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Balsam's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| gHosts' Choice | #1 | n/a | n/a |
| Story | #11 | 3.722 | 3.722 |
| Aesthetics | #25 | 4.056 | 4.056 |
| Sound Design | #32 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
| Enjoyment (Best Game) | #47 | 3.333 | 3.333 |
| Creativity | #53 | 3.556 | 3.556 |
| Horror | #79 | 2.556 | 2.556 |
Ranked from 18 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
What game engine did you make this project in?
Godot
Did you use generative AI for any part of this game?
No
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Comments
I'm amazed what you could achieve in this short time frame. The pixel art is gorgeous and the sound/music is very fitting. The dialogues are twisted, reminded me a bit of Daniel Mullins games.
The puzzles and levels were a bit simple and there was not much to do, honestly. Sometimes you just had to walk over to the next exit. I was definitely missing a run button. I also thought there would be a hide mechanic when foxes were mentioned.
Overall nice game!
Wow this game also has phone controls, Good job
I played it on my phone and it was smooth although aspect ratios were messed up like always, don't know if it's fixable or not in godot .
I don't know how you guys created that Firefly thing that follows near player, what's the trick, did you made it's position as player.globalposition + a random vector2.
the mobile controls are a result of one night's procrastination; glad to hear it worked smoothly :D
the main things about the firefly are:
This is cool puzzle game. The thing that really stands out to me is the presentation. The pixel art is beautiful and the sound design is nice too. The story is interesting (and sad :'( but in a good way) and each character felt unique. The writing and dialogue system is impressive. I can't believe how large the world is for just a 7 day jam, well done!
thank you! we spent the first 5 days building a robust two-way integration with LDtk, and it really helped to speed up level production! (had to crunch those last two days tho :D)
Reallly good game, definitely deserves a lot more attention. While the gameplay is light, by the looks of it the time went into make a cute but very melancholic game from the gorgeous pixel art to the increasingly complex music pieces!
Wow, this is a full-fledged game! I really loved the design, sound, and mechanics! The author did a great job! If you have some time, please play our short game and leave a review. Wishing you peace and all the best!
The pixel art is awesome! The story also made me sad. Poor kitten. :(
Also, I made a video of your game. It's at the beginning of this video.
First of all, I gotta say its incredibly impressive that you guys made these pixel arts and animations in just a week, all my respect to yall. The story is so deep, especially its portrayal of the life cycles of this world. Its heartbreaking to meet new characters and realize they might only be around for a little while, but I think thats also a beautiful part of life. The ending broke my heart, I didn't know that the momma cat was long gone, making the journey even sadder.
Something Im curious about is why people who are dead/or dying are placed in jars? Is there a deeper meaning that I didnt get?
Also, one thing this game could improve is the puzzle, I think they were a little too easy and not challenging enough, no penalty for making mistakes. But ig the your focus is the story so thats alright
Overall, this game is genuinely one of the best adventure game out there, the pixel art is so charming, and the story is just beautiful. Great job you guys
thank you very much! picking a limited palette (we used fruitpunch24) really helped with eliminating a lot of unnecessary fiddling/guessing from the whole drawing process, and I enjoyed it a lot more than my previous drawing attempts!
we were focused on releasing a polished game before the deadline, so we had to cut corners. unfortunately, that included the difficulty of the puzzles (the harder they are = the more time is needed for testing). stay tuned for news about the expanded version we're working on right now; I hope it will answer your question about the deeper meaning as well!
the frog muttering to themselves was funny. Making a game with a world in a week is impressive!
thank you! initial 5-day investment in integrating LDtk for level editing really paid off in the last 2 days lol!
I see beautiful pixel-art toads and a cat—definitely giving this game top marks. The visual style is stunning, and the sound design is great too. As an exploration-based game, it turned out very well. Personally, I would have liked to see a few more mechanics, but the story that unfolds is quite sad :C. Everything about the setting feels mysteriously enigmatic. Overall, it was a pleasure to play—especially after encountering a bunch of jump scares while evaluating other entries for the game jam. Your team did a fantastic job!
thank you! we decided early on that our main goal is to make a polished game, so we had to cut a lot of corners there.
we're planning to release a significantly expanded version with more (and harder) puzzles, more lore and dialogue, and the sneaking mechanic we initially planned.
good game bro the art looks so good and unique
These types of games are always the best
Here's my game if you're interested in trying it we would be very happy
Mazeophobia:/jam/scream-jam-2026/rate/5188043
The game is set in a maze where you have to find 3 keys and escape through a door before "him" gets you!
thank you! I'll check Mazeophobia later since I'm on a Mac right now and there's no web version. looks nice judging by the screenshots, though!
Of course bro check it out whenever you have free time
The art style is beautiful. I didn't get to finish the game, but I had a feel for it. The puzzles weren't difficult and there was no urgency to solve them. A missed opportunity I think. The characters in the game meshed nicely with the environment and didn't seem out of place. The developer could definitely build on this title.
thank you! we had to cut a lot of corners in order to meet the deadline lol.
(you might have noticed that there's an unused "crouch" button, because the initial plan also included enemies and levels where you need to sneak around them, also using the same puzzle mechanic)
we want to add all that cut content/features into the game later.
Im obsessed with the art in this game! I really like the gothic mole! Was looking forward to seeing the end! But my game got stuck in a scene transition after the foggy forest area
thank you very much! and so sorry to hear that you weren't able to finish the game :( we'll try to fix it in the next patch!
were you stuck in the transition animation staring at the black screen, or just went out of bounds with the old map visible but nothing going on?
I'll give it another shot! Id like to see how it ends!
And I went though one of the doors but didnt get a transition! My character got stuck off screen and I couldn't get it back into view or progress to the next scene
that's what I thought! fixed a couple of offset-by-one-tile doors yesterday (due to two-tile walls that draw above the bottom cell), but found a couple more today and wrote a test for it, so it doesn't happen again for new changes.
now I hope that you can experience the full story!
So much fascinating dialogue, so many little details in the art that made it feel so vibrant...this was a wonderful experience, and VERY spooky. Well done!
thank you!
i love the art style
thanks! using the limited palette (in our case, fruitpunch24) really helped with that!