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Kickback's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Fun | #5 | 4.250 | 4.250 |
| Controls | #8 | 4.143 | 4.143 |
| Overall | #11 | 3.964 | 3.964 |
| Accessibility | #21 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
| Originality | #23 | 4.071 | 4.071 |
| Theme | #25 | 4.143 | 4.143 |
| Audio | #32 | 3.643 | 3.643 |
| Graphics | #38 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
Ranked from 28 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
The player charges punches, resulting in different block and player movement mechanics.
GWJ Participation Level
1
Team Size
1
Generative AI Disclosure
I confirm that this jam entry does not contain any AI-generated content
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Comments
In the world of block pushers, this one is actually pretty fun. I got to level 14 before I decided I was too dumb for this lol, but I might come back to see if I can can actually beat this.
I definitely spent alot more time than I expected on this, it was very captivating and fun! Also, thanks for swinging by stream as well! I did eventually beat that level and the game, and it felt super satisfying. Awesome work!
The VOD for the review is linked below, and will be available for 60 days:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2859354744?t=0h25m56s
I am not joking, if you made more of this game and put it on steam I'd buy it in a heartbeat
easily my favorite game of the jam so far
$70 game coming up!
Jokes aside, thank you very much. I'm so glad that people have enjoyed playing.
You got me. I’m a sucker for sokaban games! You’ve done so well threading through the theme in this so well too. Everything feels really polished. The levels progress and have a genuine difficulty curve to them. All round such a great submission! Look forward to seeing more from you!
A fun little puzzler. :)
The controls were easy to understand,. maybe a tutorial for the first couple of levels? Because in the beginning I thought I could control the distance in tiles with my charging punch, but in the end you either move one tile back or infinitely! :D
The art is amazing, love the slightly monochrome look of it. Maybe drop the black colors (character outline and the fill of the charging bars) and use dark blue all together? :)
Solid entry, congrats! :)
Awesome game!! Very easy to pick up but really challenging puzzles, and great style too. Haven't quite made it past level 13 yet, but I'm not going to give up! Great job!
I was very pleasantly surprised for this being your first GWJ! The level of polish is super high for a jam game, and I really liked it. TBQH I would probably pay for it, I think you should make more levels and do a full release
You are very kind. I will add more levels, but I probably will not sell it. If you're interested, check back in in a few weeks and I might have the updates uploaded and an optional payment setup.
I do have jam experience with Ludum Dare and the GMTK jam. It's just been awhile, and I have only ever had 72 hours before. So the 9 days has been a welcome change vs what I'm used to.
cool! good luck!
very fun game, great job!!
Very fun game! Though very difficult for my puzzle skills. I wonder if there are multiple ways to solve a level. Level 15 felt like a reward after level 14.
Thank you for playing!
Some puzzles have multiple solutions. Level 14 actually has 2 solutions I know of. But most of them have one intended solution and, probably, a few unintended ones.
Lvl 15 is definitely my favorite. I think you sorta need to use all of the things you've learned to solve it, without it being too difficult to reason through. And agreed, I think lvl 14 is the hardest. I wanted at least one level that really leaned into the use of the overcharged recoil to move around.
Beautifully designed puzzles, an absolute joy to work through them. So many 'aha' moments when you realise why there is a spike trap or breakable block and have to rethink your solution.
Thank you for playing! It's always nice to see someone past lvl 13. I tried to be deliberate about breakable block and spike placement. Red herrings felt like a cruel addition to some already difficult puzzles.
Such an incredibly well thought out puzzle game. Teaching the player how to play as they're actually playing the game is such a difficult task to try and get right and i think you nailed it. It feels like the challenge is just right, Not giving away the answer in every room, but just enough of a hint with the level names and previous built up knowledge to help figure things out.
Very impressed. A technically competent little game with a wide variety of puzzles & mechanics. Well done!
Thank you for your kind words.
I don't know how people do puzzle games in 48-72 hour game jams. I felt like I needed every day to iterate on the levels. Names too, actually. I spent more time than I will admit on renaming levels.
You did well! I attempted the same in a previous jam! It's tough work and whilst i think i did an OK job of teaching the player as the game went on(I even threw out named levels last minute, it's hard!) yours is on another level.
This is impressively polished!
The progression of levels is very well done and teaches you the mechanics fluidly. I only made it to level 14 so far.
My one gripe would be the ui of the punch charging, because it seems to be a more 'gradual' charge, it took me a bit to understand that there was only 3 levels of charges, though the colors help, I having the 3rd level only represented as a full bar and a red color meant it got me getting "stuck" for a bit before discovering the 3rd charge level and how the charge worked.
I also really appreciate being able to undo a move, feels like a huge time saver in a puzzle game!
Thank you!
Haha, "only" 14. I'm happy you got as far. I think 14 is the hardest, and 15 is my favorite.
Yeah, it's one of the only things I'm still not sure how I'd change. But I'm open to suggestions. I'm planning to add another 15ish levels after the rating period is over, as well as to fix/improve aspects of the game I've got feedback on.
Do you feel like it's a UI thing, a timing thing, or both? Is there anything you'd suggest that might improve the game feel or player feedback?
And thank you. If I didn't have the undo implemented early, I'd have rage quit by Tuesday.
I think it's mostly a UI thing, otherwise the timing is good and the mechanic works well.
Maybe you could the charge bardivided into three equal parts, and as you charge, when a section gets completed it pops out and the gauge changes color as it does now, that way you'd visually see the three punch levels and it'll be clearer which one you is enabled.
Well made puzzle game across all aspects! May I ask how do you make puzzle game level? Like, how do you turn a simple mechanic into interesting levels that grow in difficulty over time? What’s the process like?
Thank you!
I don't know if I have much insight for you. I don't think I had a process for this project that I would know how to distill into something helpful/reusable for others (or even myself).
I don't know that I could recreate a similarly good game with similarly interesting levels in general. I think this was just a combination of a good jam theme, a simple enough idea to implement in a day, and 8 extra days to think of puzzles and to polish. And even then, I've been kicking myself since submission for all of the changes I've wanted to make after the fact.
Well done! I love how the game teaches you the mechanics gradually and makes the player feel smart for figuring it out. Really clever and original idea too. Thanks for making this!
Thanks for playing!
Awesome game! I really hope this wins. This is the epitome of a jam game to me, a simple, but unique mechanic, minimalistic design, attention to detail and most importantly a complete game. Good job! I only got to level 10, but I would love it if you checked out my game for a minute, you seem like you would be very qualified to give an honest and reasonable review :D
I was stuck at stage 2 for 10 mins wondering what to do, then i realized its a charge punch. I'm too dumb lmao XD, Overall good game :D
Yeah, I tried to make it clear on the startup menu and in the game page under the controls.
I think I realized that adding a gif of the gameplay somewhere is probably the simplest way to signal that to people.
Great entry, one of the best. Making puzzle games is tough as hell, and you have a great talent for it.
Thank you! It was certainly time consuming. I was finding issues in the puzzles up until about 2 hours before the deadline. Glad you enjoyed it!
I loved this! I finished all levels, 14th and 15th were truly pretty tough but also really satisfying to figure out. I think the gradual teaching of mechanics worked perfectly, I didn't even see there was a cheatsheet in the description at first. You've done a wonderful job at level design and, honestly, everything else. Great work!
Thank you for all of your kind words.
I'm so glad somebody confirmed they finished it! I was worried it would be "I got 13th lvled" or "I didn't realize I could charge punch" every time I read a new comment. I needed someone to experience lvl 14 and 15!
In retrospect, I wish I added a "last level" and "next level" button so that people could jump around if they needed refreshers or wanted to skip 13.
I also got got by level 13! Really fun!
Thank you for playing!
I also got got by level 13! Really fun!