The author has shown a great knowledge of the (debatable) UI of Minetest, being able to create a game that it completely runs in 2D. Sure, you must be a masochist to script this on Minetest rather than, I don't know, Godot, but it surely is a showcase of what it can actually be done.
The vibe goes to the old arcades, displaying an artistic coherence. Gameplay is fine, but again l I think that the best aspect of this is to open PRANG! in front of people who think that MT is all about 3D and then see their confused -yet intrigued - face
If I could give something between "Yes" and "No", that's what I'd give. "Yes" because I can't say the author hasn't put all themselves to realise this puzzle game in so little time: very curated graphics, nice effects, silent narration, and a peculiar mechanic that surely makes it intriguing.
"No" because the puzzle solving itself felt somehow heavy, I wasn't motivated to go on (I've quit at the vertical room where you have to use 3 different blocks to attach the green one onto the ceiling). For instance, last year jam winner "Alter" was a puzzle game where I kind of wanted to know what the AI would have told me next. On this year's entry "Slidespace", I've got the sensation of getting closer to the end because I could literally see it. The story was quite simple (and still silent) but it was there. Here, it looks more like that the author wanted to showcase all the different ideas they had came about (new blocks popping up stage after stage), rather than creating some sort of flow for the player, or some sort of narration. It looks like one of those AAA games with a lot of budget and fancy graphics, but with a low-average quality gameplay-wise.
Voting "No" as I think gameplay should come before graphics
There are no instructions when joining the game, so you just go around and click on things. You encounter panels with a lot buttons, sliding doors, more panels and accesses to the space, where you just float going down, indefinitely. Also, no music at all and the character is the default Minetest 2D sprite.
I guess the intent of the author was to create some sort of a spaceship life simulator, but in this state it's just empty
Reading through CDB I've discovered that there are hordes of aliens to fight but honestly I'm stuck at the initial "collect 5 X nodes" quest. I've explored the world quite a bit, finding just 3 of those nodes, and it turned quite repetitive jump after jump. Also, I think that instructions at the beginning could have been shorter.
The pet following you is cute, the music is spot on. But I can't seem to experience any gameplay
There's not a lot to do but drilling, and contrary to other games' standard tools that you can use by holding down the mouse button, here players have to spam-click. Also, I don't know why but the author has decided to limit item stacks to 5 items each, making the process of collecting the 200 requested nodes kind of annoying (I haven't finished that). There is no reward feeling in general.
Instructions: the positive thing is that the author has included them (which shouldn't be taken for granted), the negative thing is that they consist in a raw wall of text that only appears when a player enters the world. So if you close them by accident or you want to double check something, you must close and re-open the world. I appreciate the irony about the jackhammer not working properly to justify the left click spamming, but... heh, it's not gonna cut it.
Controls: I get it, we're on the moon and, actually, the first time I've jumped I was positively impressed by this nice touch. But after a couple jumps, you just don't want to jump anymore, ever. It slows down gameplay so much, as if the collecting in stacks of 5 wasn't enough. Also, there is this dark mood in the game, I wasn't sure if monsters were gonna spawn to kill me or anything (maybe related to the title). Felt a bit like Slenderman, without being sure if there was actually a threat outside. That could be seen as a nice touch, but I've closed and uninstalled the game before having an answer (so I'll just have a look at the code)
Considering this is an entry for a jam done in 3 weeks, that's simply amazing. Puzzles are well planned (chapeau!), the difficulty scales smoothly (the last two levels were a bit frustrating, but in a positive way) and the author hasn't fallen into the trap of turning it into a rage game just to make it more difficult close to the end. It kept me there playing, I wanted to see the end: that's not something you take for granted in so little development time.
The music: so simple, yet so immersive. Those static noises added alongside the bgm are the cherry on top. I'm literally writing this review with the main menu music still playing, it's relaxing and it perfectly transmits the idea of being lost in space, floating around. Which is everything you do in the game, so it's coherent.
Graphics: nodes are pure white, but I really don't care. Their candor fits with the theme, where the shapes resembling snowflakes gently scattered through the tiny part of space being your friend help creating a light atmosphere. Also, it creates a terrifying constrast with the emptiness of what's around you, portraying a liminal space that scares you, yet makes you feel somehow fine - you can still reset, can't you?
White particles suggesting you where you're gonna end are also a nice touch.
Last but not least, the author has curated the main menu, displaying a great economics of assets (music and background are the same assets you encounter in game).
I genuinely don't have any critique: highly suggested, congratulations to the author
I recall how much I wanted a skills library when I was working on Block League last year. I also wondered back then how it was possible that no one had ever thaught about creating something useful like a mod that allowed you to easily introduce skills in your game. Because it's something that basically every genre might need. RPG, FPS, MOBA, you name it. I also recall how I ended up throwing in the towel because I couldn't focus on yet another mod to maintain. So I renounced.
Wanna smash some keys and cast cool skills? Wanna have a deathmatch with a lot of colourful things going on through the map ? Then Fantasy Brawl it's for you.
I've been following Giov4 creating this game since the very beginning, and I admit I was a bit skeptical at the time, because entities are... a complicated subject here on Minetest (half of the skills rely on entities). And yet, he's managed to create a fun experience, so fun that it's one of the most played minigames on our minigames server: if it's your first time, there are short instructions before the match starts, so you won't be lost. And in general you'll be probably absorbed after casting a couple skills. Nonetheless, if you know how to play the game you can play on another level of complexity ("I should be careful to engage that player as a warrior, since they're a mage with probably the ice spikes barrier ready to be used") that makes the game even more fun. In general, OP has also shown to listen to users feedback, improving and balancing what was the first alpha version. I'm looking forward to see a third class to make things even more interesting.
My only suggestion is, it might be worth thinking about introducing an objective mid-game, so to have players gathering around it in order to conquer it: it would add another layer of complexity (like the Baron and the dragon in League of Legends), without altering the game experience that much.
A classic you can find in a lot of games. The author is also very fast at addressing issues, and they're available in general. It'd be nice in the future to customise the amount and the shape of platforms, which is currently hardcoded
I stumbled upon this mod by accident and I was very curious to see what the author had managed to do.
The first try was on an already created world with no other mods enabled but this, and after a short while the fans of my PC started spinning like crazy and the system started to struggle, at least till my character was teleported at ~Y 4000 for no apparent reason. I run /kill but it wasn't long till I got teleported back.
I then decided to run another test on a brand new world, and this time the problem didn't show up. However, the half stuck camera and the fact that it teleports back almost at every movement of the mouse, makes the experience very frustrating.
I also tried to give myself a few privileges (fly, noclip), but they didn't work. I had to read the description in here to learn that I need to kill myself first, however such instructions shouldn't be on a separate file, they should be in game.
In general, I appreciate the creativity of the author, but as for now it only seems the emptier version of Terraria with a very annoying camera
Yes, I'm aware this is basically a Super Mario clone that needs polishing, but hey, I've had fun. I've appreciated the hidden areas and the general cure for the artistic side (sound when jumping, BGMs, a texture pack that fits with the genre), and too bad the player can't be shifted when standing on a moving platform - but I'd say that's an engine limitation.
At this state of development, my only critique is that a good level design can completely change the game: money can be used to guide the player, to give them some challenge, and not randomly spreading them through the map Spyro-style makes the act of collecting feel rewarding; also, I'd shrink some places here and there. In general, I hope to see something more curated in the future on this aspect (no matter what level of difficulty the author is aiming for).
I'm definitely going to keep this one installed to see what comes next: maybe time has come to have nice platforms on Minetest too. Go for it :D
Hey there, thanks for the report!
Water has been fixed, but I still haven't checked mese lamps. I've reopened the issue tracker on GitLab, if you don't mind reporting it in there ~
I really wanted to understand how Mesecons work, so I've given this game a shot. I think that the tutorial part, if expanded, could be amazing, but the rest was just confusing to me. Basically, I don't get how a museum can help people understand how things work without explaining them anything (but saying: "this is X"). I mean, yes, it's a slideshow, but I was expecting something more educational and interactive.
I appreciated the custom sky and the chains though, giving that God of War III vibe.
I mean... you can teleport around by tossing an item. Should I add more? :D
It opens up to fun strategies in PvP and faster explorations in PvE games, becoming a very versatile tool. I would have probably avoided to copy the exact Minecraft name, but other than that, it's great
I appreciate the custom menu where to choose your character and the fact that those are actually animated. Yet, in that menu there are way too many things (leaderboard, instructions) and, speaking about instructions, I didn't even notice them in the first run.
Gameplay in general feels kind of too much slow paced if you don't take some specific power up, which makes the game not that fun - especially because it's easier to blow yourself up by accident than killing someone else. Maybe with some work it can become a nice mode to play
I had to modify one of the files (there was an end missing) in order to launch the game. This makes me wonder whether the author tested the project before releasing it, making me lean for a negative answer.
Once I fixed the game, things didn't improve, as there was literally nothing to do. I wonder why this has been submitted if players can't do anything
There are several aspects that let players understand how this game is either unfinished or at least not polished. First of all, the very first GUI is editable. Then, players are supposed to build the level themselves by placing entities in the maze; and, speaking about the maze, there are grass blocks inside which are also breakable by default (ruining the experience). Last but not least, my character wasn't picking up yellow dots when touching them, forcing me to hit each one of them. Too bad
When players install a game (so a complete experience), they're not expected to check out the readme. Especially because they can install it directly from MT
First of all, there is an AI regulating how the other participants work. That alone deserves a thumb up.
Then, the author took care of the aesthetic, both with a custom main menu, a nice soundtrack and a clear UI/UX (power-ups as symbols, visible effects, a menu where to pick your driver): all these things require a lot of effort, so chapeau for the work done, especially considering that there was a window of time of 20 days.
My critiques derive from the laggy camera and the overall speed. About the former, I don't know if it's because of a MT limitation (with the author trying to find a workaround), but it makes me also think about whether MT can actually feature fast paced games like racing games or not. I should investigate the code to have an answer but... I'll leave the pleasure to others. About the overall speed, I think it was too slow, and that the turbo boost was too short.
The game is definitely not finished (for instance, there are no laps) and I don't know if it's well suited for an engine like MT, but I expect to see at least a special mention to this: congratulations to the author.
(as I've said below another 2021 Jam game, consider converting it into a minigame with arena_lib)
I know I might sound annoying, but if the aesthetic of the game engine revolves around voxels, why not using squared objects whenever it's possible? On the contrary, everything implemented is a custom round model (hot-air balloons, coins), making the game uselessly heavier whilst breaking the aesthetic at the same time.
Graphics aside, the first world didn't work, commands felt clumsy, and I found no way to go back up with the air-balloon. I basically couldn't play properly
The game consists in running around a huge maze, hoping to find a couple items to make your life easier (especially dynamite) and potentially fighting a few guards who caught you. I was expecting something more stealth (like, with guards closing on you when caught, GTA-like), prisoners to interact with, and with a different soundtrack - which in my opinion doesn't fit that well.
Also, to finish the game, you just have to jump into the void. When I first saw that, I thought I just broke the game, but apparently that's what it was supposed to happen. It looks to me that this was more a challenge for the author themselves to create a procedural map than a well thought game experience
I had to check on CDB (which brought me to check a forum post) in order to understand what to do. The game should explain itself, players are not expected to browse through an offline manual.
The three colours mechanic can open up to some interesting aspects, but as for now you only have to copy 1:1 a picture on a forum. Personally, that's not entertaining nor challenging at all
Game is simple to grasp, but there is no way to go back up in case you fall down. That's a huge problem, which is mainly why my vote is negative.
In general, it was ok and the icons on the blocks were pretty clean and straightforward. My suggestion is to convert it into a minigame to feature inside a bigger project (whether it's singleplayer or online) rather than have it as a stand-alone one.
Last but not least, the inventory could have been removed, and instructions could have been made more visible (MT chat quality is... debatable)
This is one of the two games from the 2021 Jam (along with Subway Miner) that I've kept installed on my PC, because I really want to see what the author can come up with. Yes, as for now there is not a lot to do, but it looks like a solid foundation to potentially build something entertaining. Kenney assets help conveying a brightful atmosphere (using exisisting libre assets was smart), and you can see the author cared about the artistic aspect since the very beginning, as they customised the main menu and added a soundtrack.
I would have increased the flying speed, as it's very slow if someone doesn't press AUX1, but... yeah, let's see what it'll become
The author paid attention to graphical details, but as I've already said with Stella (another Jam entry), why exactly feature a game with basically no voxels in a voxel engine? Why not on Godot, to name one?
Graphics aside, punching things makes the game crash, time doesn't work and I think that it was used too much text to explain some basic concepts that could have been indirectly narrated
I think that, to me, this is the most polished and fun game to play of the whole 2021 jam. I'm not that into puzzle games, but this was very fun and challenging to play. The humour adds personality and little breaks from the challenge, alongside levels that don't tend to be repetitive, always adding something new.
My only critique is how much the game punishes players, making them start from the very beginning when they fail a level (that's what happened to me in the one requiring spatial memory, and I refused to start again). Infinite potions or making people restart that specific level might be a better solution that avoids excessive frustration
The portal idea unveiling new areas is absolutely great: I can already imagine an RPG requiring you some specific items to unlock certain locations, and I'd really like to push the author to continue it along this modding path. Unfortunately, this is a game and I think that, as such, it turns repetitive after a while. Lack of instructions didn't help either, I had to check out on CDB what to do
I get that formats like these work on MineCRAFT servers where you have a limited amount of time to copy something whilst racing against other players, but a single-player version felt just... boring, to me. Especially the idea that players had to manually go buying things in a physical space (with signs not always that readable and a flight mode not fast enough) instead of using a polished GUI.
Using blocks as instructions is another thing I would have avoided, as it doesn't allow to easily geolocalise the game.
On the bright side, the author took time to customise the main menu and to add some music, which are always nice things to have
My main problem with the game was that I didn't understand what to do. Like, I get that you can ride boxes (which are supposed to be bicycles I guess), but after that, what exactly? I was happy to see the game has a custom main menu and a soundtrack (too loud in my opinion), and that the author implemented nose-ups just for the sake it (nice touch!), but then the content was immediately over. I guess it's still a WIP
The author has shown a great knowledge of the (debatable) UI of Minetest, being able to create a game that it completely runs in 2D. Sure, you must be a masochist to script this on Minetest rather than, I don't know, Godot, but it surely is a showcase of what it can actually be done.
The vibe goes to the old arcades, displaying an artistic coherence. Gameplay is fine, but again l I think that the best aspect of this is to open PRANG! in front of people who think that MT is all about 3D and then see their confused -yet intrigued - face
Yep, missed the falling meteors, so I've found myself without no clues.
I've never touched my
time_speedsetting, I guess I haven't played enough until the nightIf I could give something between "Yes" and "No", that's what I'd give. "Yes" because I can't say the author hasn't put all themselves to realise this puzzle game in so little time: very curated graphics, nice effects, silent narration, and a peculiar mechanic that surely makes it intriguing.
"No" because the puzzle solving itself felt somehow heavy, I wasn't motivated to go on (I've quit at the vertical room where you have to use 3 different blocks to attach the green one onto the ceiling). For instance, last year jam winner "Alter" was a puzzle game where I kind of wanted to know what the AI would have told me next. On this year's entry "Slidespace", I've got the sensation of getting closer to the end because I could literally see it. The story was quite simple (and still silent) but it was there. Here, it looks more like that the author wanted to showcase all the different ideas they had came about (new blocks popping up stage after stage), rather than creating some sort of flow for the player, or some sort of narration. It looks like one of those AAA games with a lot of budget and fancy graphics, but with a low-average quality gameplay-wise.
Voting "No" as I think gameplay should come before graphics
EDIT: Now I can vote "Neutral" :P
There are no instructions when joining the game, so you just go around and click on things. You encounter panels with a lot buttons, sliding doors, more panels and accesses to the space, where you just float going down, indefinitely. Also, no music at all and the character is the default Minetest 2D sprite.
I guess the intent of the author was to create some sort of a spaceship life simulator, but in this state it's just empty
Reading through CDB I've discovered that there are hordes of aliens to fight but honestly I'm stuck at the initial "collect 5 X nodes" quest. I've explored the world quite a bit, finding just 3 of those nodes, and it turned quite repetitive jump after jump. Also, I think that instructions at the beginning could have been shorter.
The pet following you is cute, the music is spot on. But I can't seem to experience any gameplay
It tries to simulate physics, arrows stick to the surface they hit, proper sounds. Nice :D
There's not a lot to do but drilling, and contrary to other games' standard tools that you can use by holding down the mouse button, here players have to spam-click. Also, I don't know why but the author has decided to limit item stacks to 5 items each, making the process of collecting the 200 requested nodes kind of annoying (I haven't finished that). There is no reward feeling in general.
Instructions: the positive thing is that the author has included them (which shouldn't be taken for granted), the negative thing is that they consist in a raw wall of text that only appears when a player enters the world. So if you close them by accident or you want to double check something, you must close and re-open the world. I appreciate the irony about the jackhammer not working properly to justify the left click spamming, but... heh, it's not gonna cut it.
Controls: I get it, we're on the moon and, actually, the first time I've jumped I was positively impressed by this nice touch. But after a couple jumps, you just don't want to jump anymore, ever. It slows down gameplay so much, as if the collecting in stacks of 5 wasn't enough. Also, there is this dark mood in the game, I wasn't sure if monsters were gonna spawn to kill me or anything (maybe related to the title). Felt a bit like Slenderman, without being sure if there was actually a threat outside. That could be seen as a nice touch, but I've closed and uninstalled the game before having an answer (so I'll just have a look at the code)
In general, it's highly unfinished
Considering this is an entry for a jam done in 3 weeks, that's simply amazing. Puzzles are well planned (chapeau!), the difficulty scales smoothly (the last two levels were a bit frustrating, but in a positive way) and the author hasn't fallen into the trap of turning it into a rage game just to make it more difficult close to the end. It kept me there playing, I wanted to see the end: that's not something you take for granted in so little development time.
The music: so simple, yet so immersive. Those static noises added alongside the bgm are the cherry on top. I'm literally writing this review with the main menu music still playing, it's relaxing and it perfectly transmits the idea of being lost in space, floating around. Which is everything you do in the game, so it's coherent.
Graphics: nodes are pure white, but I really don't care. Their candor fits with the theme, where the shapes resembling snowflakes gently scattered through the tiny part of space being your friend help creating a light atmosphere. Also, it creates a terrifying constrast with the emptiness of what's around you, portraying a liminal space that scares you, yet makes you feel somehow fine - you can still reset, can't you? White particles suggesting you where you're gonna end are also a nice touch.
Last but not least, the author has curated the main menu, displaying a great economics of assets (music and background are the same assets you encounter in game).
I genuinely don't have any critique: highly suggested, congratulations to the author
I recall how much I wanted a skills library when I was working on Block League last year. I also wondered back then how it was possible that no one had ever thaught about creating something useful like a mod that allowed you to easily introduce skills in your game. Because it's something that basically every genre might need. RPG, FPS, MOBA, you name it. I also recall how I ended up throwing in the towel because I couldn't focus on yet another mod to maintain. So I renounced.
...until now! Thanks for what you're doing :)
Wanna smash some keys and cast cool skills? Wanna have a deathmatch with a lot of colourful things going on through the map ? Then Fantasy Brawl it's for you.
I've been following Giov4 creating this game since the very beginning, and I admit I was a bit skeptical at the time, because entities are... a complicated subject here on Minetest (half of the skills rely on entities). And yet, he's managed to create a fun experience, so fun that it's one of the most played minigames on our minigames server: if it's your first time, there are short instructions before the match starts, so you won't be lost. And in general you'll be probably absorbed after casting a couple skills. Nonetheless, if you know how to play the game you can play on another level of complexity ("I should be careful to engage that player as a warrior, since they're a mage with probably the ice spikes barrier ready to be used") that makes the game even more fun. In general, OP has also shown to listen to users feedback, improving and balancing what was the first alpha version. I'm looking forward to see a third class to make things even more interesting.
My only suggestion is, it might be worth thinking about introducing an objective mid-game, so to have players gathering around it in order to conquer it: it would add another layer of complexity (like the Baron and the dragon in League of Legends), without altering the game experience that much.
Also, come to A.E.S. and try it!
A classic you can find in a lot of games. The author is also very fast at addressing issues, and they're available in general. It'd be nice in the future to customise the amount and the shape of platforms, which is currently hardcoded
thank ya <3
I'm glad the documentation is working :D and thanks for your review :)
The endless minigames are planned for 6.0 :) and the quitting option will follow accordingly
Anyway, thank you, glad it's helped you :)
You're very welcome :) I only keep the best games installed <3
I stumbled upon this mod by accident and I was very curious to see what the author had managed to do.
The first try was on an already created world with no other mods enabled but this, and after a short while the fans of my PC started spinning like crazy and the system started to struggle, at least till my character was teleported at ~Y 4000 for no apparent reason. I run
/killbut it wasn't long till I got teleported back.I then decided to run another test on a brand new world, and this time the problem didn't show up. However, the half stuck camera and the fact that it teleports back almost at every movement of the mouse, makes the experience very frustrating.
I also tried to give myself a few privileges (
fly,noclip), but they didn't work. I had to read the description in here to learn that I need to kill myself first, however such instructions shouldn't be on a separate file, they should be in game.In general, I appreciate the creativity of the author, but as for now it only seems the emptier version of Terraria with a very annoying camera
Yes, I'm aware this is basically a Super Mario clone that needs polishing, but hey, I've had fun. I've appreciated the hidden areas and the general cure for the artistic side (sound when jumping, BGMs, a texture pack that fits with the genre), and too bad the player can't be shifted when standing on a moving platform - but I'd say that's an engine limitation.
At this state of development, my only critique is that a good level design can completely change the game: money can be used to guide the player, to give them some challenge, and not randomly spreading them through the map Spyro-style makes the act of collecting feel rewarding; also, I'd shrink some places here and there. In general, I hope to see something more curated in the future on this aspect (no matter what level of difficulty the author is aiming for).
I'm definitely going to keep this one installed to see what comes next: maybe time has come to have nice platforms on Minetest too. Go for it :D
Awww, thank ya <3
/helpdescription has just been addressed with the latest release (1.2.0), thanks for pointing it out! :)Hey there, thanks for the report!
Water has been fixed, but I still haven't checked mese lamps. I've reopened the issue tracker on GitLab, if you don't mind reporting it in there ~
I really wanted to understand how Mesecons work, so I've given this game a shot. I think that the tutorial part, if expanded, could be amazing, but the rest was just confusing to me. Basically, I don't get how a museum can help people understand how things work without explaining them anything (but saying: "this is X"). I mean, yes, it's a slideshow, but I was expecting something more educational and interactive.
I appreciated the custom sky and the chains though, giving that God of War III vibe.
I mean... you can teleport around by tossing an item. Should I add more? :D
It opens up to fun strategies in PvP and faster explorations in PvE games, becoming a very versatile tool. I would have probably avoided to copy the exact Minecraft name, but other than that, it's great
I'd start with simpler buildings then, because you can't compare the time required to build your first pickaxe with your first current altar :P
I appreciate the custom menu where to choose your character and the fact that those are actually animated. Yet, in that menu there are way too many things (leaderboard, instructions) and, speaking about instructions, I didn't even notice them in the first run.
Gameplay in general feels kind of too much slow paced if you don't take some specific power up, which makes the game not that fun - especially because it's easier to blow yourself up by accident than killing someone else. Maybe with some work it can become a nice mode to play
I had to modify one of the files (there was an
endmissing) in order to launch the game. This makes me wonder whether the author tested the project before releasing it, making me lean for a negative answer.Once I fixed the game, things didn't improve, as there was literally nothing to do. I wonder why this has been submitted if players can't do anything
There are several aspects that let players understand how this game is either unfinished or at least not polished. First of all, the very first GUI is editable. Then, players are supposed to build the level themselves by placing entities in the maze; and, speaking about the maze, there are grass blocks inside which are also breakable by default (ruining the experience). Last but not least, my character wasn't picking up yellow dots when touching them, forcing me to hit each one of them. Too bad
When players install a game (so a complete experience), they're not expected to check out the readme. Especially because they can install it directly from MT
First of all, there is an AI regulating how the other participants work. That alone deserves a thumb up.
Then, the author took care of the aesthetic, both with a custom main menu, a nice soundtrack and a clear UI/UX (power-ups as symbols, visible effects, a menu where to pick your driver): all these things require a lot of effort, so chapeau for the work done, especially considering that there was a window of time of 20 days.
My critiques derive from the laggy camera and the overall speed. About the former, I don't know if it's because of a MT limitation (with the author trying to find a workaround), but it makes me also think about whether MT can actually feature fast paced games like racing games or not. I should investigate the code to have an answer but... I'll leave the pleasure to others. About the overall speed, I think it was too slow, and that the turbo boost was too short.
The game is definitely not finished (for instance, there are no laps) and I don't know if it's well suited for an engine like MT, but I expect to see at least a special mention to this: congratulations to the author.
(as I've said below another 2021 Jam game, consider converting it into a minigame with arena_lib)
I know I might sound annoying, but if the aesthetic of the game engine revolves around voxels, why not using squared objects whenever it's possible? On the contrary, everything implemented is a custom round model (hot-air balloons, coins), making the game uselessly heavier whilst breaking the aesthetic at the same time.
Graphics aside, the first world didn't work, commands felt clumsy, and I found no way to go back up with the air-balloon. I basically couldn't play properly
The game consists in running around a huge maze, hoping to find a couple items to make your life easier (especially dynamite) and potentially fighting a few guards who caught you. I was expecting something more stealth (like, with guards closing on you when caught, GTA-like), prisoners to interact with, and with a different soundtrack - which in my opinion doesn't fit that well.
Also, to finish the game, you just have to jump into the void. When I first saw that, I thought I just broke the game, but apparently that's what it was supposed to happen. It looks to me that this was more a challenge for the author themselves to create a procedural map than a well thought game experience
I had to check on CDB (which brought me to check a forum post) in order to understand what to do. The game should explain itself, players are not expected to browse through an offline manual.
The three colours mechanic can open up to some interesting aspects, but as for now you only have to copy 1:1 a picture on a forum. Personally, that's not entertaining nor challenging at all
Game is simple to grasp, but there is no way to go back up in case you fall down. That's a huge problem, which is mainly why my vote is negative.
In general, it was ok and the icons on the blocks were pretty clean and straightforward. My suggestion is to convert it into a minigame to feature inside a bigger project (whether it's singleplayer or online) rather than have it as a stand-alone one.
Last but not least, the inventory could have been removed, and instructions could have been made more visible (MT chat quality is... debatable)
This is one of the two games from the 2021 Jam (along with Subway Miner) that I've kept installed on my PC, because I really want to see what the author can come up with. Yes, as for now there is not a lot to do, but it looks like a solid foundation to potentially build something entertaining. Kenney assets help conveying a brightful atmosphere (using exisisting libre assets was smart), and you can see the author cared about the artistic aspect since the very beginning, as they customised the main menu and added a soundtrack.
I would have increased the flying speed, as it's very slow if someone doesn't press AUX1, but... yeah, let's see what it'll become
I'm sure I was on 1.0, so this should have been fixed
The author paid attention to graphical details, but as I've already said with Stella (another Jam entry), why exactly feature a game with basically no voxels in a voxel engine? Why not on Godot, to name one?
Graphics aside, punching things makes the game crash, time doesn't work and I think that it was used too much text to explain some basic concepts that could have been indirectly narrated
I think that, to me, this is the most polished and fun game to play of the whole 2021 jam. I'm not that into puzzle games, but this was very fun and challenging to play. The humour adds personality and little breaks from the challenge, alongside levels that don't tend to be repetitive, always adding something new.
My only critique is how much the game punishes players, making them start from the very beginning when they fail a level (that's what happened to me in the one requiring spatial memory, and I refused to start again). Infinite potions or making people restart that specific level might be a better solution that avoids excessive frustration
Sure: sky loaded but it was empty all around me, probably there wasn't even the ground. I'm happy to see fixes these fast :)
The portal idea unveiling new areas is absolutely great: I can already imagine an RPG requiring you some specific items to unlock certain locations, and I'd really like to push the author to continue it along this modding path. Unfortunately, this is a game and I think that, as such, it turns repetitive after a while. Lack of instructions didn't help either, I had to check out on CDB what to do
I get that formats like these work on MineCRAFT servers where you have a limited amount of time to copy something whilst racing against other players, but a single-player version felt just... boring, to me. Especially the idea that players had to manually go buying things in a physical space (with signs not always that readable and a flight mode not fast enough) instead of using a polished GUI.
Using blocks as instructions is another thing I would have avoided, as it doesn't allow to easily geolocalise the game.
On the bright side, the author took time to customise the main menu and to add some music, which are always nice things to have
My main problem with the game was that I didn't understand what to do. Like, I get that you can ride boxes (which are supposed to be bicycles I guess), but after that, what exactly? I was happy to see the game has a custom main menu and a soundtrack (too loud in my opinion), and that the author implemented nose-ups just for the sake it (nice touch!), but then the content was immediately over. I guess it's still a WIP