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Charon's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #4 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Story | #7 | 2.800 | 2.800 |
| Presentation | #14 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Overall | #14 | 2.700 | 2.700 |
| Horror | #16 | 2.400 | 2.400 |
| Theme | #16 | 2.200 | 2.200 |
| Gameplay | #22 | 1.800 | 1.800 |
Ranked from 5 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How did you implement the Theme: Death Game in your game?
Charon interprets “Death Game” as a controlled survival trial inside a sealed machine.
The player wakes up inside the CERBERUS minecart and is forced to follow instructions from the onboard AI, CHARON. Each task, including driving, surveying, scanning, and taking photos, appears procedural at first, but gradually becomes a trial with unclear rules, withheld information, and fatal consequences if the player fails to understand what is really happening.
Instead of a traditional arena or competition, the game presents the death game as an automated industrial ritual: the player is trapped, monitored, instructed, and judged by a system that may be rescuing them, testing them, or carrying them deeper underground.
Did you implement any of the Bonus Challenges, and if so, which ones?
Yes.
The Gamemaster:
CHARON functions as the game’s gamemaster. It periodically contacts the player through the terminal, gives instructions for the next task, defines procedures, refuses certain questions, and controls how much the player is allowed to know.
Deadly Traps:
This is implemented in a more environmental and psychological way. The player faces route hazards, failing systems, hostile spaces, and terminal-driven trials inside the CERBERUS minecart. Survival depends on reading instructions, interpreting incomplete information, and continuing under pressure.
I did not implement “Make Your Choice” as a literal scene where the player chooses which character lives or dies.
Does your game contain AI-generated assets?
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Comments
I have no idea what to do.
The premise is good. I liked that it shows the actual time, and the AI is nice.
The beginning has way too much reading. Once inside the vehicle, I have no idea what to do. I didn't realize you could move until much later.
2/10, wasn't really a game, more of a short story.
I almost quit this game early but I felt it had a lot of potential and kept going until I finished. The setting in a futuristic space mining tunnel is really cool, and the atmosphere of being cramped in a claustrophobic cart relying solely on your navigational tools and an AI add to that. Some people might find this scene unsettling but I didn't think the game was scary at all until I got further in. I almost gave up because the first few minutes trying to unlock the movement console and understand what to do was vague and confusing, that could be my own fault for largely ignoring the AI as I normally would in any scenario. But I might have paid more attention to it if I could actually hear it, the music was so overpowering of anything else I just had to turn the whole game down. I figured out how to do the mining scans the game wanted and each time was tempted to stop but kept going just to see. The slow movement of the cart could again be attributed to an uneasy feeling but it was actually just rather boring. That is until you complete at least 3 or 4 tasks and then you're introduced to some scary situations and a creature which finally made it interesting. I think in the end I probably had a choice that could save me but I was not interested in trying to read the several pages of lore that are probably very interesting if I tried, so I just followed the AI to my death (which is probably meaningful of our future). What happened near the end was certainly scary and interesting but it took a long time to get there. And every time the AI spoke I just wasn't interested, especially because it would "speak" or type so slowly and make the FPS drop severely despite playing on a high end PC. But I think the setting and story really has a lot of potential here and liked it a lot. 10/10
Hi Nave,
Thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a detailed review. I really appreciate you sticking with the game even though the opening was slow and confusing, and I’m glad the later parts made the experience worthwhile!
I agree with many of the issues you pointed out. The beginning doesn’t explain things clearly enough, the early mining sections can feel too slow and repetitive, and there are definitely problems with the audio mix, the AI dialogue, and the performance when the text appears. I’ve noticed these things myself, and other players have brought up similar points as well, so these are clearly areas I need to improve.
I was also really glad to hear that the setting and story stood out to you. The relationship between the miner, the AI, and the world beyond the cart is a big part of what I wanted Charon to explore. Your decision to trust the AI and follow its instructions was especially interesting to me, because it fits the themes of the game surprisingly well. At the same time, I agree that the lore and important story clues could be presented in a more natural and engaging way, rather than asking players to stop and read several pages of text.
Your detailed feedback is incredibly valuable and will help me improve the game. Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts. I’ll do my best to keep working on Charon and gradually make it better!
I played this game relatively early in the jam, I found the concept really cool and interesting and kind of where I want LLMs in games to go in the future. It was a bit confusing to me however knowing what to do, I’m sure if I spent more time with it however I’d have figured it out. Good game and good work ^_^
Thanks for playing! I believe there will be a lot more waiting for us to explore how AI is intergrated in games!