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A jam submission

Retro VaniaView game page

A pocket metroidvania
Submitted by AndresTapa, The Prog House Studio — 18 hours, 6 minutes before the deadline
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Retro Vania's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Audio#93.9293.929
Graphics#214.2144.214
Accessibility#233.3813.381
Theme#234.1674.167
Overall#233.6873.687
Fun#243.7383.738
Controls#293.5953.595
Originality#1432.7862.786

Ranked from 42 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Godot Version
4.7.1

Theme Interpretation
It’s a retro-themed Metroidvania.

Wildcards Used

Cartography

Have a map of your world

Discord Username(s)
AndresTapa

GWJ Participation Level
4

Team Size
2

Generative AI Disclosure

I confirm that this jam entry does not contain any AI-generated content

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Comments

Viewing comments 33 to 14 of 33 · Next page · Last page
Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

Wow! This is super polished, and very retro. Felt like an excellent game jam game, and an impressive achievement for only 9 days!!!!

A few bits of feedback:

  • I found some of the enemies difficult to attack, e.g. the flying eyes (when they fly diagonally, its hard to shoot them)
  • The minimap in the top right didn't make sense to me - sometimes going through 1 door would move the minimap by no squares or 2 squares?

Really fun, and an excellent game. If this became a full game I would happily play it again!

Submitted(+2)

The game was very very cool and fun!

Developer(+1)

Thank you! I'm really glad you liked it. 😊

Submitted(+2)

Really impressed with the polish in this one! The CRT effect was a bit too intense for my liking but otherwise the game looked excellent. Generally I find these sorts of games too challenging difficulty-wise but I can see myself coming back to try this one again later. Great entry!

Developer(+1)

Thank you! Yes, we toned down the CRT effect a bit in the update, and you can also turn it off completely in the settings. I’m really glad you enjoyed the game—please check out the updated version once the jam is over!

Submitted(+2)

very cool!

Developer

Thank you! 

Submitted(+1)

It's crazy how polished the game feels, though the text didn't really make much sense sometimes. I didn't really like the ammo system, where it goes up by one, I think it would be better if there were a reload and it would just refill your whole ammo. Also the energy bar could have some lines to show how much you need for a heal, at first I thought it had to be full.

Developer(+1)

Thanks for the feedback!

We've actually changed the ammo system already. The weapon now reloads a full magazine instead of recovering one bullet at a time.

The energy bar was inspired by Hollow Knight, but we agree that it could communicate the healing cost more clearly, so we're planning to rework it as well.

An updated version will be released after the jam ends. We'd love for you to come back and try it then!

Submitted(+1)

Nice mechanics, but know that shooting crabs is only allowed at certain times and in certain amounts, they will check.

Developer

Thank you! 😄

The idea was that the weapon uses a magazine—you can fire five shots, then it takes a moment to reload. The mechanic itself worked, but we didn't communicate it very well, so it could easily seem like the gun had stopped working instead of reloading.

We've already improved the feedback in the updated version with a clear reload indicator. If you get a chance after the jam ends, I'd love for you to check it out!

Thanks again for playing!

Submitted(+1)

I was talking about crabbing season and those pesky Park Rangers, I think realistic magazine sizes is a plus.

Submitted(+2)

This was one of the most polished entries, especially with that intro cutscene it felt like a finished game! Really liked the Hollow Knight inspired mechanics like the self healing and soul being battery power. Super impressive for a 2-person team!

Developer

Thank you so much! 😄

We worked really hard to make the game feel satisfying to play and to stand on its own, without relying on extra text or lengthy explanations. We also found a really good workflow while developing it, which helped us polish every part of the experience.

We've actually released a few other games together as well. If you have a chance, feel free to check out the latest entries on my profile—I hope you enjoy them too!

Thanks again for playing and for the kind words!

Submitted(+2)

Really great entry. Visuals and audio are both solid and controls are tight. I think it could be a good idea to put some sort of visualization on the character in some way for his ammo when its not full. I understand you used assets, so perhaps just a little counter that appears above his head once he starts firing to show how many shots he has remaining. Very fun entry!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much!

That's a great suggestion. I'm actually adding a reload indicator to the character so it's much clearer how long is left before you can fire again.

Also, the weapon doesn't reload one bullet at a time—it uses a full magazine, which makes the combat feel faster and more dynamic.

I only created a small portion of the art, including the title logo. In the updated version, I also reworked the character so they can shoot both upward and downward, which makes combat feel much better.

Thanks again for playing, and for the helpful feedback!

Submitted(+1)

A Great MetroidVania!! even though you downloaded free assets for the game, The Game Music and the Concept of the game is Retro and Fits The Theme! GOOD JOB!!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much!

Usually, when we don't have an artist, I make the art myself. If you have a chance, I'd love for you to check out Lux Ultima on my profile—I created all the art for that one.

This time, though, the genre we chose was way beyond my artistic skills, so I decided to focus on the mechanics, gameplay, polish, and everything else. As for the music, Rodri absolutely nailed it!

Thanks again for playing—we're really glad you liked it!

Submitted(+2)

Premium jam game. The artstyle is really nice, movement works great and audio fits too 👌

Developer(+1)

Thank you! We can't take much credit for the art, since most of it comes from free assets.

That said, we worked really hard on everything else—programming, game design, polishing, and making sure everything came together into a fun experience.

Thanks for playing!

Submitted(+2)

Wow, what a polished game! Great platformer, nice retro-style art and audio, very Megaman mechanics. The game loop is fun, the enemies and platforming were challenging; it felt like an SNES game. I would have liked to have key re-binding (I prefer WASD over arrows). Amazing job!

Developer

Thank you! We're glad you enjoyed it.

Yes, WASD support has already been implemented in the updated version. It was a bit tricky to figure out how to handle the tooltips, but we sorted it out, and we'll release the update after the jam ends.

Thanks again for playing!

Submitted(+2)

What a great looking - and sounding - game!

Developer

Thank you! My friend Rodri did an amazing job with the music and sound design. I just brought everything together and made it work.

Submitted(+2)

Great job, the gameplay is really nice polished game. Not much feedback I can provide, others have showned a great amount

Developer

Thank you! We worked really hard to polish everything we could within the time limit, so we're really glad that came through and glad you notice.

Submitted(+2)

I wasn't sure what to make of the ammo system at first, but the more I think about it, the cleverer it is. It's a really good way of letting you enjoy having some decent firepower without letting you be a juggernaut, and it combines really well with the healing system to make a game where it's expected that every so often, you'll need to retreat and resupply.

That aside, this is really impressive - the visuals especially. I look forward to any post-jam updates you have planned!

Developer

Thank you! We're really glad you enjoyed it.

I can't take much credit for the art since it's mostly made from free assets that I put together. Everything else, though, is our own work.

We're already updating the game based on all the feedback we've been receiving. For us, that's the most valuable part of participating in a game jam.

In every jam, we also set ourselves a technical challenge—something new we want to learn or achieve. Then, in the following projects, we try to build on everything we've learned and create games that can stand on their own as complete experiences.

Thank you again, and I hope you'll check out the post-jam update! 

Submitted(+1)

Super fun, and very well polished game!

My only bit of feedback would be to include a new ability for the player to unlock that allows them to revisit areas they've already been but now be able to access paths that were blocked or unreachable before.
Maybe even just not being able to wall jump at the start, and unlocking it by finding an upgrade or new equipment, and adding some upgrade computers near the start that require you to return with wall jump to get to.

I know jams are short on time so scope is tight, but I think some form of an ability gated map is what defines a metroidvania.

Overall, really great submission though, and I really enjoyed it!

Developer(+1)

Thank you! We're really glad you enjoyed it.

You're absolutely right—that kind of ability-gated exploration is a core part of the Metroidvania genre. However, during a jam, players often spend very little time with each game, so we decided to give them most of the movement abilities from the beginning and treat this version more like a demo.

Wall sliding, wall jumping, and unlimited wall jumps were originally designed as abilities that would be unlocked later in different areas. In fact, the systems in the code are already set up to support that progression.

We're currently working through all the feedback and plan to update the game after the jam with more mechanics, levels, progression systems, and reasons to revisit previous areas.

Thank you again for the thoughtful feedback, and please come back once the jam is over to check out the next version!

Submitted

That's such a good point! I am definitely trying to beat everything I'm testing and rating, but I would guess I'm probably in the minority there haha. I'll definitely keep an eye out for that! :) 

Submitted(+2)

Yeah that's a lot of polish.  This is practically a complete game.

Developer

Thank you! That really means a lot to us.

For every game jam, we set ourselves a technical goal—usually to learn something specific, like dynamic lighting and shadows, curved tiles, or some other technique.

For the last few jams, we've also been trying to build games that stand on their own as complete titles by incorporating everything we've learned along the way.

We're really happy to hear that our little game gave you that impression. 😊

Submitted(+1)

Very fun little metroidvania, really enjoyed the limited ammo mechanic as a way to limit the player's damage output rather than limiting fire rate. Graphics are top notch, and the music is pretty on point.

Only issue(?) I ran into is that one I played with controller, and the X and Y buttons seem to be swapped in the input map. As in, inputs that listed pressing X for them were performed with Y instead and vice versa. Was fine once I got used to it, but seems to be an oversight. (The controller support is otherwise very well implemented and appreciated tho)

Developer(+1)

The input tooltip mapping bug is actually a browser issue. I realized that a bit too late during the jam.

Internally, the game supports three controller layouts:

  • Nintendo
  • Xbox
  • PlayStation

Nintendo and Xbox use swapped button layouts, so the browser is probably detecting the opposite one. If you download the game, it detects your controller correctly.

Thank you for testing! I didn't add a reminder on the splash screen recommending a controller, so not everyone tries the game with one. And in a Metroidvania, that's kind of a core part of the experience. 😄

I'll probably add an option to let players choose which button layout they want to use. Wait for the update, there is a lot comming.

Submitted(+3)

Really loved the style. My only real issue would be that  the controls feel a bit too sensitive. Other than that, great entry!

Developer

Thank you!

Metroidvanias usually have very responsive controls to give the player as much control over their movement as possible, but I'll definitely look into it.

Could you tell me what felt too sensitive? Was it the movement, the jumps, or something else?

You can also play it with a game controller—maybe you'll find it more comfortable that way.

Please let me know!

Submitted(+2)

The walking buttons. I would just click them once to move a little to the left/right and would end up falling from a platform.

Submitted(+2)

I really liked the art, although CRT shader over the instructions were a tad hard to read. The controls were sweet, definitely was hard (although not target audience) but playing on a controller was really nice addition.

Developer

Thank you so much!

We spent a lot of time trying to make the controls feel as comfortable and responsive as possible.

As for the instructions, we're taking note of all the feedback and are already working on improvements. We'll release a more polished, definitive version once the jam is over. 

Submitted(+2)

Very very polished entry! Well done! Reminds me a lot of old Metroid and Megaman

Developer

Thank you! Yes, we took a lot of inspiration from classic games in that genre, especially old-school Metroid and Mega Man. 

Viewing comments 33 to 14 of 33 · Next page · Last page