Poor Julio...

by sayeg
Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.73
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.11
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★3.29
Theme★★★★★★★★★★3.75
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★3.72
Audio★★★★★★★★★★4.00
Humor★★★★★★★★★★4.08
Mood★★★★★★★★★★4.09
🎧 PLAY IN FULLSCREEN! 🎧

Support your good friend Julio as he bares the depth of his soul to you - without breaking down into tears yourself!

🔸How to Play🔸

Press Space / Click Mouse to hold yourself back from crying!

-

🩵 FOLLOW US ON BLUE SKY 🩵
https://bsky.app/profile/danielsayeg.bsky.social

🔸Credits🔸

Programming and Art: Daniel Sayeg

Writing: Anonim

Music: Spiegel im Spiegel (performed by Jurgen Kruse and Benjamin Hudson)

Font: Flunkies!

Comments48

Placeholders
Placeholders7 Apr 2025, 10:27
Poor Julio, we had some deep convestions there, i like that guy. would support him again. great job!
D_omino7 Apr 2025, 14:38
Poor Julio, i really felt for that guy, maybe a bit too much sentiments, but for sure there is an audience for that.
argensis7 Apr 2025, 16:52
Alas poor julio, we came to know you well
ImmortalFox
ImmortalFox7 Apr 2025, 16:54
Awesome journey. Even those small underdevelopments cannot be considered bad.
Antti Haavikko
Antti Haavikko7 Apr 2025, 16:59
Pretty cool! Even managed to fail my first try because I was trying to time the presses. After that I just mashed space constantly which kinda lessened the stories a bit somehow. But still cool though.

The only thing that really annoyed me was how the text appearing kept jumping at the ends of the lines. I usually "fix" this by having all text actually be there but have the "invisible" part just be transparent. That way it's considered in text wrapping already and words don't jump from end of the line to the next one when they don't fit anymore.

Also same color text as the bar beneath is a pretty weird choice...

Anyways, good job! A "fun" experience... 👍
RascarCapackDev
RascarCapackDev7 Apr 2025, 17:59
Well i was not expecting that ! it's actually a really interesting take on the theme.

Visually speaking i think there's really something going on here, the background picture and handdrawn julio fits together oddly well. I really like what you did with julio.

I'm not sure my answers had any impact on julio's emotions which made me feel like playing some kind of strange clicker game...

Nice job overall
RascarCapackDev
RascarCapackDev7 Apr 2025, 17:59
Well i was not expecting that ! it's actually a really interesting take on the theme.

Visually speaking i think there's really something going on here, the background picture and handdrawn julio fits together oddly well. I really like what you did with julio.

I'm not sure my answers had any impact on julio's emotions which made me feel like playing some kind of strange clicker game...

Nice job overall
jazzydingo7 Apr 2025, 18:00
love this game hahah great writing great mood
FrauKauz
FrauKauz7 Apr 2025, 19:51
What a cool idea that fits the theme very well! I also liked the character (I agree with the others who say the text/fonts and buttons don't quite match it as well) and the colors of the game. The ocean noise makes a very good mood effect. The effect of my answers seemed a bit random to me, but it was amusing to watch poor Julio. Do you know the Pixar movie “Elemental”? This reminds me a bit of it XD
LDJam user 3368517 Apr 2025, 19:57
Really interesting rendition of the theme, I liked that Julio actually responded to my answers but i wish there might have been more different conversation paths. I also really liked how expressive Julio was.
Xwilarg
Xwilarg7 Apr 2025, 20:24
Really amazing game, probably one of my favorite from this! The ending and how it integrate with the gameplay was really well done too!
LDJam user 321333
LDJam user 3213337 Apr 2025, 20:27
Brilliant idea. I love the way it ends. And, really, how fitting it is, how if you're distracted with your own thoughts or sadness you miss what someone is saying, and you guys could manifest that in a gameplay mechanic by having to divert your attention from what he was saying to check the sadness bar. Really well conceived and executed.
Untitled Studios
Untitled Studios7 Apr 2025, 20:53
Quite touching ending. Really neat to subvert the main mechanic in the end. I love that lil guy so much.
oxnh
oxnh7 Apr 2025, 23:01
Good, I liked the twist at the end it was really touching. If this game were just a little bit longer I might've actually felt like crying irl. Good job, liked the attempts at humor as well.
robobarbie
robobarbie7 Apr 2025, 23:05
how lucky i am!!!!! SOMEONE GO CHECK ON JULIO STAT-
ChocolateDoodads
ChocolateDoodads8 Apr 2025, 01:44
couldnt not sea the test that julio was asaying
LDJam user 08 Apr 2025, 02:31
Thanks Julio
Bizzybee
Bizzybee8 Apr 2025, 03:41
I really hope Julio's snail doesn't get outside.
Very lovely game. Simple, straightforward narrative, and a touching message. There wasn't a lot of gameplay involved and the button mashing to keep from crying I think fell short just a tiny bit as a mechanic, but overall the game was beautifully done. As someone who struggles with holding back emotions, especially crying in front of people, I really appreciate the intent of the game. Great job!
DzejPi
DzejPi8 Apr 2025, 05:52
Nice one, that's a very special friendship. Though I think that would exhaust me after a while, haha. If there is one thing I could fix (besides Julio), it's texts that sometimes go over the buttons slightly. Otherwise a very interesting entry, and nice to see this kind of take on the theme!
Kseon
Kseon8 Apr 2025, 06:25
Great game, Julio of course 33 misfortunes but we all are like that sometimes..
too bad you couldn't pause the game, I got distracted and failed on the first try(
levi kingma
levi kingma8 Apr 2025, 07:15
Great art and some quote worthy lines! Some great story telling was utilized. I did notice that you can see the default unity scene if you play on bigger monitors (I assume over 1920x1080) though, but no problems besides that
Cinar8 Apr 2025, 08:33
Come on am i the only who tries to break juilo?
Dywanix
Dywanix8 Apr 2025, 10:12
Awsome idea!
izzqz
izzqz8 Apr 2025, 11:57
I like this character. Pretty emotional
Tenzz
Tenzz8 Apr 2025, 12:17
Great game, i love how the art works so well, the music and the overall mood also. On a side note, you could (though I’m not sure if it would work) add a faint sobbing sound when the player holds back tears (especially toward the end), but make sure to only play it every now and then in case if the player spam the button
Fupi
Fupi8 Apr 2025, 12:51
I really wish I could play this game, it looks really cute, but unfortunately it doesn't fit on my screen. ;w;

My laptop is 1366x768, there's probably some sort of configuration in the engine that lets the game window resize dinamically
osh.studio
osh.studio8 Apr 2025, 13:02
poor julio! can't this guy catch a break!
Celian
Celian8 Apr 2025, 14:11
I loved the approach of the theme and even if it doesn't seems like much at the beginning i can't forget about Julio now ! It was really emotional, lets hope he can find a good new job and feed his snail !!
xWilQ8 Apr 2025, 15:33
Poor Julio, he´s gone through so much and yet he´s there for you too. Even if I found it low-key annoying that life has something personal against Julio, I thought the answer options were genuinely good for comforting a friend. They feel genuine, encouraging and hopeful - but most of all you´re not trying to find solutions, but rather you´re just patiently listening. Oh and what a clever ending!
LDJam user 3565348 Apr 2025, 17:07
You did an amazing job at creating the right mood and character for the story. It was super emotional, well done! I don’t think there are many games with this sort of depth
paragonraptors
paragonraptors8 Apr 2025, 17:17
I loved this! Delightfully earnest with a good sense of humor. The writing and the art really took it to the top. Great work!
pigeon_dp8 Apr 2025, 18:27
Really funny game, and interesting gameplay idea. Would love to see this idea expanded :D
Maslinka278 Apr 2025, 19:51
I'm not crying... I just got a dinosaur in my eye
Adamwigs
Adamwigs9 Apr 2025, 01:52
Good sense of humor, he just can't catch a break :(
Arthur Tang
Arthur Tang9 Apr 2025, 03:31
Lovely game. But why would you do it to Julio tho. Such a poor guy :cry:
Catusfelony
Catusfelony9 Apr 2025, 04:51
It's okay to cry. Julio is a sweetheart and he deserves the world.
Leophyte
Leophyte9 Apr 2025, 07:42
Fun game with a nice message, I do wish it would scale to my screen size though, its either crushed or I can see the default unity skybox around it :sweat_smile:
Soul Grinder
Soul Grinder9 Apr 2025, 13:25
That was an emotional rollercoaster lol. I liked the way your answers seemed to speed up or slow down his anxiety bar, and the writing was quite good, nice work!
Prussichger
Prussichger10 Apr 2025, 11:13
I was hoping that Julio would get the job. 😭
Mcgiants10 Apr 2025, 21:57
Clever use of the mechanic thematically at the end. Unfortunately, any misstep before that point causing a restart means having to start over. Due to the linearity, there's nothing enjoyable about starting from the beginning, you just mash till you catch up. It's a bit like a horror game losing horror when you die and respawn.

All that aside, great art, fun writing, fitting music, and I did like how you ended it. Plus, mechanics don't have to be fun, and you found a way to make it memorable.
TailsGameDev
TailsGameDev10 Apr 2025, 23:53
How far I could go without crying
dumchevdev12 Apr 2025, 03:04
God save Julio😔🙏 Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, he throws in something even more tragic LMFAO😂
Mireyu
Mireyu12 Apr 2025, 11:26
I feel bad for laughing so much :pensive: Well done (and poor Julio).
dmaerzendorfer
dmaerzendorfer14 Apr 2025, 11:42
I feel sorry and appreciate poor Julio at the same time, well done.
Mood fits perfectly whilst the game is being so simple, love it.
NoNumbersGames
NoNumbersGames16 Apr 2025, 12:52
Julio really did experience the rollercoaster of life, and learned valuable lessons along the way!

Funny game, enjoyed it quite a bit, but feels like the clicking mechanic detracts from the core strength of the game (dialog) - would prefer to read it at my own pace and not worry about clicking.

In any case, glad to have played it, thank you
oeueGHa
oeueGHa17 Apr 2025, 03:50
Not bad concept, but i'd like to see more parallel activites.
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