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Dread Journey 2D's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Presentation | #25 | 3.545 | 3.545 |
| Enjoyment | #43 | 2.818 | 2.818 |
| Overall | #47 | 2.955 | 2.955 |
| Impressiveness | #56 | 2.545 | 2.545 |
| Creativity | #68 | 2.909 | 2.909 |
Ranked from 11 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.
- Itch page images are too big, resize. Good sword effects and range of enemies. Very good fun - great work.
- "A simple platformer with overall good design and execution. The gameplay had depth in terms of both vertical and horizontal movement, which was a nice touch and gave the game a good feel. It wasn’t particularly difficult to play — which, in fact, seemed to be the game's selling point. The mechanics, however, were quite unusual. Keys like Shift, Control, and Alt should have been utilized to enhance the gameplay. Nailing the mechanics is the first and most important step in the development process. The player’s movement could also have been improved — for example, jumps should have been bigger, and climbing up and down ladders could have been smoother. The user experience would benefit from a better user interface. One major issue was that the ghosts were difficult to spot due to their color blending in with the environment. A different color choice would have made them more visible. Additionally, killing the ghosts was very difficult, as it required extreme precision when pressing the attack key. Some ghosts died with one strike, while others required two — but there was no way for the player to distinguish between them. Perhaps the tougher ghosts could have been larger in size to signal the difference. The game also lacked ""juiciness"" — the kind of visual and feedback polish that enhances engagement. For example, there should have been a clear indication of health loss, like a small “-10” appearing above the player when hit. The absence of a health bar also made it hard to tell how much life was left, which negatively affected the overall experience."
Number of team members
1
Please credit all external assets you have used.
TextMeshPro from Unity and Unity URP Post-Processing;
All music and art is made by me with FL Studio and Aseprite
Please credit any external plugins/packages you used.
TextMeshPro from Unity, FL Studio, Aseprite
What engine or toolset does your game use?
Unity 2D
Please provide a full playthrough YouTube video for your game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLv7vI-zvAY
Please provide a link to a 30 seconds gameplay YouTube video of your game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUd7N8teeMA
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Comments
It's got a great look and the music was nice. I had a hard time with the controls and usually got hit whenever I landed an attack of my own, so I never lasted very long! I'd suggest an option for a smaller screen size.
Really fun action game! I enjoyed the combat a lot, I think have a throwable item and ability to attack projectile is a great touch! Overall this is an awesome game. Great work :D
The gameplay and visuals were good, but I really enjoyed the music track! The combat definitely felt like the classic Ninja Gaiden / Castlevania games, and it was enjoyable overall. Good job!
The atmosphere is the first thing that really pulled me in—visually, the game looks great and the music (once it kicks in!) adds a lot to the mood. Combat works fine and the player animations are smooth, which made the action feel satisfying.
The feedback loop theme is represented nicely with the choice-based system between killing or sparing aliens—really cool concept with potential for deeper impact.
Some things I noticed:
Death animation glitches when hit by the enemy’s orb.
The key bindings (J for attack, K for jump, L for throw) felt a bit unintuitive—maybe consider standard controls like Space for jump, LMB for attack, and something like F or RMB for throw.
The UI is simple but could use a bit more polish.
One big thing: the screen size. On default it was too zoomed in and I had to manually zoom out in Chrome to play properly. You might want to enable fullscreen or adjust resolution settings by default for better accessibility.
That said, it’s clear a lot of effort went into this, especially since you made everything yourself. Good job! I’d definitely be curious to see a more polished version post-jam.
First impressions were great! I liked the art and the music. However, the lack of a fullscreen button made me miss the instructions at the top of the screen, and I was very confused for a little bit. After noticing though, they didnt help me very much as the controls were... not what im used too. Im sure that after using them for a while I would get used to it, but it made the whole game feel very finicky. I sadly didnt make it very far due to all of this. But the game looks really cool!
Thanks a lot for playing my game! I was referencing controls similar to that of old NES games like Castlevania where there were separate buttons for your actions and the D-Pad (in this case I made them WASD/Arrow Keys) for movement. Sorry it felt finicky to you, but I still appreciate you playing and giving feedback!
I really liked the overall atmosphere and vibe of the story and art style in this game, and the music track, although a bit too short, was super nice. One thing that did bother me a bit was the text explaining the controls, and the fact that the UI was so large—it made it harder to enjoy the game world’s art.
The main issue I had with the gameplay was how tough it was to control the character. Maybe it's just because I’m not used to this kind of keybinding, but also the way the character stops to attack instead of letting me move while attacking made combat feel a little unfair at times.
Some parts of the level felt like I had to take damage to progress, especially the top part of the first corridor. The ghost kept following me and wouldn’t let me climb up without getting hit, Haha.
I really liked the idea of the ranged enemy, but I couldn’t jump over its bullets, which made it a bit too difficult to deal with.
Overall, I enjoyed finishing it and had a good time. It’s a shame you couldn’t finish the project. Sorry if it sounds like I had a lot of criticism, it’s mostly just the character controls that gave me a hard time. :) (Btw, I tried finishing the game without hitting anyone like the character suggested but couldn't pass the first enemy lol :) )
Thanks so much for playing my game! I referenced the old Castlevania games on the NES for my controls which, in retrospect, probably doesn't translate well to a keyboard...oops. I also really wanted to focus more on storytelling as I know my art and level-design aren't my boon, but unfortunately I ran out of time towards the end. I'm still really glad you enjoyed the atmosphere and vibe that I could fit in with what time I had. Again, thanks so much for playing and giving feedback!