wrong button very often, but I don't know how the controls could be improved...

Overall it's really impressive and looks very finished.

A really good entry, I like the CRT effect :D. It is impressively big and the map is well done. There are also good sound effects and the music make it look really polished, as it is with the graphics. However the indicated keys were not matching the keys on my keyboard, because I have an AZERTY keyboard. The controls were also too close one another and I ended up pressing the wrong button very often, but I don't know how the controls could be improved...

Overall it's really impressive and looks very finished.

I love a good character swap game like Trine etc. Nice entry and a lot of fun to play.

Sweet little puzzle / labyrinth metroidvania which reminded me of VVVVVV due to gravity shift mechanic and cute pixel art!

Music gives a fine relaxing vibe.

Here we're all just friends chillin on the grass :smiley:


~Xp

Thanks for sharing your link with us! Had a good time on stream playing your entry. Just got stuck after the first magnet, couldn't make the high jump in the first shaft.

But loved the jazzy sax and the CRT look on the main screen.

Very nice game! It felt very polished overall, and the story + visuals + music create a great mood.

I think your level design is well done, and pretty clever. I just wish there was a way to unzoom and get a better idea of the surroundings. Since you have to come back to previous locations quite often, you know where you want to go, but at times you don't remember how to get there. On the other side, the characters are quite fast so it's just a half-issue.

I would have enjoyed playing a bit longer, with a few more puzzles to solve.

Good job!

@coderaurus: Yes, actually! I had some extra art assets like plants and other little details to add more variety to the map. I really would’ve loved to include them. But on the second day, I spent a lot of time on level design and still had to finish the ending and the music. I also wanted to add objects, not just characters, to allow for different combinations. There's even a part of the map where you can use the magnet and combine it with the characters’ abilities! Thank you so much for playing! :)

@patatje: Wow! I’m so glad you enjoyed the game! And it makes me happy that you noticed each character has their own sound, I really wanted to give them a bit of personality. Thank you so much for playing! :)

@kukatoo: Yeah, I think I need to fine-tune the controls a bit more. That probably means more playtesting. Some people felt the controls were great, others said they were too floaty. I know there’s a sweet spot that could make most players happy, but for that, I really need more feedback. I'd love to get there because, in the end, I want as many people as possible to enjoy the game to the fullest. And by the way, it's an honor that the game reminded you - even just a little - of *Animal Well*. That truly means a lot. Thanks so much for playing! :)

@knarf: Yeah, the animations were a matter of priorities. On the first day, I focused on mechanics and art, but I didn’t have time for animations. In previous Ludum Dares, I spent the second day working on animations, but then I ran out of time for level design. This time, I decided to prioritize level design over animations. In the future, I definitely want to improve my efficiency when it comes to creating art. Oh, and no one had mentioned the little detail for those who managed to reach the sky! I wish I’d had time to add a more elaborate easter egg and some lore to expand the story! But yeah, like I said, I just didn’t have the time, and even the animations didn’t make the cut! Thanks a lot for playing! :)

@anson-rutherford: Thank you so much for saying the characters are charming! I really wanted to include a minimap, but I just couldn’t make it in time. I also had plans to expand the map a bit more with new gravity-flipping paths, but again—time. Still, I would’ve loved to add all that. Thanks a lot for playing! :)

@gargantuan-janitor: Wow, thank you so, so much for your kind words. I think I definitely need more testing with different kinds of players when it comes to the controls. Some people felt they were solid, others less so. Thanks again for playing! :)

@paulhocker: Yeah, I should’ve polished the jump mechanics more. I wish I’d done more testing to better tune the controls for the average player’s taste. And thank you for playing, it truly means a lot to me!

@bentglasstube: So lately I’ve been offering both WASD and arrow key controls. The thing is, I haven’t seen many other games offering control options like I do! But yeah, next time I’ll probably go with something like HJK for abilities when using WASD, and QWER when using arrow keys. Thanks for your feedback—and for playing! :)

@alaah: Wow! Thank you so much for uploading the video! I think this might actually be the first time someone’s made a video of one of my games! There’s honestly no better kind of feedback. Thanks for playing! :)

@beardywombat: I’m glad you made it to the end! And yes, I really wanted to expand more on the gravity-flipping mechanic and the character abilities, but just ran out of time to add more map content. Thanks so much for playing! :)

@mibi88: Wow! I honestly didn’t expect someone with an AZERTY keyboard! In Godot, I set the controls based on physical keys, so that A and D on QWERTY match up with Q and D on AZERTY. But maybe the issue was more about my choice of keys. I currently offer two movement control schemes, but in the future I might provide two full sets—maybe arrows + QWER for abilities, and WASD + JKL or something similar. Thanks so much for your feedback, and especially for playing! :)

@designernap: I hadn’t thought of *Trine* at all! But you’re right, the character-switching mechanic is used in quite a few games. I’m really happy you enjoyed it, thank you so much for playing! :)

@empyreans: Wow! I actually know *VVVVVV*, but I’ve never played it. I imagine most of the mechanics I used have probably been done before in other games too. I'm really glad you liked the music. I was going for something relaxing that wouldn’t feel too repetitive. And thank you for the video montage! I think it’s the first time someone has done that for one of my games. It really means a lot. Thank you so much for playing! :)

@alvaron: Ah, maybe you missed it! After picking up the first magnet, you need to head as far up and to the left as possible. From there, use the frog’s double jump with anti-gravity, and you’ll be able to get the second magnet. Then just find the third one and you’ll be ready for *Descent to Sunrise*! Thanks for playing, let me know if you try again! :)

@rolly: Thank you, thank you so much for your kind words. Comments like yours are what keep me motivated to keep making games and giving players little moments of joy. Some folks mentioned the minimap already, but yeah, a zoom-out feature might’ve been even more interesting and probably easier to implement. Thanks again for playing! :)