Overdub

Record. Rewind. Remember.

Play on itch.io

When you were a child, the attic was a magical place. Boxes were castles, potted plants were jungles, and clouds were just a jump away. With your trusty tape recorder, every imaginary adventure became something you could play again.

But the years went by. You haven’t been up here in a long time.

The boxes have gathered dust. The house feels quieter. Yet there, among the things you left behind, is your old tape recorder.

And somewhere beyond the window is a place you always dreamed of reaching.

Maybe there’s one more adventure on that tape.

Overdub is a nostalgic puzzle platformer about revisiting a childhood world and finding a little help in your past self. Record your actions, rewind, and play alongside the copies you leave on tape. Together, you’ll find a way through the house, into the garden and above the rooftops.

The world once felt enormous. With a little imagination, it still can.

Made for Ludum Dare 60, with the theme Old Tech.

How to play

- Record something useful. Press R to start a take and R again to stop. Moving, jumping, carrying something — or simply standing in the right place — can help your next pass.

- Rewind and play alongside yourself. Hold Q to go back, then let go. Your recorded copy repeats the take as you move on. Copies are solid: you can stand on them.

- Make room for another idea. Each recorder has its own track. Recording again replaces the part of that track you record over. The other tracks keep their takes.

- Look for more tape. Your cassette starts short. Collect cassettes to extend it and reach farther. Found cassettes and recorders stay with you when you rewind.

Take a moment to think. Outside recording, the tape waits when you stand still. Hold Down to let time pass. While recording, the tape keeps running, so you can record a copy waiting in place. Reached the end of the tape? Rewind to try another route.

Three recorders. One childhood adventure.

As you explore, you’ll find three old recorders, each bringing back a different way of seeing the same place. They share one cassette, with a separate track for each recorder.

- Normal: boxes, furniture and things left behind. Pick up and carry objects to help you find a way through.
- Nature: the garden becomes a jungle again. Grab vines, climb and swing to places that once seemed out of reach.
- Air: remember wishing you could fly? Jump again in mid-air, step onto clouds and send them drifting with a gust.

Switch between the recorders and combine their abilities with your recorded takes. A copy can hold a switch while you explore, or give you a boost to a higher ledge. Sometimes all you need is a little help from yourself.

Controls

Keyboard and controller supported. Controller buttons below are shown as Xbox / PlayStation; the in-game hints follow your input device.

Action	Keyboard	Controller (Xbox / PlayStation)
Move	A/D or Left/Right	Left stick or D-pad
Jump	Space, W or Up	A / Cross
Carry / rope / gust	E	X / Square
Record / stop	R or F	Y / Triangle
Rewind (hold)	Q	LT / L2
Fast forward (hold)	V	RT / R2
Switch recorder	1 / 2 / 3, or Tab	LB / RB, L1 / R1
Climb a rope	W/S or Up/Down	Stick or D-pad up/down
Drop through a cloud	S/Down + Jump	Down + A / Cross
Wait (hold)	S or Down	Stick or D-pad down
Pause	Escape	Menu / Options

Tap Jump for a small hop; hold it to jump higher. On a rope, use Space or A / Cross to jump off. Switch between recorders once you have found them.

Touch controls are available on phones and tablets; play in landscape. You can turn the CRT and VHS screen effects off in Settings.

Old tech, old memories

For this jam, we built the puzzles around the buttons on a tape recorder: record, rewind, play and record over. The music follows the tape too, changing with your recorder and running backwards as you rewind.

Soft paper shapes, charcoal outlines and warm rooms give the world the feel of a childhood picture coming back to life.

The team

- Stefan — mechanics & core concept

- Mohamed & Filipe — art & design

- Stefan (Smilotron) — music

Made with Godot ❤️

How did your adventure go?

We’d love to hear which puzzle clicked for you, where you got stuck, or what your copies got up to. If you found an unexpected way through, tell us about it!