Deep Dark Difficult by Shess

[raw]
made by Shess for Ludum Dare 57 (JAM)

"Running these dungeons is a pretty lucrative business, I hear. The deeper you get, the more you discover... both about the dungeon, and yourself. I mean, how many mushroom sages have we raised this season alone?"

dddl<em>promo</em>scr_001.png

Story: you descend into a very DEEP, very dark dungeon where you have to face your DEEPEST desires. The lore is pretty DEEP, too (not really). Obviously, there are foes to slay, treasures to collect, and mushrooms to consume!

It's not like you absolutely have to eat mushrooms, by the way, but since there's not much real fear, we had to at least compensate with hunger, right?


  • Descend to the third dungeon layer to face the boss
  • Manage your health and satiety so that your journey lasts
  • Discover how greedy or selfless you truly want to be
  • Indulge in various types of (sentient?) mushrooms
  • Play in browser!

Controls: mouse only. [CLICK] on the nodes on the map to the right to pick your next event, then choose what to do during the event. Feel free to check the in-game tutorial for additional help.

Tips and tricks: - some options are available only for those who are very greedy, or very selfless; - not all mushrooms are safe to eat, but you won't know it until you try; - anything can be a mimic (but there are not that many mimics, like 3 in total); - strangers are usually nice to you, unless it's Patches (hate that guy); - there are six ways to defeat the final boss based on what stats you've got!


dddl<em>promo</em>scr_002.png

Code: Yanrishatum. Art: Ponytrator. Gamedesign, writing: Shess.

Ratings

Overall 139th 3.947⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 201th 3.737⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 435th 3.25⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 465th 3.65⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 195th 4.15⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 47th 4.132⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 152th 4.025⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 33🗳️ 8🗨️

Feedback

Michal Babka
08. Apr 2025 · 16:17 UTC
Didn't know what to expect without screenshots, but got nicely surprised. Great game, feels like the choices you make really mater. Great job!
DeadCode
08. Apr 2025 · 16:17 UTC
Honestly amazing game! Love the story and the art style and it's gameplay is quite soothing even though I was doing my best trying to balance my health and hunger. Great work and you definitely deserve to rest after this one!
bartholomheow
08. Apr 2025 · 16:17 UTC
This is really good and well polished! It made me chuckle a bit, i can see it faring well in the jam!
ludokai
08. Apr 2025 · 16:18 UTC
i love the funger references, and i like that you kept the mood light and funny, all the text entries were well written. The gameplay was really fun! Great job!
shores
08. Apr 2025 · 16:19 UTC
Nice game, having a lot of options for different paths is always interesting, also for replayability! I tried to do a food only run, but never managed to feel completely satisfied! But hey... it's a dungeon, not an all you can eat buffet! Fun game, good job, and thanks for letting me play it!
Sagamore
08. Apr 2025 · 21:16 UTC
Beautiful art style and amazing mood. Love this game!
Dudum Lare
23. Apr 2025 · 18:28 UTC
The graphics are so good. Overall, the game feels very well polished- good job!! :-)
Pegasus
24. Apr 2025 · 15:59 UTC
Really like the visual style in this, very polished too!
fraanns
24. Apr 2025 · 18:17 UTC
This is an amazing game. Great job.
icebell
24. Apr 2025 · 20:23 UTC
This was really nice, fun gameplay, great art and really nice music and audio as well!!! Good job!!! Also, love your little Ray mascot highlighting things in the menu!
LeReveur
24. Apr 2025 · 21:18 UTC
Actually it was funnier to play than I thought at first sight. I did not explore all the paths, but tried a couple, and I saw there is some content for a jam game. Graphics are good enough, and mood is here too, so: well done!
Maybe you would better have tested and rated more games, as you may not have enough rates to get stats at the end, and this would be bad as you game really deserves being rated…
KingJordz
24. Apr 2025 · 22:50 UTC
Great Game, Love the narration and the many different choices you can make, good job :thumbsup:
MadelineF
25. Apr 2025 · 08:03 UTC
Great narration I liked it. good job !