Play game
A Borrowed Shadow's itch.io pageRate this game
In order to rate this submission you must be logged into itch.io and have submitted your own entry. Anyone with an account can leave a comment.
How does your game interpret and use the Theme / Halloween?
A father’s ghostly son only appears at night. Halloween providing the setting for his supernatural return. The father must guide him through the house keeping him in darkness while HEARTH, the home’s AI assistant controls the lights and doors to stop them from escaping together.
Game Engine?
Godot
Graphics & Audio: What did you create or use?
AI Art/Audio
Have you participated in a game jam before this one?
No
Roughly how much time did you spend developing? (in hours)
40 hrs between 3 people (Approximately 13hrs per person)
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.







Comments
I played the Windows build through to the ending, and this was a very polished, complete experience. I didn’t encounter any bugs during my playthrough, and the interactions consistently behaved the way I expected them to.
The strongest part for me is how directly the central mechanic supports the premise. You aren’t just finding a way through the house for yourself, you’re making sure your son can follow safely, and even the lantern you’re carrying can become a threat to him. That makes protecting him something you’re actively doing throughout the game rather than something the story only tells you about.
I also liked how the appliances, security systems, and HEARTH build on that idea. The house keeps finding different ways to interfere with the darkness you need, so the rooms develop the core mechanic rather than feeling like a series of unrelated obstacles.
The presentation is very clean. The visuals are crisp, the animation looks polished, and the audio fits the experience well. Having voiceovers alongside the story adds to that sense of completeness, and I was glad the story had a genuinely heartfelt payoff.
There’s quite a bit of narrative here, and it felt worth following through to the end.
The one addition I found myself wanting was controller support. I couldn’t find controller controls mapped in the build I played. The keyboard layout was straightforward, but with movement, switching lights, and advancing dialogue making up most of the interaction, being able to play the whole experience, including menus and dialogue—on a controller would be welcome.
I’ve only played through once, so I haven’t explored the time-trial side in depth yet, but the seeded houses and room-practice options look like a thoughtful foundation for repeat runs.
I honestly don’t have a major fix or extra mechanic to suggest here. The existing idea carries the game, the systems support it, and the story gives it an emotional reason to matter. This felt like a finished game rather than something I needed to make allowances for because it was made during a jam.
Very strong work from the team.
Ryan, thank you for playing through to the ending and writing such a thoughtful review. We replayed and tweaked the game constantly during the jam, so honest feedback from a fresh pair of eyes means a lot. ❥
We’re a small bunch of game enthusiasts who could probably keep polishing forever! We had more ideas than time, and there are still things we’d love to improve. Your controller suggestion gives us something useful to discuss.
Hearing that the mechanic and story came together for you is really encouraging. Glad we crossed paths through this jam, and thanks again for giving our first entry so much care!