Play piece
Monkeying Around's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Artwork | #2247 | 3.627 | 3.627 |
| Enjoyment | #3403 | 3.176 | 3.176 |
| Audio | #3994 | 2.882 | 2.882 |
| Creativity | #4217 | 3.333 | 3.333 |
| Narrative | #5115 | 2.333 | 2.333 |
Ranked from 51 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?
You must beat each level before the room timer reaches zero or it changes.
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Comments
Cool idea, but I personally found myself getting stuck really early on. Having the room get harder the longer I take to beat it feels counterproductive, and it just makes me more annoyed as I try to beat it. It kind of un-balances the game to make it even harder than it already should be. the artstyle is nice but some of the sounds are really jarring. Still, I commend the work in PICO-8.
Thank you so much! I’ll be sure to keep this feedback in mind! Also ps. For all the audio i just randomly moved my mouse around in the editor until it kinda matched what i wanted… sooo ya lol
Thanks tho!
The sound is a little loud, but the game is really fun! The character controller is smooth, rooms getting harder if you don't beat them in time is a cool twist since the rooms do not get impossibly difficult (besides level 3), and the art style is very charming! The only thing I wish was maybe another pick up that gave you a bit of time - maybe 5 seconds - when you collected it, I found myself dying after finishing a level more than I would like to admit.
Cute game! Also PICO-8
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback! And I do like the idea of increasing the time a little bit, thank you! (PICO) :)
wow this is so good, i'm super impressed you got the movement so fluid with the pico-8 it reminded me a lot of the game jam version of celeste
thank you so much! I really was highly inspired by celeste classic for this project! Im glad you liked it!
This was a cute little game! Tricky but also with a lot of depth! Movement is fun and it's one of those games that doesn't feel super punishing when you die and, if you're as bad at platforming as me, you're gonna die. The timer changing the map is a really cool twist, too! Enjoyable game!
Thank you so much! This means so much! I'm glad you enjoyed!
Really fun little game, love the art, and the concept of the level changing after the countdown is great, though i wish the sound for it wasn't so loud, it hurt my ears a bit. The controls for this are really smooth, and I enjoy the silly monkey, kinda reminds me of the OG version of celeste. Good stuff!
Thank you so much! I'm sorry about the audio, I'm still trying to figure out how sound work in tandem with the body part on your head. <3 silly monkey <3. And yeah I did base this as heavily inspired by celeste classic! Im so glad you noticed! :)
great game! pretty hard lol I couldn't get past level 8 but the sound design is awesome. the death noise annoys you so much after you've heard it like 30 times but I think that's part of the charm haha. great pixel art I could definitely see this as a game I'd play on an old nintendo ds or something
Thank you so much! You're the first to comment about the sound effects lol, tbh for all the sounds I just randomly moved my mouse around in the editor until it was kinda like the sound I wanted. But I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Very interesting idea with level change, I like it! Maybe you can make it easier if the timer runs out, but you'll miss out on the bananas that were there previously. I get the idea with monkeying around, but from the gameplay perspective, I think beating an easy version of a level you struggle with might give you some muscle memory to beat the harder version of it without too much frustration, making it a cool way to encourage a replay for the highscore in bananas. Good job!
Thank you so much! I will keep this in mind I'm so glad you enjoyed!
this game made me want to end it 10/10. especially level 3
thanks so much! :) im so glad!
My god I love this game, I struggle a lot in the begging of the game cause I lack coordination but I love the fun gameplay and the timelines which makes it more difficult
Thank you! Im so glad you enjoyed!
Ill post the full review as a reply, but wow first time I really went through something this difficult lmao.
Okay, so I'm someone who isn't good at 2d platformers... and wow that was an experience...
I think I got into level 6, and just at that rate after losing a couple more times, I knew that the only reason why I kept playing (lack of rng) pretty quickly became false...
I know I shouldn't have pushed myself, even with the initial dopamine of beating a level or the severe pains of losing again and again, I knew if I were to make a comment, I would at least play for 30-50 mins (I completely lost track of time), even if most of it was dying.
Stuff I wanted to point out
1. The rng aspect should be really kept to a minimum, especially with the timer. Even with the painful level 3, which was so awful of a difficulty spike, I knew it was something I can improve on and get better with. With levels 5 and 6... you have to get lucky (which is awful and what really killed me from continuing)
2. It's generally harder to practice and learn the new mechanics. I know games can assume certain platforming knowledge, but I feel like there is more potential in getting new players into platforming, if it allows for the player to really experience the reward/effort. I never really had the time and place to relearn a new section, and from my own keyboard/piano lessons, the worst way to learn is to redo the entire piece just because you failed at a different section. It generally wastes the time of the player and makes it much more annoying to go through.
(A suggestion, its up to you if its good or not lol) This is easier said than done though, since I feel like adding a checkpoint system wouldn't be great for what the game is going for..., maybe just a new first level w/ check points being larger and simpler with many skippable/easy to dodge regions, but w/o time constraint. But in theory a place you can learn pretty much most of the entire level if you know how to. Like the jumping on top pink orbs, wall jump into orbs... Something the player has to setup or look at the level design as an opportunity while they could still practice before taking it on? Its an idea I had when looking at difficult games... Of course, there are many other ways like a practice level every stage that can be accessed through a pause menu, or whatever creative stuff people thought on.
3. I feel like there should be a banana in every "procastinated" world so to speak to encourage those who are more capable to undergo through harder variants, while reducing the main difficulty of the main levels. Optional challenge spikes are probably the best way to ensure replayability. These can have less time than the regular variant as it does depict the feeling of, if you know you procastinated youre really REALLY out of time.
Levels
- Pretty much its just level 3's procatsinated world being awful with the pink orb jump having to be insanely precise, since you have to jump at the most highest possible to clear it. Which for a level 3... not great...
- I already commented on the rng aspects, with level 5, and 6, and somehow level 2 as the skip I wanted to perform was a bit rng... (its fine though).
Others
- The movement feels like I could get a bit more control? It may make the game easier w/o level changes, but I feel like its more rewarding like jump height, wall jump distance would improve the feeling a ton.
What I liked
I did like the general atmosphere, presentation, sprites , thematics, and overall the levels look "nice" for a lack of a better term. The immediate quick to restart made this was more palatable, and I generally just liked it.
The pixel and engine choice was something I liked as I went through, the timer was adequate, not too disturbing but its there
Overall, while I think I could've enjoyed this way more, I think its still a nice game. Thank you for submitting in the game jam!
I'm so glad to read this review so I try to answer every point you have made as best as I can!:
Welcome! I think I knew it was worth it to at least go through since I knew every submission probably had tons of hours behind them. I felt like the game had some oversights due to time or planning (or anything else) and I wanted to point out and express properly even with the intense failure rate lmao. I think you'll do good next time, as I saw the soul in the game. Cheers!
Thats so nice of you! Im sure you have made a lot of people very happy, including me lol! If we ever meet again in my next game. You’ll see that i will have improved! Cheers!
Oh My God! Thank You for just a detailed review! I will reply to it in a different message in a bit because I want to make you I read everything! Thank you!!! <3
definitely an interesting game. was a bit hard getting it right but overall liked it
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
call me stupid, i cannot for the life of me jump past the first dang obstacle - i am TRASH at this one but its so cute! Love pico8!
It's not on you it's my fault for not having an in-game tutorial, to play the game: When you hit a pink orb or just before you are about to hit a pink orb, you can press X to parry/jump on the pink orb. Like cuphead or gdash. Also thank you!
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
I AM SO GLAD
Well polished game, it would be really nice if you had variable jump height. The lack of variable jump height makes a lot of levels feel awkward for me. A lot of potential here and a good game overall.
thank you! And Your right! I was originally considering adding variable jump height but decided against it for this game jam for two reasons 1. This was my first game in pico and i alr had so much on my plate to figure out lol 2. I was really inspired by celeste classic which didnt have variable jump height.
but thank you! I will be sure to keep that in mind next tyme i make another platformer! Im glad you enjoyed :)
Good game, reminds me a lot of Celeste Classic.
Unfortunately though this control scheme really isn't my cup of tea so I couldn't have fun playing.
I really took inspiration from celeste classic for this game lol, Aww man im sorry to hear that :( May I ask what you would have preffered so I can keep it in mind for next time?
I think it would be bearable for me as long as movement was on wasd and jumping was on space. im wayyyy too used to that control scheme i cant play with arrow keys at all.
Gotcha thats not something I'm not quite used, so to compromise I will have multiple keybind options next time and that will be one of them. Thank you!
I am so bad at platformers, I couldn't get past the first level for 15 minutes. Very well-made and polished!
Thank you so much!
very hard but very fun love the idea and first pico-8 game ive seen this jam!
Thank you so much! (If you want to play another PICO-8 game in this jam Mock Mock is really fun!)
I really love a good PICO-8 game (inspires me to go back to making a PICO-8 game). The parry mechanic was implemented pretty well. I thought it was easy to use and it never felt unfair while still feeling skillful. I really wish I could use a controller though haha, I suck at platformers with a keyboard. Great work!
Thank You so much!! This was my first PICO-8 game without a tutorial lol so Im glad it went well. I honestly fell in love with PICO-8 after playing Celeste on it lol. Im glad you liked it!
It’s fun, but very difficult… I couldn’t get past level 3 without using the Konami code. I think there should be a way to speed up the timer or go back to the main menu so that you don’t have to wait until two 20-second timers end to play the individual levels if you do choose to use the Konami code (or just mess up a level such that there’s not enough time left to realistically finish it).
Also, I’m not sure if L-6 B-side is possible; I always seem to hit the spikes at the beginning when jumping over the pillar.
I really liked the art though, and the platforming/movement mechanics feel very smooth and polished! Well done!
Thank you! I was a bit more focused on the mechanics of the game this time around for it being my first time in PICO-8. I'm glad to hear you actually used my Konami Code tho lol! Also I hadn't thought about the fact the people might want to quick reset, so I'll be sure to keep that in mind for the next time (Tho with pico-8 it allows you to reset the game if you press enter ;] ) Also, all levels and stages are definetly possible (some more unforgiving than others tho) Thank you so much tho, I'm glad you liked my art <3.
Resetting the game via the enter menu also resets your banana counter… I was more thinking of something like a way to go back to the main menu without losing your bananas :)
i did manage to get through L-6 B-side, turns out you can do a wall jump off the spiky pillar and then everything works out fine!
Ohh right I didn't think about that sorry, yea I will definitely implement a quick reset that keeps you progress next time! Thx :) And yeah that was the intended solution to beat it! Great Job!!! (I def realize it isn't sight readable because it doesn't seem like you should be able to stand there lol)
Fun little hard game, but the difficulty goes well with this kind of game ! The art is nice, well done :)
Thanks lol!
Fun little hard game, but the difficulty goes well with this kind of game ! The art is nice, well done :)
I'm glad you enjoyed! I'm not much of an artist so I'm happy to hear you liked my art! Monke.