Ludum Dare #55compo

Flickering Hope

by domenixius

Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.10

Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.71

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★2.91

Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.15

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★2.76

Audio★★★★★★★★★★3.07

Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.00

Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.62

:candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle:

:candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle: :candle:

You have to prevent the summoning of the Red Prince and the flickering light of your candle is the only thing keeping the evil at bay.

Explore every nook and cranny for the clues you need to complete the ritual and banish Him once and for all!

Use the knowledge from previous times the light went out on you and left you in the dark.

If you are stuck on something try exploring a different area.

Every riddle has its answer in the game, nothing has to be brute forced.

Controls:

- WASD to move

- E to interact

- Mouse to look around

- Escape to free said mouse

Tools:

- Engine: Unity

- Sound effects: Audacity

- Music: BeepBox

- Font: https://www.dafont.com/de/augusta.font

Hotfixes:

- Set correct resolution during build

- Fixed game won screen not being displayed correctly in WebGL

Tags: #summoning

Genres: puzzle

Tools: Audacity, BeepBox

Comments23

josang156715 Apr 2024, 09:47

Good game but a little difficult to understand the puzzles at the beginning.

yohadams15 Apr 2024, 09:55

Horror-like vibes, slightly lacking in sound design—I'm sure that was intentional, but adding sounds for footsteps and wall openings would be a good addition. A couple of bugs noted: when picking up the blue candle, it doesn't show as blue, and you can place candles in walls, which blocks the light.

Overall, great theming.

Great entry!

1y1e15 Apr 2024, 09:57

Fun one! I loved the claustrophobic atmosphere, and I think you balanced the puzzles well; I managed to work enough of it out such that I only had a couple unexplored areas, so I knew where to focus on next to finish it off. Final animation for the "banishing" was a nice to see as well, and I'm a sucker for a nice fire particle system ;) I also really like this sort of "knowledge is what you unlock" design, so seeing the big tablet before the other parts was a great hook. Overall, great job!

jdah15 Apr 2024, 10:07

Pretty difficult to understand the puzzles, took me a while to get what was going on. I liked the vibe though!

wilsk15 Apr 2024, 11:05

This reminded me of the feeling I got watching other people play Myst or Riven - i.e. I was not very competent at solving the puzzles :rofl:

Seems like a neat and pretty unique idea, and it was pretty spooky roaming around with just a candle.

Colisan15 Apr 2024, 14:26

Nice compo entry :thumbsup:

I struggled a lot to understand what I should do, but managed to get to the end anyway =D
(though I didn't went trough the windy tunnel... I think I skipped a step?)

I think the game could be enhanced with a non-minimalist 3D universe, and designing some kind of linearity in the clue progression. (having all corridors open from the start is a bit frustrating)

The candle burning down was a very nice diegetic way of implementing a timer, well thought!

LDJam user 26153816 Apr 2024, 17:09

I like the flying glowing eyeball things. And it was interesting to explore with the small light that's going out the whole time. It was helpful that the text could be seen from a distance so you knew roughly where to go.

goodwincek16 Apr 2024, 20:56

Really like the flame effect! Nice visuals and atmosphere!

Erivas_Soulares16 Apr 2024, 22:49

BOI!! I'M A SCAREDY-PERSON... i've got the creepy vibe from the atmosphere... but it was actually pleasing to play! Nice puzzles and great ambiance!

Saprina28917 Apr 2024, 00:46

This was really cool! I really love spooky atmosphere games that do not have jump scares! The lighting was really good and I enjoyed the unique puzzle mechanics!

cogcomp17 Apr 2024, 20:12

The puzzle element was bit too complicated but I loved the mood of the game. Well done!

designernap17 Apr 2024, 20:36

I am ashamed to say I did not reach the end or work out the puzzle! I got a grey box light thing, then was told not to turn around, then was looking at some colours changing. I explored a lot but got stuck. Tonnes of mood in this though and lovely audio. nice entry :)

p-r17 Apr 2024, 20:52

Yay, I banished the red prince! Had a lot of fun, the Endless tunnel effect is very creative

LightningST17 Apr 2024, 23:47

Great puzzle game, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the sounds!

Aivaxela18 Apr 2024, 00:35

Fun little puzzle! A bit confusing at first, but once you get murdered a few times you get the hang of it!

vivid-hallucination18 Apr 2024, 01:35

Dark and oppressive. 🖤

Rubikon18 Apr 2024, 10:13

Atmosphere is sooo thick. Made really well, puzzles were great.

Flying Dog Fish18 Apr 2024, 19:52

Nice moody game. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing though.

There is something wrong with your mouse handling routine, I kept drifting right. I'd really appreciate a fullscreen button. It's rather hard to play in a tiny window on a 4K screen.

jordantanner19 Apr 2024, 05:12

As some others have said, I found it hard to understand or know what to do, but maybe that's supposed to be part of the challenge. Absolutely nailed the dark moody vibe though!

LittleGamer19 Apr 2024, 13:57

Was a bit confused at first but really a neat experience in the end ! The puzzles are interesting and diverse.

zimny1119 Apr 2024, 21:09

As other mentioned it took a bit to understand what I need to do, but it was fun figuring it out! Nice puzzles, cool game mood too. The only thing I would suggest: instead of E-key to interact to use mouse button, it feels way more intuitive for me. Anyway, good job with the game!

INCD02120 Apr 2024, 09:54

Very nice mood. First game I've played where you have to prevent some-one/-thing from being summoned :smile: Nice.
Really liked the mood and simple but effective ambient sound. All round very nicely done :thumbsup:

freamdev21 Apr 2024, 20:39

Nicely done horror game, both from the effects and because I needed to use my brain to progress...

Other games by @domenixius

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The Hive of Queen Bee-Atrice

★3.10

LD59