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Specimen's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Sensory | #37 | 3.227 | 4.167 |
| Execution | #47 | 2.582 | 3.333 |
| Metroidvania | #55 | 2.711 | 3.500 |
| Overall | #58 | 2.659 | 3.433 |
| Relevance to the theme | #61 | 2.582 | 3.333 |
| Enjoyment | #84 | 2.195 | 2.833 |
Ranked from 6 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Theme interpretation and application
Controlled Side Effects
Team/Developer
Zombo, Witchy, calvinhawley, forrest.composer
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Comments
This game is addictive and super creepy. I actually got goosebumps a few times
Thank you! We had a lot of fun with the atmosphere. Really enjoyed playing your game as well, btw. Wish we'd had more time to get our enemy/combat as polished as yours.
I applaud you for using unreal for a 2d game like this since im a fellow unreal enjoyer, the art is also really great the atmosphere and immersion are on point. My only complaint is that it seems like I can only use the wall slide when im above half stamina and the enemy's are extremely hard to deal with with the range the character has. Artistically this game is 5/5 stars though great work.
Thank you! Yes, balance was a real issue we never got around to. There are also items that are supposed to be used, but as we made them a random drop percentage (only when you kill very dangerous enemies) players likely never get them. My first fixes if we had more time would be to balance the stamina better and add more item placement in the world.
This game is actually so good. I spent about 30-45 mins playing thru before my computer crashed, LOL. It sucks tho so it's not your fault or anything, I'm actually kind of impressed. Anyway, the atmosphere in this game is AMAZING. Actually one of my favs so far, the music is top notch and I had a lot of fun playing with the abilities. My only complaint is that the energy bar fills up too slowly and attacking enemies isn't really worth it, I found myself just pushing them away because I'd lose too much health, haha. Anyway, great game, I'd love to see more like this!
Thank you for putting in that kind of time with it. I hope people make it to the boss to see all the fun art that was put into that.
The game feel is amazing, and the art is great. The combat needs some work such as adding hit stops and more visible vfx but I think these are just due to lack of time. Energy gets depleted way too fast. Maybe increasing its regeneration rate or don't put an energy cost to the jumping at all would be more player friendly. Overall, the game feels complete and fun.
Yes, combat feedback and balance was our 11th hour cut. There are also items to help with things, but as they only exist as random drop percentages on enemy death, I doubt many players get any to use.
I love the dark and moody environment and artwork! You all did a great job with all of the computer text for world building and tutorials too. The abilities seem interesting and fun to use, I just wish they weren't locked to a slow filling energy meter.
Thank you! The main reason we had them locked as secondary effects was to be on theme with controlled side effects with there being the primary function and secondary effect after holding it for a while. Would have like to spend more time tuning cooldowns and build up though.