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cheap subspace housing's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Relevance to the theme | #2 | 4.571 | 4.571 |
| Execution | #4 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Overall | #8 | 3.857 | 3.857 |
| Sensory | #12 | 3.929 | 3.929 |
| Enjoyment | #33 | 3.286 | 3.286 |
| Metroidvania | #35 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
Ranked from 14 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Theme interpretation and application
I wanted to make the game as small as possible. 320kiB at submission time or 99kiB compressed with squishy 0.2.0. 64kiB is probably in range with some time. Visually I stick to chunky shapes with flat colors and use procedural linework to make the space readable. All the texture comes from intentionally low res shadow maps and dither. There are no actual textures in the game.
Team/Developer
ohno-nono
Reference info
discord: ohno.nono
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Comments
Nice work! I don’t have much to add that hasn’t been said. Super thankful for controller input, (though it was super weird to not be able to jump standing still). Also thankful for the walkthrough, I assumed I knew how to use the wallkick to progress after getting back to the start but I failed several times, and then saw that I just needed to keep trying.
I was really surprised how well the character cycling-art worked. Great use of various procedural techniques!
A REALLY mysterious game with one of the best art styles I´ve seen in the Jam.
It took me a while to play it, perhaps compressing the executable in a .rar or .zip in the future (not because of the game size, REALLY impressive how the game size is so small!), but so downloading it doesn´t flag it as a virus. Running it also gave me a defender warning, but I'm not really sure how that could be fixed.
I couldn´t complete the game, however...Sadly, I needed to go out after getting the dash ability & returning to the tram.
The game intro tunnels are REALLY DARK, I kinda was frustrated here, but after a while I managed to reach to the outside, and that´s when the setting really shines.
Abilities-wise wise I managed to get two: the wall kick and the dash. I found it interesting how the dash can be used in ramps to slide upon them. All the time I was using the dash, I was thinking this ability could just be spammed to dash roll around silos, etc, and gain speed to get out haha.
I felt the character could use a bit more definition it its features, perhaps a helmet or a suit, but dunno how that could affect the game size.
Overall in the graphical part is a 9/10 from me, could use some more sounds, but the crunchy sounds already present are really well done.
Thank you for playing! I'm really sorry about the dark. I looked at it every day for hours and tweaked the numbers a bit and I guess I made it darker everytime.
I was not able to play the game. I will try in another computer later.
Thank you. I've never seen that particular error before. I will look into it.
I think this is a result of your antivirus marking it as suspicious. I don't really know how to fix it other than paying monthly for a microsoft code signing certificate. You can probably exclude it from the antivirus but it depends on what you use.
I was able to open the game in another PC bur was not able to map the inputs (i installed the GameInputRedist).
Loved everything about this game: the sensory of menus and level design was peculiar and special. The control of the character is perfect, and I enjoyed the physics system a lot.
Super impressive entry, not only on the technical side by making it so small sizewise and making it look so good with the tools you mentioned, but also overall.
I loved the character movement, it feeling so weighty, and with all the little details on the animation, really sold the atmosphere of the game. It looked fantastic too.
I also like the interaction/inventory system you implemented, very simple and neat.
My biggest complain is that it just feels like a small demo (but I dont hold it against it!), and I wanted to explore more, which is great!. Also maybe having some small sounds for background noise every now and then could have helped sell the atmosphere even more too (but I'm not sure if the way you did everything that would be even possible), but thats a really secondary detail.
Really great work! I love the aesthetic and minimalist soundscape, but your approach to UI navigation has to be my favorite part. Such a simple system, yet it still manages to evoke a ton of atmosphere with how atypical and alien it feels. Awesome job!
What an incredibly strange and surreal game. Feels like the kind of thing I’d hear about through a Jacob Geller video or something, not just find in a MVM. Those are all compliments, by the way!
Is there an actual ending, or is the “thank you for playing” note about as far as you can get? If so, I got there, though I was missing a few collectables.
Technically, this is a marvel. This has great animation work for the size, with the dynamic way it adjusts to slopes and speed changes, and details like the character’s hand touching the walls, the smear frames on the dash. And 320 kB! I can’t even imagine how this was possible.
I did get stuck trying to find the first item (had to look at another comment where you explained it, haha) and then spent quite some time looking for progress once I got the dash on the roof. It can be very easy to miss things due to all the darkness, it is a very confusing little world, but in a way, that only adds to the strange dream-like atmosphere.
One of the most interesting applications of “minimalist” I’ve seen, very impressive!
Thank you! There is a little bit more if you find all the collectibles. Though I wouldn't recommend it unless you're already loosing hair for other reasons.
Enjoyment 5/5: the animations and attention to detail were immaculate. Like, cmon, you drag your hand against the wall if you get too close. It felt fun to even just walk around in there. The atmosphere was just, chef's kiss.
Execution 5/5: well, you succeeded in what you set out to do. 320kB is actually insane. I have made text-only games that take up more storage than this thing.
Sensory 5/5: it has a very unique style which is pleasing and oddly calming to look at. You wouldn't be able to tell there's no textures in the game if you didn't get told it. The sound design was also amazing, and really enhanced the experience.
Metroidvania 5/5: hits all the bells and whistles for a metroidvania.
Relevance to the theme 5/5: 320kB
The walking and jumping animations are very cool. For some reason, my controller didn’t work as intended so I couldn't reach the end. the overall visuals have a very interesting style. It’s also really impressive that the game is only 320 KB. I especially like the glitched text—it makes the game look really cool and adds a lot of character!
Thank you! Improved controller support and other input methods will be my focus for the post-jam patch. I'd be interested to know where you got stuck and why.
Super visually striking, loved it. The animations and lighting and all made for such a unique atmosphere, it felt like the kind of game I'd see in a dream. The platforming was frankly very weird, and I didn't really agree with the mostly uncancelable slide after landing, but it was surprisingly controllable after all for how slow and slidy it felt at the beginning, and I did have a lot of fun with it. Had to give up at the challenge part after making a way-too-precise of a jump after like 20 minutes of trying and then dying and getting sent back to the very beginning of the area. With a checkpoint there I definitely would have wanted to finish it. But yeah very cool, I'm glad I got to play it.
Hey so I might be extremely dumb but I got hard stuck right after picking up the remains at the beginning. I was in the long thin hall way and could not for the life of me jump up to that ledge, which felt like the only direction I could go? Everything is super dark which made it hard to see (NVIDIA 3070, if that matters), I almost jumped up to the ledge by sorta jumping twice in a row which seemed to be like a high jump? but I never made it. Unless I'm entirely blind (totally possible) I didn't see any other way back up where I fell, or any other direction out of the room I was in...
What I will say is holy wow the game looks great and that file size is pure technical witchcraft. The fact that the game looks like *anything at all* for that file size is insane, much less how evocative and stylized you got it. Definitely let me know what I'm doing wrong because I'd love to come back and the the game another shot once I get nudged past what is almost definitely an obvious player skill issue.
Thank you for playing! You should be able to search the corpse using the dpad. I understand that's unusual controls wise and I never got around to adding a dpad icon.
Definitely my favorite 3D entry of the ones I've reviewed so far, and one of the most visually unique games I've ever played. The closest thing I can compare it to is those old pre-rendered cutscenes and backgrounds in 90s games, except actually playable; another is the Blame! manga with its sprawling abandoned spaces and machinery. The methods and art style used create a uniquely haunting and desolate atmosphere. It's hard to believe all this fits in such a tiny file size too - a truly creative and impressive way of implementing the theme!
All the different abilities work well for the challenges present in the game (even despite using a scuffed control method via keyboard to gamepad emulation). I think the wall kick might even be a bit more powerful than intended, since I was able to finagle my way over a gate that I think was supposed to only be accessible with the dash? It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out I could Search the humanoid remains in the beginning, but I actually like the inventory system a lot - I think the text-adventure-like UI contributes to the nostalgic feeling.
According to the note, I managed to find all but 3 collectibles. A bunch of the options on the elevators didn't seem to do anything, presumably because they were unfinished? One thing that confused me was the tiny tunnel entrance next to the tram station, if there was an ability that would've let me pass through then I must have completely missed it. Regardless, a very unique and memorable game that I'd love to see developed further!
Thank you for playing! The scuffed input is 100% my fault for not using sdl.
The small door is a remnant of a cut mechanic. The other floors are also cut because their unfinished except for the challenge area which unlocks when you find all the collectibles.