Dashfister by pkenney
Only your powerful dashfist attack can fight through these chaotic hordes to face their creator in Room 20.
But be careful - batteries power both your attack and defense, and they keep falling out!
This one came exactly down to the wire. I wasn't quite happy with the feel of the dash control until fairly late in the weekend, and I prefer polishing the core before adding a bunch of features. Once I was happy with the main pieces, there was a mad rush in the final hours to add the sound, the second half of the monsters, and the finale. I wrote the last line for transitioning in and out of the final scene right as the clock rolled over from 8:59. Phew.
Hope you enjoy!




Development timelapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6fhPNcFcGY
| Windows | https://savagehill.itch.io/dashfister |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/dashfister |
Ratings
| Overall | 76th | 3.848⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 18th | 4.061⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 121th | 3.594⭐ | 34🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 176th | 3.781⭐ | 34🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 206th | 3.576⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 290th | 2.938⭐ | 34🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 148th | 3.032⭐ | 33🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 278th | 3.069⭐ | 31🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 34🗳️ | 49🗨️ |
The balance between attacking and holding up a defence is very good. Collecting your dropped batteries is an original mechanic, and also breaks up the otherwise monotony of only beating enemies.
Speaking of which, the enemies are well thought out. Diverse, tough but fair. Those eagles are a real threat when parashuting. Thankfully you can abort the descent prematurely.
The boss was indeed a boss! I had to figure out the way to gain more height (won't spoil too much :).
In alsmost all aspects a very good game!
(be sure to rate others to get noticed more okay?)
Sidenote, I liked your story about last second coding. I've been there before and it's funny when you realize typing speed ACTUALLY matters at that point.
Actually, on the note of the boss: I wasn't aware that wall jumping existed until I spent ages bashing my head against the spikes.
Excellent graphics and a fun core mechanic. It's very satisfying to punch through a few enemies at once. I think the sound could use a bit more kick...or punch as it were...but it isn't bad.
The spike enemies just kind of suck. You already can't touch the other enemies, so the only difference with the spiky ones is that you can't punch them under certain circumstances. They don't present a huge challenge, but they do tend to be left for last. This meant that there were a few times in which I was standing there waiting for them to turn around. This is a minor complaint, but the overall design was very solid so it really stood out.
Excellent entry!
I'd love to play this on a gamepad with a little more polish; setting up individual levels with unique layouts and puzzles would really elevate the already-great controls! Great job!
The animations are very well done and the game feels especially crisp to play. Good job!
Thank you for your game! haha! :0)
I just wish there was more polish, like particle effects when moving and dashing, and a more powerful effect when hitting enemies with the dash. The first time I completed a level, I thought I died, because it's just an abrupt cut to the next level. Some tweens and screenshake would certainly improve it.
If I had one bit of feedback about the final boss it's that it's not necessarily made clear earlier in the game that you can jump off walls to gain the necessary height. Maybe a level or two earlier that have platforms with enemies on them that can only be reached by jumping off the walls.. some way of teaching through gameplay that it's possible, for players who didn't instinctively test for wall jumping from the start.
Anyway, with more levels, polish and development I would readily pay 10-15 bucks for a game like this on Steam. Great job.
This feels very round and polished, and I also could see an extended version of this being widely popular! Good job!
Really good game, the gameplay is good and the dounds are great!
I loved also the controls, they are tight enought!
KEep up the good work! :)