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A jam submission

astral shepherdView game page

Submitted by jurgfish — 17 minutes, 26 seconds before the deadline
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astral shepherd's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Audio#153.2073.429
X Factor#153.0073.214
Overall#172.9003.100
Engagement#182.3392.500
Theme Usage#182.8063.000
Visuals#183.1403.357

Ranked from 14 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

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Comments

Submitted

Normally I get a little peeved when I cant tell what the goal of a jam game is right away, but this one had this "AH-HAH!" click moment for me that felt very satisfying. very cool mood and atmosphere. Nice work! 

Submitted

Very cool spooky vibes, it took me a long time to understand what was happening at first, but it was fun to figure out!

Submitted

The atmosphere is nicely spooky and oppressive - and the astronaut figures strike an excellent balance between endearing and unsettling.

I wish the gameplay or movement itself was somewhat more involved though.

Submitted(+2)

these astronauts need a hobby. i just want my funny spinning stars!

Neat visuals and fitting music/sound. As other comments have mentioned I found it rather difficult understanding the actual objective, and the hearts at the top were a bit misleading. Still, a fun time!

Submitted(+1)

Such a cool and very specific vibe! I got the hopeful ending and will look back on my time with this fondly! I think the bittersweet mood is my favorite part.  It was almost somber in a way that really made me feel like I was navigating something like a metaphor. Fantastic job!

Developer

this game is a metaphor for love! i'm so happy your favorite part was the bittersweet mood, i love when media navigates conflicting emotions and i wanted my game to capture that, glad you did too!

Submitted(+1)

Super foreboding and atmospheric, and imo does a great job of communicating the goals of the game without explicitly laying out anything at all, which works very much in the game's favor. The visuals, the sound, the music, all come together really well. However, once I grasped the goal, it was really just a matter of repeating one strategy: get a symbol in sight, and the corresponding astronaut will inevitably approach. Back up while strafing back and forth to keep the astronaut and symbol in view while kiting them away from all the others, then, when the symbol is low enough, circle around them. Then repeat until the end. 

That said, the process is still pretty satisfying and doesn't overstay its welcome! I enjoy the thematic choice between pacifying vs increasing health, and it feels like an intentional misdirect to have the player consume one of those first stars for health, kind of leading them to want to collect the other stars themselves instead of matching them to the astronauts, which ended up feeling like a better choice as the player.

Great work, and I really like your inclusion of the process materials! It's fun to get a peek into the inspirations and brainstorming behind the scenes

Developer

very thrilled you understood the game this way! the experience you had was exactly as i had intended, and i'm glad you noticed the misdirection and found the game's true ending :) i also love seeing people's work behind the scenes, glad you appreciated it!

also, as this is the first game i've ever released online, you're the very first review i've ever gotten! thanks for the feedback <3