DATE IN THE DEPTHS by WHOLE GARBAGE SALE

[raw]
made by WHOLE GARBAGE SALE for Ludum Dare 57 (JAM)

Date in the Depths is a game where you play as Pitbull, a classy angler who is hungry. He can't just eat his prey in the open though! He needs to take them to dinner first! Lure your little fishy friends to a nice dinner table where you can enjoy a nice meal... Screenshot 2025-04-08 000317.png Encounter different fish with fun gimmicks in this short and sweet little puzzle game!

Note: Use the Arrow keys and The Z key in order to navigate the menu

Ratings

Overall 211th 3.833⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Fun 393th 3.438⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 216th 3.646⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Theme 112th 4.208⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 384th 3.792⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Audio 228th 3.667⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Humor 95th 3.833⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Mood 362th 3.688⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Given 18🗳️ 31🗨️

Feedback

Toupaks
08. Apr 2025 · 10:46 UTC
Loved the gameplay, felt very smooth and the level of details with the little blush on the fish is a nice touch. The polish is quite great with the sound and different mechanics. Great job !
Temposter
08. Apr 2025 · 17:04 UTC
The idea was really fresh! And the amount of using the mechanics in innovative ways was really awesome. Also bojojoing by the spiked things was the cherry on top of my poor gaming skills.
Sayeg
08. Apr 2025 · 17:04 UTC
Cool concept overall! The idea of having a game taking place in mostly dark setting is very cool, I do think that giving some light and hints every now and there could make losing feel more "fair".

I loved the art and vibe! Keep it up :)
shores
08. Apr 2025 · 17:06 UTC
What a pleasantly goofy game. What a pleasure to play this well put together game. Funny and atmospheric? Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it!
khaotom
08. Apr 2025 · 17:08 UTC
I think the contrast of the visuals could be increased in service to making the game more accessible. The volume of the sound effects vs the music was jarring. Small nitpicks aside, I enjoyed this cute and clever puzzle game. A nice variety of mechanics were explored with the different personalities of the fishes. Well done!
Kamuniaft
08. Apr 2025 · 17:11 UTC
Haven't figured out what the input button is ;( Can switch menu options with arrows, but can't select any, cause "enter" or any other button I tried don't work. Idk, probably smth with my keyboard/system.
Lipski
08. Apr 2025 · 17:13 UTC
Amazing game, felt great playing, would love if it was a bit brighter, was hard to see sometimes, but otherwise a really nice experience
Also really liked the level design, the way you introduced a new fish in an extremely basic level just to then make more and more challenging levels, tbh I struggled at the Honeymoon level quite a lot 😅
artemco
08. Apr 2025 · 17:15 UTC
Its really cool idea, but after 5 minutes it feels boring, and in the dark it is difficult to see obstacles
peringo
08. Apr 2025 · 18:50 UTC
Charming and quirky! I genuinely expected some kind of dating mechanics, so that was a funny first level end. Like that you expanded on the concept. The music was super chill, but it seemed kind of at odds with the sounds. Sounds were also well made, just the mash of both didn´t work for me.
Texugo
09. Apr 2025 · 00:25 UTC
I'm having the same problem as @kamuniaft, it seems that I can use my arrow keys to move through the menu but I don't know how to select them. Would love to play the game!
Albinobat
09. Apr 2025 · 03:36 UTC
Love the humour in this game! Gameplay is just the right amount of challenging, and the art is very charming. It can just be quite hard to see where you're going when your light is off, which is an issue in levels where you need to strategically turn it on and off
Keeta
09. Apr 2025 · 04:17 UTC
I love the sprites in this game. The animations are very well done as well. I like how different fish react to the light in different ways. I will say it is a bit difficult to see the urchins when your light is off, though.
🎤 WHOLE GARBAGE SALE
09. Apr 2025 · 06:26 UTC
@texugo @kamuniaft Press Z on the menu in order to start 🙂
Kamuniaft
09. Apr 2025 · 07:36 UTC
Now I was able to play! Turned out I haven't tried "Z". The concept is halrious, but I felt a bit guilty luring all those fish just to eat it XD I love how the mechanics play off each other - like luring in both tasty fish and enemies, while some fish run from your light. I wish the game is a bit lighter, or at least, osbtacles has better visibility, I had to strain to see them and that did't felt quite fair. Overall, I had fun! Good job creating a game!
woona
09. Apr 2025 · 12:57 UTC
I liked the game, played up to level 10. Great job with art and character design, the fish are really charming.

I think the game could be improved a bit. You've made it so the obstacles are visible but really hard to see. I understand that it's because the light doesn't reach the depths of the ocean. But the player has to really squint to see the obstacles that they need to see to complete the game. You could have either:
* disregard the theme and make the game more bright and colorful, so the player could actually see all the obstacles
* or embrace the theme and make the game pitch black aside from a small circle of light around the player, it would make for a hardcore game though 😂 but squinting won't help you!
mr_mesmer
11. Apr 2025 · 23:27 UTC
Nice idea, like this game progression. For me, in this game was one problem, I prefer to see this game in one of two formats.

1-st variant, make it faster and less complex. Maybe avoid mines on speed and not check food-fish collide with them and playing them like arcade.

2-nd variant, make it like strategy on fixed grid, like in packman, and play it like logical puzzle with turn on/off light in right places.

I think, if you make this 2 concept and make levels changed between them in post-jam version, it would be cooler. Like, first level is speed arcade, second level is logical, third arcade and ...

Anyway, good job
Zshandi Krahn
12. Apr 2025 · 07:02 UTC
Cool little game, and good fun vibes!

I tend to agree with what others have said:

- obstacles could have more contrast for better visibility
- the silly sounds don't mesh well with the mysterious / tranquil music
- needs more of a hook to encourage continued play
- Would also have liked to have a full screen option (or at least resizable window)
Haoro
13. Apr 2025 · 20:58 UTC
Interesting idea ! Keep up the good work 😁
darefus
21. Apr 2025 · 00:43 UTC
lovd the fish chars and animations,, nd sound@! vry fun and felt supre complete,, the challennge was ramped pperfectly as well~
I_POTS
22. Apr 2025 · 14:09 UTC
Interesting game! Very cleverly combined with the theme
LDJam user 276121
23. Apr 2025 · 22:28 UTC
A neat little puzzler, although completing the double date objectives at the same time did appear to softlock. Cute that the fish blush.