Play Macabre Mandolin
Macabre Mandolin's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Enjoyment | #346 | 4.032 | 4.032 |
| Narrative | #372 | 3.774 | 3.774 |
| Audio | #401 | 3.839 | 3.839 |
| Creativity | #650 | 4.129 | 4.129 |
| Artwork | #1275 | 3.855 | 3.855 |
Ranked from 62 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
In the game you are stuck in a finitne time loop until you can find a magical artifact that will save you.
(Optional) Please credit all assets you've used
Please see description for full credits.
(Optional) What would you like to be called if GMTK features your game?
Not that Cyrus
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Comments
Enjoyed this adventure/puzzle game. The audio feedback like walking into the wall and playing the music really helps. I like how the levels remained mostly the same after each restart, allowing you to continue where you left off. Managed to find the GMTK easter egg too, also only manage to find 9/10 candy, not sure where is the last one. Great game overall.
Wow, that's amazing, almost 100%! You're the first to mention the easter egg, congratulations! Thank you so much for playing!
Updated Review: After figuring out the controls and that you can actually go up to another screen, I've found this game pretty fun. Figuring out the level as you go, breaking old barriers with new musical skills/patterns you find along the way, to then have a go at the level again but faster. I found that concept pretty enjoyable. And the artstyle really puts that retro feel of 19's games on cartridges. I think an arrow showing you where to go would make the job for the player easier for figuring out the game faster. But aside from that, good job!
Edit:
Thank you so much for giving the game another go, not many people do that!
Old comment:
Umm.. there's no mouse controls? I'm guessing you mean playing music at everything? There are clues as to where to go in the game. Thanks for playing, I hope you are not speedruning reviews too much ^^'
No, I've played this game yesterday but forgot to vote. I do give a fair go for every game I play. I think it's just that I don't know what can I click on, what could be an artifact and what couldn't. But I'll give it another go now
No, don't worry, I didn't mean to call you out like that, Sorry! I was confused by "clicking" because you don't use a mouse in this game.
I just wish for an explanation on what I'm doing. I play a note sometimes, and what am I supposed to do with that? Like am I supposed to find a specific spot I can stand on, play the music, and win? Or what actions am I supposed to do. I've read the description but I still don't get the controls
I'm not exactly sure where you are stuck, did you go up and talked to the pumpkin?
Oh ok I get it. I'm just dumb, I didn't know you could go upwards to another screen. I've figured it out. I'll update my review
Don't worry, that's my fault for not making it obvious enough, I didn't want you to miss the whole game up there ;) Thank for giving it another try, not many people do that.
I updated my review
I love adventure games like this, they're really satisfying to progress through! It's not about challenge, it's just about exploration, and in that sense these kinds of games live and die by the aesthetic and intrigue of their worlds, a metric that this game absolutely succeeds in. The macabre and fantastical world I was thrust it felt super immersive, and it perfectly aided the loop integration. Great stuff!
Thank you! I'm glad you liked my little game :D
Really enjoyable! I liked the music mechanic a lot and the puzzles were well designed. The game reminded me of Zelda in a very good way. I'm impressed with the scope and quality of the world design you made in such a limited time. I will say that I'm not sure that the looping mechanic added much, it was a bit frustrating having to back the start over and over. Still a super enjoyable experience!
Thank you! The looping resetting is a contentious matter judging by the comments, you're are definitely not alone being a little frustrated by it. Thanks for playing!
Nice game, I really enjoyed the puzzles. The controls fill a bit off though.
Thank you, I think I've made a mistake of testing the note playing on a gamepad using a d-pad. While playing with keyboard you can mash the directions way faster and there may be some issues with registering inputs if you are very fast.
yoo that was a nice suprise! good game i had fun playing the music : )
Thanks!
I had a lot of fun playing this! The puzzles and level layout where very well done, and I enjoyed hunting down all the lollipops (even though the was one I couldn't find).
Had a lot of fun playing. Nice theming and writing and a good implementation of the death loop concept that is not too frustrating, pretty much the only thing I can complain about is the combination of some repetitive content and slightly janky movement making the game feel a bit longer than it should be.
Thanks! I agree that in the last stretches the starting from the beginning feels a bit tedious, that's the nature of forced looping. I'll take that feedback to heart, thank you,
All around great. My only suggestion would be 3 hearts of damage before restarting. Getting hit by one bee or one accidental move into thorns was a bit harsh.
Thank you, that's actually not a bad suggestion, I'll think about that if/when I'll get to working on the project again.
The game is amazing, the best or one of the best I've seen. But it's as if the loop mechanics are not needed here, I would be calmer if there was no timer on top (even though you stop paying attention to it if you collect bonuses) and returning to the very beginning at the end is annoying.
Thank you for the kind words! I do agree that the timer makes it stressful, which is a contentious design direction.
Super fun game! That guitar tune mechanic to create path was so interesting and fun. Loved it. Awesome work!
Super creative, and great execution!
Ohhh, this was SO FUN. I especially loved playing the mandolin to solve puzzles and pathing; it felt like a really fun way to manipulate the world.
Really enjoyable and polished! The concept is super creative and fits the jam theme well. I can totally see this turning into a full game with a bit more content. Great job!
Thank you, if time permits I'll try to continue developing this game ;)
I is creative, enjoyable and gorgeous at the same time. Well done!
Thanks!
Awesome game! Felt like a good NES game. There are lots of games this jam that involve a time loop, but yours is the most creative and enjoyable. The puzzles are good and I like the mechanic of playing the mandolin to accomplish various things.
Thank you for playing!
i love all things monsterful and halloweeny so i knew this game would be right up my alley and let me say i was NOT disappointed!!!! silly plot lovely pumpkin friends and beautiful tunes this is all i could ever want!!!
That's very nice of you to say, thank you!
I loved the mechanic of playing the mandolin and how it affected the environment. Great game :)
Thank you!
awesome concept!
This checks all the boxes for me.
What a great game! honestly
Thank you!