The Dark Spots in Space

co-authored: @bestdtang, @hibiki
Overall★★★★★★★★★★4.23
Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.96
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★4.02
Theme★★★★★★★★★★4.14
Graphics★★★★★★★★★★4.25
Audio★★★★★★★★★★4.15
Humor★★★★★★★★★★3.31
Mood★★★★★★★★★★4.58
Year 2132, with Earth at its carrying capacity, humanity has set its sights on the stars. You're an obituary writer stationed on SONUS, a satellite corpo-colony orbiting Earth, capable of intercepting radio signals of up to 3 THz.

You've just received a spaceship's pilot postmortem black box, which autonomously records notable sound signatures from the astronomer's standard issue uniform, spacesuit, as well as the spacecraft's interior. It's your duty to piece together a life in retrospect and write a fitting obituary for a pioneering astronomer.

Navigate the state-of-the-art SONUS interface, equipped with keyword search, auto-transcription, note-taking features, and decode this signal from the stars. The journey has not been kind to the audio data as most clips have been corrupted.

Listen to and repair up to 30+ recordings and uncover the mystery surrounding the astronomer's untimely death. Use your marvelous brain to uncover keywords through context clues and inference.

*What was their life like? How was the journey? Was the mission a success? What were their desires and fears? How did they fill the dark spots in space?*

Comments78

Carrerino
Carrerino20 Apr 2026, 18:55
What a mood! What vibes! Great job. One of the best!
tenthousandfireants
tenthousandfireants20 Apr 2026, 20:12
LOVE the minimal graphics, and how well guessing the words went for me on my first few tries. A lot of cool potential here and uniqueness.
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor21 Apr 2026, 01:18
@tenthousandfireants Glad you like the graphics! Our artist did a great job capturing the retro-futuristic look we were going for. A few good guesses and the game opens itself up :wink:
MountainGoose21 Apr 2026, 03:12
Really good setting, love the art bigtime, super clean. Well done to your team :)
wles21 Apr 2026, 03:19
Neat idea! Got a couple of them but not all, and no idea what fraction of the recordings I've found. I wish the messages displayed faster. Lots of waiting between guessing. Noticed one message (mentioning nanobots) didn't fit inside the text box. Enjoyed the retro computer feel, interesting to have a game experience made to feel like it's something not gamey. Great work, overall very polished!

Suspect the slow pace would vibe better if I didn't need to get to bed, it's been a long three days!
mostlypants21 Apr 2026, 03:55
Cool! Loved revealing the story piece by piece. The recordings were super well done and really got me into the story of it all. Great work!
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor21 Apr 2026, 04:44
@wles Get some rest! We're all barely standing hahaha. The team's working on some UI updates for 1.5x 2x speed for the future. Our programmer's looking into the nanobots bug. Thank you for the feedback
oxnh
oxnh21 Apr 2026, 09:28
As someone else said the slow messages was a major turnoff, perhaps just clicking once could reveal all the text? Though I suppose the audio is helpful sometimes. That was annoying, but I still found myself invested in the story for around 15 minutes. I didn't finish obviously but I may come back once that is sorted out. I like the ambiance too nice job.
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor21 Apr 2026, 11:27
@oxnh We just released a new build! First play is 2x'd, also you can drag the progress bar on the track to revisit information you may have missed. Give it another try when you get the chance, get back to work archivist ;)
500
50021 Apr 2026, 14:01
Game mechanism is very interesting!
LDJam user 383444
LDJam user 38344422 Apr 2026, 01:17
Cool mood, I got invested in the story but got stuck on the big big word.
But at least I have potatoes ;)
Nice entry
Aquaaa
Aquaaa22 Apr 2026, 06:48
Creative game mechanics paired with realistic, high-quality audio.
Hibiki
Hibiki22 Apr 2026, 07:09
Woaaaaaa!
Gecko64
Gecko6422 Apr 2026, 07:11
Very cool stuff, I love the idea of revealing the story piece by piece! Good job :)
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor22 Apr 2026, 07:19
@gecko64 Thank you! We worked really hard to make a build-your-own-mystery :D
Hmeo22 Apr 2026, 07:46
Such a touching game design! They actually created sound effects for each voice line, which is such a pleasant surprise~ The visuals are made up of simple geometric shapes, but they feel very sophisticated. I really like this game!
Strega
Strega22 Apr 2026, 07:53
I wish I could play more of the game. The style, mood, and audio are really great, but I'm stuck on the "CRITICAL ALERT, [########] pod..." clip and I just can't tell what it is suppose to be >_
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor22 Apr 2026, 07:56
@hmeo Thank you!!! I played an enjoyed your guys' game as well and realized that I'm terrible at reading facial expressions. hahahah
Fendri22 Apr 2026, 07:57
How did you manage to do so much in such a short time?
The polish is exceptional. The sound design, the shaders when you decrypt a file... Great work. It truly embodies the theme.
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor22 Apr 2026, 08:01
@strega That's a tough one! Here's a hint: If saunas are heating pods, Abe's in a [#########] pod. Probably needs to de-frost from being below 20 Kelvin. :)
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor22 Apr 2026, 08:06
@fendri We set our sights on the stars :D. But honestly, Serena's a sound design aficionado and both our programmers are heavy hitters.
LDJam user 276593
LDJam user 27659322 Apr 2026, 09:10
Really like this. Graphics are great and the audio is good. Don't think I've ever played a voice acted game in a jam before!

I am, however, stuck! I have 21 out of 30 logs.

Some hints would be nice 😀
Strega
Strega22 Apr 2026, 09:23
I played way longer than I expected. It said I had 96% and 30/30? I couldn't find any more clips and all the clips I had seemed complete. Either way, I had a lot of fun with it :D
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor22 Apr 2026, 09:28
@teddyreid Glad you enjoyed it! Here's a hint: try searching any interesting word that appears in transcripts, they don't have to be solved keywords! Some blurred words often appear in other clips, used in the same context/syntax.
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor22 Apr 2026, 09:59
@strega Oh my!! Thanks for playing, completionist achievement incoming! Did you get to filling in the obituary report on the other tab? What did you make of [] []'s life?
Strega
Strega22 Apr 2026, 10:02
I filled it all out. So many potatoes xD
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor22 Apr 2026, 10:06
[_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _] are the answers to the universe. Took some liberties from Andy Wier's Martian xD
Accelerate0814
Accelerate081422 Apr 2026, 11:13
Such a creative gameplay loop! Using audio transcription as an actual puzzle mechanic to dig deeper into the database is a stroke of genius. You took a very unique approach for this jam. Awesome work!
Awwwz
Awwwz22 Apr 2026, 13:08
好喜欢这个录音解密机制!有一种在听英语听力的感觉。喜欢这个音效反馈声音和叙事,文本语音特别有感觉!非常喜欢的设计!
I love this recording and decoding mechanism! It feels like listening to an English listening exercise. I love the sound feedback and the narrative; the text and audio are so immersive! A design I absolutely adore!
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor22 Apr 2026, 13:12
@awwwz A lot of our team are Chinese, this gamejam let us get some exercise in hhhh. 谢谢!
VenomousMouse22 Apr 2026, 13:54
I like the idea and sound. Great job!
AWP22 Apr 2026, 14:04
Not my type of game but I liked the graphics and the sound design. Great overall tone and moods.
Alexander Stepanov22 Apr 2026, 14:54
I am playing for 2 hours along... and can`t reach 50%. some words are too specific i think. but style and polished state of a game made me real satisfied)
Alano.R22 Apr 2026, 15:01
Such a cool art style! Very interesting decryption
Sooda22 Apr 2026, 15:05
Got very invested in uncovering the story and ended up getting 99% and 30/30! Very cool game with immersive graphics, audio and storytelling. Congrats to your team !
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor22 Apr 2026, 15:19
@alano-r Our artists worked hard on building a cohesive experience, thank you :)
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor22 Apr 2026, 15:20
@sooda I'm etching a completionist obelisk for you and all our 100%-ers, thank you for taking your time, we really appreciate it!
Alexander Stepanov22 Apr 2026, 16:01
@babyfoodstudios i`ve opened an archive and finished 24/30. i am struggling with embryo [....]. and
!>[Solanum] [...]. Also USS [.......] [.....]
azsteak22 Apr 2026, 17:17
Really nice atmosphere, I had a good time trying to understand the lore !
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor23 Apr 2026, 01:31
Hi all, we've just pushed an update and it's playable now. Our programmer made an oopsie in the percentages, those who reached 99% actually completed the game. Maybe the 1% were the potatoes we ate along the way?
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor23 Apr 2026, 01:38
@alexander-stepanov The man on the ship's embryo code is AA76, there's a standard succession in both embryo naming and numbering. Potato's scientific name is [Solanum] [###], Classification + Place of Origin - the planet the little guy originated from. you'll have luck in context cluing it in. For USS [#######] [#####], take a look at Oct 11th, 2027
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor23 Apr 2026, 01:40
@azsteak Thank you for taking your time archivist, glad you enjoyed your time with SONUS!
Jo Bettaque23 Apr 2026, 10:16
Very cool and also very polished! The overall feel is great! First search I did "Potato", did not disappoint :D
eseniia_no
eseniia_no23 Apr 2026, 10:23
I got the vibe of Her Story game, very interesting concept and such a vibe! Loved it!
NonDev
NonDev23 Apr 2026, 11:14
I wasn't expecting to get as engrossed as I did! I did get stumped in a few places, but not enough to get super frustrated. The only minor issues I ran into were how searching re-ordered the list, I think having them fixed order by date might've been something useful. And one of the long transmissions went out of the text container.

I had lots of fun piecing the story together, great job.
LDJam user 371996
LDJam user 37199623 Apr 2026, 12:01
Love the atmospheres! Though I'm not English mother language speaker and the puzzles are really hard for me, I cleared the game and composed the game with LLM's help. I really love this lonely sci-fi story, it's cruel, melancholic but beautiful. The mood is conveyed so well.

And I think my game has quite similar aesthetics with yours! My game also tells a story about universe and loneliness, and also have word puzzle elements. Have a try if you are interested! :heart: :sparkles:
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor23 Apr 2026, 12:14
@nondev Thank you for the valuable feedback! Our team's working on getting a sort by function - last solved, last acquired, etc. We'll also have a look at the text overflow.
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor23 Apr 2026, 12:17
@rubatotree Thank you for spending so much time on our game, can imagine how hard it is for ESL speakers. I'll check out your game when I get home!
wo_ri_gou_le
wo_ri_gou_le23 Apr 2026, 13:36
Your team is impressive somehow made this in 3 days it is a looooot of quality work, good job!

(Also I reaced 71% 27/30, the code aa76 what does 76 mean? And the USS spaceship name, Idk how to unlock Oct11th...

Also the team has a lot of Chinese? What's the background like, I'm quite curious... Are you guys studying abroad or like idk, I mean, this is a very English English game didn't expect that
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor23 Apr 2026, 14:24
@wo-ri-gou-le 71% is good, well done! 76 is a call back to 1776, US independence day. 77 is my lucky number and I wanted to set it up somehow, saving it for Beth, BB77 if we ever decide to expand this universe.

We're predominately Chinese, spread across a few timezones, working asynchronously. Good games are a universal language, localization just makes it more approachable.
Echo Team
Echo Team23 Apr 2026, 15:08
I'm not sure if it was just me but I didn't get any voice messages. The file played but I didn't hear anything.

Still closed the case though!
Cornex
Cornex23 Apr 2026, 15:46
So far, this is the [####] I've played on this jam! I would like to see your [####] on Steam or something in the future. You're so cool guys! Nice [####]!
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor23 Apr 2026, 17:09
@cornex We're working towards a Steam release [####]. Thank you archivist, point your ear towards [#####]!
Bumble24 Apr 2026, 08:49
The best entry I have played yet!

I have the same audio issue some other comments reported. Maybe the information that it was the web version on the ldjam site on Firefox (on Windows) might help tracking down the problem?

Nevertheless, I got 90% for the audio logs and decided on a solitary sacrifice :handshake:
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor24 Apr 2026, 10:50
@bumble No wrong choices! Well done, sorry you had issues with the audio, our team's taking a look at it right now. We'd love for you to experience the game with sound! Set your sights on the stars archivist!
Jawdan
Jawdan25 Apr 2026, 23:31
I didn't expect to find myself getting into this but, after slowly piecing/guessing things together for 10 minutes and letting the story unravel, I was hooked,, amazing work!
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor25 Apr 2026, 23:45
@jawdan Thanks for taking your time to play! Glad the universe could draw you in, godspeed archivist!
Theogen26 Apr 2026, 04:35
This is seriously good. I got so invested that I spent 2-3 hours completing the entire game. I loved piecing together the story and cross-referencing the entries to figure out the words. Kind of reminded me of Outer Wilds!

Here's my result:

I got all the words except this one. I tried everything I could think of - could you please tell me what word this is supposed be? :sweat_smile:

Honestly, fantastic job, I don't think I've ever been this engrossed by a jam game.
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor26 Apr 2026, 13:23
@theoratkin Great job archivist! Abe finds a human [#####] on his last planet walk and brings it on board. It gives him space lung cancer. We're working towards a Steam release, with more stories of embryos and potatoes to come!
Theogen26 Apr 2026, 15:09
@babyfoodstudios I cannot believe myself :face_palm: I thought it was referring to Potato. Guess I should've paid attention to the date!
CrimsonTrouper
CrimsonTrouper26 Apr 2026, 15:09
pretty cool game, actually. I liked the artstyle and the overall "vibes" strangely though it's quite unique overall in this jam I met something simular... That makes me wonder how the "theme" affects visual style... Hmmm... I guess we'll never know! (just my personal thoughts)
babyfoodstudios
babyfoodstudiosauthor26 Apr 2026, 17:46
@crimsontrouper We've played a lot of games this jam that took the same approach. Art style wise, our artist had free reign and did a great job! 'Signal' can be narrow at times, when we were brainstorming we had a few ideas on the board Firewatch, space, signals from the depths of Mariana Trench. Thanks for playing!
Luka4204 May 2026, 15:31
Entry so good I fell to my knees! As a big Sam Barlow fan this hit the spot

Other games by @babyfoodstudios

Found a bug?
Tell us on Discord