Great game, visually neat, the light is kinda satisfying to activate. One issue I have is that I took time to notice we could see in the dark, but maybe it was my screen that wasn't well set.
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The Darkness Remembers's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Theme | #4 | 4.087 | 4.087 |
| Overall | #10 | 3.417 | 3.417 |
| Audio | #13 | 3.174 | 3.174 |
| Visuals | #15 | 3.391 | 3.391 |
| Weirdness | #17 | 3.261 | 3.261 |
| Gameplay | #21 | 3.174 | 3.174 |
Ranked from 23 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How did you interpret the theme?
The world is in blackout, and the player can create light for a brief moment
Comments
Short fun topdown puzzler. Alternating between light world and dark world is a solid mechanic.
The final map with the invisible walls is weird, it probably would have been better if it didn't look like there were openings. But once I understood it it was fairly easy.
Submitted
Shadowy DenReally fun and smart puzzle game, I think the visuals are a bit too dark but the puzzles where creative and unique, especially the last one which required you to use the enemies to push the box. Overall great game
Submitted
BLACKOUT PROTOCOLHey! Good game :)
However... yeah, I know that the theme is blackout, BUT IT WAS WAY TOO DARK 😭😭😭
I set the max monitor brightness, but still had to get as close as possible to see what was going on.
Submitted
DRILLING BLOODOk with the power of hindsight my comment below is funny because I got walled at what was the last level LOL
My main thought is still that it is much too dark, which is a shame because I do really like the core mechanic! My main issue though (besides that I would've loved more levels) is that the mechanics are generally inconsistently applied. In the first room, the bat enemies chase you when you flash, but in the rest of the game they simply go about their business. In the second level, you have walls you can dash through in the light (really cool idea!) but is absent in the last level, which doesn't really telegraph its solution to you in any way. I'm also just completely unsure what the skull does.
There's a lot of great ideas in play here, and I do honestly mean a lot. The visuals are all around good and I don't think they need any tinkering. Given even a little more time in the oven, I can see it coming together really well! As of now though I just don't think the execution is there. Would love to play a longer version if you ever want to make one!
Submitted
Carry The FlameFirst of all, thank you so much for the detailed feedback! I really appreciate you taking the time to explain what worked and what didn't.
I completely agree that the game is too dark. I wanted the darkness to be a major part of the experience, but in hindsight I pushed it a bit too far. A brightness setting or simply making the darkness slightly more transparent would definitely help.
The inconsistency between the mechanics is also a really good point. The game originally wasn't meant to be a puzzle game at all, it changed direction quite late in development, shortly after I had implemented the skull enemy. That's why some of the mechanics don't have as consistent a role throughout the game as they probably should.
The skull was originally supposed to be a "Listener" enemy. Whenever the player made noise, it would detect them and search around points near their last location. When I changed the game into more of a puzzle game, I didn't want to completely throw away the enemy I'd already made, so I gave it its own level. Looking back, I definitely should have done more to communicate what it actually does.
I also agree with your point about Level 5. The solution is intentional, but I didn't have enough time to properly communicate the rules that make the solution possible. Some players figured it out, while others understandably thought the walls were just a bug.
The game definitely needed more time in the oven. There are a lot of ideas in it that I would love to develop further, especially the puzzle design and how the mechanics are introduced and combined.
Thank you again for the feedback! It's honestly really useful to hear this kind of detailed criticism, especially now that I can look back at the game after the jam
It's pretty much impossible to play this one during the day because of how dark it is when you're not flashing. I'm squinting my eyes and getting close to my screen and even then I can't make out enough of level 5 to figure it out. I'll give it another whirl when the sun goes down but wanted to get these thoughts out here now
Submitted
Carry The FlameSo I figured out how the invisible walls work (it really wasn't that inobvious, it's just in a jam context I tend tot hink "this is a bug" before I think "these walls are delbieratlety invisible". Got past that screen and made it past the skull screen.... but then I was out of flashes, there was no 'flash reloady' thing like on the seocnd screen and restarting did not restore my flashes. No idea if this is an actual bug or just another instance where I can't figure how I'm supposed to proceed.
My number one recommendaiton would be, if you can, calibrate brightness at game start. normally, I find the "adjust brightness until the center image is barely visible" step annoying boilerplate, but I think for a game like this, it's essential. On the level in quesiton, for instance, I could see absolutely nothing without flashes, no box, no button, just pitch blackness, on my monitor anyway. But your game's vibes are still pretty much immaculate, IMHO, which counts for a lot.
This is awesome! It was very confusing when I first played it, but when i know how to play it, it was a blast! Amazing game ya got there!
Submitted
Black & WhiteThe gameplay and puzzle design here was amazing! Level 5 truly had me stumped until I realized the bats could move around the box even if I couldn't! This game definitely challenged me to put my thinking cap on. I had a blast playing it!
Submitted
There's sNOw TomorrowWOW, Cool game i liked the gameplay i was confused at first then i start to understand it, very good job :)
Submitted
Night Shift AloneLove the light mechanic in the first level the bat moves where you have ligthened, then the bats freeze and than that skull that was moving to you and you needed to move fast and to light so he freezes for a little moment!
Unfortunately I got stuck, I don't remember the level, but the game is amazing!
Could you pls try my game too?
Submitted
Fabulous WatersI enjoyed playing the game. It's a cool concept with great a great game mechanic. Unfortunately I got stuck on one of the levels. I moved around but found no light.
Submitted
Black CoffeeQuite challenging, but I think this is a super cool idea! Love the lil wizard guy. Took me way more tries than it probably should have to figure out I had to lure the bat on the first level away from its path to get by haha.
Submitted
Night Shift AloneThe game was a little too tough for me. The walls while it is dark was a very good idea. Just not my kind of game
Submitted
Five Word Chessvery cool just that the box physics are weird and level 5 is too hard
Submitted
Total BlackoutI love the idea of this game! The way the light lights up the world feels kind of satisfying. I only had one issue where I couldn't get past the 5th level. There seemed to be invisible walls around the level, and I could not get the box to the button. I tried doing everything I could think of, but I could not get past those walls. Good job making this though!
Submitted
Systems OfflineOhhh I see now. That is actually a really cool level. I was able to go back and beat it. Maybe something visual telling the player that the invisible walls are intended or making the box already spawn in the opening so the player would have to push it into the bat could help that level. I really wish this was longer because it is so good. Great job! Good luck with the ratings!
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