Depths of Darvaza 2 by ghost-in-the-toast

made by ghost-in-the-toast for Ludum Dare 57 (JAM)

Created with GameMaker 4<em>7</em>2025 9<em>44</em>29 PM.png

A Sequel??

Depths of Darvaza 2 is a direct sequel to our game jam game we made back for Ludum Dare 48. You don't need to play the first game to understand the events of this game. But if you'd like to know where it started, check it out here!

How to play

You can use either keyboard or gamepad. It should detect both PS5 and Xbox controllers. I haven't tested it with older controllers but they should work.

Move - Arrow Keys or DPAD/Left Analog stick.
Shoot - Z Key or the X button
Jump - Space bar or the A button
Interact - X Key or the B button

Story so far...

Darvaza is home to a corporate mining industry. Recently, there's been an explosion at one of the facilities. It's your job as a member of the Conflict Resolution Outfit Unit to determine the cause of the accident, descend into the depths of Darvaza once again and find the foreman in charge of the operation. If he's still alive...

Credits

Skawly for the cover art <3
Conduit for the voice acting and amazing OST!
Jeremy and Dalton for hanging out while we worked on the jam.
Tony for helping me play test the initial build!
AND YOU, for taking the time to play my game. Thanks!

Itch.io Page	https://ghostinthetoast.itch.io/depths-of-darvasa-2
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/depths-of-darvasa-2

Ratings

Overall	298^th	3.724⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Fun	225^th	3.69⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	641^th	2.931⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Theme	531^th	3.517⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	289^th	3.95⭐	32🧑‍⚖️
Audio	143^th	3.862⭐	31🧑‍⚖️
Humor	331^th	3.071⭐	30🧑‍⚖️
Mood	334^th	3.732⭐	30🧑‍⚖️
Given		18🗳️	40🗨️

Feedback

Michal Babka

08. Apr 2025 · 08:10 UTC

Great game. Loved the little hidden things, also very funny boss fight.

infecsean

08. Apr 2025 · 22:13 UTC

I like the artstyle and the whole color theme, it fits well. Music seems a bit louder than the voice tho, that being said, it is impressive enough that there even is a voice over at all.

Talif Moor

09. Apr 2025 · 18:43 UTC

Don't worry, I'll find the 4th key card eventually. I just need to stop finding ways of falling into the abyss.

Jake G

12. Apr 2025 · 05:10 UTC

I love that you added the pet pic easter eggs <3

Aynu

12. Apr 2025 · 06:26 UTC

Nice! Love it on my play list !

ryusui

12. Apr 2025 · 07:02 UTC

Solid little Metroidvania-ish shooter. Reminded me a bit of Cave Story. I followed my backtracking instincts and found all the pet photos, though I'm curious if the game is actually beatable *without* finding them (I couldn't figure out how to cross the gap and find the third card key without the additional jetpack upgrades).

Also noticed the fourth card key door but I've got no idea where to look for that last card key. ^_^;

JamesGames1000

12. Apr 2025 · 08:38 UTC

Great music, art and gameplay It's a good balance between all of these. This is one of my top 5 games so far, keep up the good work :)

Dyecode

12. Apr 2025 · 08:40 UTC

Really cool game to play ! Art style is neat and music just feat perfectly.

Antoine Bodin

12. Apr 2025 · 08:43 UTC

very nice game, impressing for a game jam really ! the music is very nice

Dywanix

12. Apr 2025 · 09:19 UTC

very cool and fun idea!

drFoxxx

12. Apr 2025 · 09:39 UTC

really impressive pixel artwork and I especially admire the choice of color palette.

CrozzY

12. Apr 2025 · 11:43 UTC

I really liked the design and color scheme in the game, also the gameplay is quite interesting and the music is cool

Cresceda

13. Apr 2025 · 12:37 UTC

This was a really cool, polished platformer! Especially for the duration. The mood is really portrayed well with the voice, music and quick gameplay. I think I found all the pets :).

I could not, however, find the last card key. I went back to other levels but wasn't able to get it.

muriel

13. Apr 2025 · 13:20 UTC

Incredible art, as others said the color palette is very nice and pleasing to watch, the music and this walkie talkie voice are so cool.

In terms of gameplay, the controls feel nice, the game is juicy (haha big bullets baby), also I loved the particles when using the jetpack.

It really feels like a game that could be sold in any store!

What I couldn't find is the source code, usually it doesn't matter to me but after seeing the files that you distribute I was curious to know what is the underlying tech, is it a custom engine on top of SDL2?

Anyway, incredible entry and if you used your own tech even more impressive!

Great job team!

🎤 ghost-in-the-toast

15. Apr 2025 · 01:38 UTC

@muriel We used Game Maker Studio 2!

LDJam user 243193

21. Apr 2025 · 08:27 UTC

Nice short game! Too bad the dash is only useful in final area and certain spot however the jetpack and boosts are still useful.
The levels are varied and have couple things to shoot at including the one at the depths. It was fun.

Christian Zommerfelds

21. Apr 2025 · 15:25 UTC

Wow, really awesome atmosphere. My keyboard is doesn't have the Z where you expect (QWERTZ) :) But switching to a controller was nice (PS DualSense)! Weirdly X was mapped to a short jump and O worked to hold and not everything worked with this controller.

The music is awesome, and the low res and small color palette is cool.

deadroach

21. Apr 2025 · 20:39 UTC

Love the color palette! The game is simple yet very effective, love that your movement is upgraded as you progress through the game. Everything works flawlessly and I was able to beat the game so it of course gets points for that. Overall I had a good time with this one!

https://www.youtube.com/live/IBbnvXqYD3A?si=XAaGgQXk9nYSmR1o&t=1957

johnnysix

21. Apr 2025 · 23:02 UTC

Really enjoyed this one, great concept well executed - I tried to take a screenshot of the later levels and it reverted back to non-scaled version sadly, so missed out a bit on the boss fight. :cry:

Would be cool to see some more levels / enemies etc, the music and the style was cool , great use of a limited palette, the only parts that were a little challenging to distinguish were the water bits.

![Screenshot 2025-04-21 235503.png](///raw/028/2/z/6c62d.png)