itch.io

Dude, i will legit pay you $1.000 a month to keep working on this.

Found it

Vague.

Ah, I see the problem. You’re treating your personal reaction as conclusive. It’s not. It’s anecdotal. You (and some others) managing to stay immersed and still feel the message doesn’t mean the two modes weren’t clashing. It just means you’re one of the people who could still get something out of it despite the friction. Exceptions exist. That doesn’t make the pattern wrong any more than some people liking anchovies on pizza means the general consensus is invalid.

These aren’t arbitrary “cookie-cutter principles” invented by someone in an ascot. They’re patterns observed across a huge number of works that came before — approaches that consistently help immersion and moral weight land when they’re respected, and consistently create drag when they’re ignored. The fact that some people still had a positive reaction doesn’t erase that drag. It just means the piece managed to work for them anyway.

Being able to look at the craft isn’t what ruins the fun. It’s what lets you see why something succeeds or falls short and helps to generally improve it. There's nothing wrong with making something better.

You're looking at this the wrong way. These aren't personal "requirements" or things "I" need to enjoy something. They're principles that exist because they've been stress tested for decades. People keep returning to them because they work.

And your spoon analogy doesn't hold. If the spoon is so misshapen that it doesn't hold soup or cuts the user, then yes, the form matters if the goal is actually delivering the experience. Art can do almost anything, but that doesn't mean every combination of techniques is equally effective at producing a specific effect. When a work aims for immersion and moral horror and then actively undercuts both, pointing that out isn't sad or limited thinking. It's just using the lessons of the past to enhance the future.

I'm not saying two disparate modes can't be made to work together under the right hands. Comedy and drama have been blended coherently by masters of the form. That still doesn't change the fact that they do not naturally work well together. The same applies here.

The reason the critique reads as more than personal preference is because it is grounded in established principles of narrative structure and tonal control, not simply "I didn't like it." When a work attempts to invoke the ethical weight of real atrocities (which requires the audience to stay reflective and engaged with moral consequence) while simultaneously deploying classic supernatural/monster devices (which require the opposite: a willingness to suspend rational scrutiny and accept the impossible), those two demands pull in opposite directions. Handling that collision without one undermining the other takes deliberate craft and usually more room to breathe than a short experience provides.

The game does not demonstrate that craft. The tonal shifts and continuity breaks actively interfere with the very immersion and moral unease it seems to be aiming for. That is a structural problem, not a matter of individual taste.

If the piece worked for you as metaphor or as a gradual shift from one mode into the other, that's fine. It does not, however, erase the fact that the tonal whiplash and the clash between the two kinds of horror were poorly managed given the game's length and execution. A longer work with more space to establish and transition between modes might have mitigated the issues. As it stands, they remain.

You made a game about child loss and war atrocities. You can't exactly claim that the game "isn't that deep" after the fact.

If you're saying you didn't put yourself into the game 100%, I can obviously tell that and I genuinely hope that your next endeavor will be better and I hope that you'll take what I've said to heart in designing your next game.

I genuinely wish the best for you, which is the whole reason why I gave you a critical analysis of your game, instead of just saying, "great game" or "game sucks".

Well, you're entitled to your opinion, as I'm entitled to mine. But I believe my points still stand.

 I'm not taking any part of the game "too literally", I'm simply pointing out the poor structure of the game. While contrast can be beneficial in some cases in terms of, for example, philosophical viewpoints, it does not in fact, a good thing in terms of tone. A classic example would be how you don't mix drama and comedy.

The game simply tries to mix two different types of horror that simply don't mix, like trying to mix ice cream with sauerkraut. I won't go over specifically what's wrong with these two different types of horror mixing as I already put that in my main review. I'll simply say that if the end goal is a proper experience, the game as it is now does not deliver it. If you personally had a good time, then great. But that doesn't change the fact that the game developer messed when designing the narrative and structure of the game and that was the nature of my review, technical, not personal.

The game is inconsistent and clashes with it's own modality.

Horror needs to pull the viewer/player in so immersion is your sacred cow and the game does not do a good job of protecting that sacred cow.

The game attempts moral horror by invoking the weight of Vietnam atrocities while simultaneously trying to invade the viewer's/player's personal space with classic supernatural/monster tropes. These two modes do not work well together. Moral horror requires the viewer/player to think and feel the ethical weight. Supernatural/monster horror of this kind requires the opposite, a willingness to stop thinking and accept the impossible. The game leans hard into that trade off so the moral horror never really lands.

By the time the final image arrives, the viewer/player is still busy trying to reconcile the sudden shift in reality, the bag's impossible presence, and the broken continuity. The brain stays in the "on" position when it needs to be open to dread and moral unease. The inconsistencies aren't small details, they're actively interfering with the experience the game seems to be going for.

The game seems to want it's sharp final image, even if it doesn't hold up under a critical perspective. In doing so, it tries to employ two different kinds of horror that work against each other instead of reinforcing one another.

Great game. Super chill incremental like Wizard Tower. Hope to see the full release here on Itch soon.

Quick note, The game tends to lag towards the end of the game.

That's weird. I have 2 extra prestige points after buying everything.

Thank you. I would not have been able to solve 4 without this.

I . . . did not...

Am i stupid? 2 and 3 feel like they need two extra steps to complete. Either i'm missing a function or there simply isn't enough steps to do them.

Ruffle.
https://ruffle.rs/

Can we bump up the core maximum per skill to 2-3? The end run sweep skill can only be maxxed out with full skill plus 2 cores.

Also, an idea for "nerfs"/"balance". Dificulty modes! Normal is how it is now and Hard is how it is with these new changes.

And maybe an Easy/God mode for people who want to blast through the game, lol.

Small bug report. Corebreaking breaks the auto play.

Wow, someone on Itch actually making their steam counterpart lesser in some way. That's a breath of fresh air. You won't won't hear me complaining. Let's Make Itch Great Again!

I have to say I'm really loving the game so far. It's super chill and relaxing, the gameplay is easy, the mechanics are intuitive, the upgrades are paced incredibly well and the music is fucking beautiful.

I'm also happy that the demo isn't super short like with a bunch of other Itch games. I can't wait to see the full release here. I'm super excited ^_^

Sorry to report, I just played the new build and the lag is still there in full force.

I don't think the new "idle" feature works. I left the game running for several hours, which i knew it was running due to the game's music in the background, and i hadn't earned a single gold when i came back. The actual game play had frozen until the window was back in focus.

The new optimizations don't seemed to have improved things at all. And no, i don't mind sharing my PC specs at all. What would you like to know?

Also, while I'm down here typing this, the music from the game is playing without skipping so maybe it's a visual thing or an Itch integration that's causing the lag.

Just tried the new build and it's just as laggy as before. Also, the steam build doesn't really help me as I'm not a steam user . . . as evident by me being here on Itch.io instead of on steam.

Dear lord in heaven, optimize your game. It's like playing a flipbook.

Then what does "new demo" mean?

Do i need to start a new save file? I'm still capped at level 29.

Well, I'm not a steam player so this version is the only version of the game that i and other Itch.IO players actually get to play. Is there some specific reason you don't want us playing the live version of the game? Seems kind of unfair.

Well, when are we going to get a newer version? The newer version looks way more fun.

Ok, so i left the game running for 8 days straight but i finally managed to get every upgrade in the game.
Those last two life crystal upgrades were brutal. I really hope the next update, or the full release when it comes out, gives some other upgrades to make the process go smoother.

I also noticed that the later stage of he game was causing so much lag that my browser was crashing every 5-10 hours. Not sure what was causing that.

This looks way different from the version that GrayStillPlays played on his channel. Did he play an earlier version? Was content actually removed? Why?

Common wisdom? I've literally never heard that. Also, why would people not buy games here if they're looking for games here? Actual common wisdom would imply that if people are looking for games on itch.io they want to buy them on itch.io, if they wanted to buy them on Steam wouldn't they be looking for the games on Steam?

So when are we getting the full release?

Well . . that's great for people on steam but . . . what about us?

The game looks really fun but it's WAAAAY too short, lol.

I can't wait for this demo to get an update or for the full release. I absolutely love it.

Don't worry about the A.I. thing. There is currently a moral panic going on with A.I. like video games, drugs and other stuff before it. It's mainly too many sci-fi movies to blame, making people think A.I. is sentient. There is nothing actually wrong with it and most of the negative claims people bring up about it are provably false. A.I. is already used industry wide, even by top tier artists, and this panic will die down in a few years so don't let the pearl clutchers stop you from using A.I. to make your art. Everyone else is already using it.

Would love to see more games like this. Simple, hot, and reminds me a lot of Mittsie's games. I miss their games.

Only take the healer. Once you reach the boss, hit esc. You don't need to beat the level to unlock him.

Fun game. Love the chain reactions even though it's kinda grindy right now. Hope to see a full release here on itch soon.

Sure thing ^_^

But first. Irony. Definition:
The expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. Like when someone screams "tolerance" while their side keeps trying to murder or terrorize everyone who disagrees with them.

Now onto the "tolerant" left:

Multiple assassination attempts on Donald Trump including the Butler Pennsylvania rally shooting July 2024, the Florida golf course assassination attempt September 2024 and the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner assassination attempt on April 25.
The Charlie Kirk assassination in September 2025.
The attempted assassination Breht Kavanaugh in 2022.
The Congressman Steve Scalise shooting and wounding of several civilians at the 2017 congressional baseball practice by a far left Bernie Sanders supporter.
The firebombing of Josh Shapiro's residence.
The orchestration and participation of the 2020 BLM/Antifa terrorist riots that caused over $2 billion in property damage and killed at least 25 people including David Dorn and other civilians while declaring autonomous zones like CHOP/CHAZ in Seattle that saw multiple shootings and deaths.
The years of sustained Antifa terrorist violence in Portland from 2018-2021 involving nightly assaults on journalists, police officers and random civilians with bricks, fireworks and lasers.
The firebombing and vandalization of over 100 pregnancy centers and churches after the Dobbs decision.
The repeated attacks on conservative speakers on college campuses with riots and violence to shut down events
The engagement in widespread doxxing, swatting, death threats and cancel campaigns against anyone, including apolitical game devs who refuse to bend the knee to far left illiberal ideology, and then has the audacity to call it "irony" when we want to be left out of your political purity tests.

The short version is the Godot developers started attacking their own user base over political reasons, even attacking and banning their financial supporters, so Redot, a non-political alternative, became the de facto choice.

The people who make politics their entire lives and/or identities didn't like this, hence the brigading you see.