Survival Dash by OldPeculier
Combine two incompatible genres? How about a SURVIVAL game mixed with an ENDLESS RUNNER? You've gotta run fast, but also don't starve, and make sure you gather enough materials to craft weapons and food.

CONTROLS
Z = Jump
Arrows = Craft


| HTML5 (web) | https://electrictoy.itch.io/survival-dash |
| Source code | https://github.com/ElectricToy/pico-8/tree/master/ld41 |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/41/survival-dash |
Ratings
| Overall | 384th | 3.625⭐ | 30🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 398th | 3.482⭐ | 30🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 305th | 3.679⭐ | 30🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 299th | 3.946⭐ | 30🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 640th | 3.393⭐ | 30🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 210th | 3.685⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 702th | 2.674⭐ | 25🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 610th | 3.25⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 17🗳️ | 9🗨️ |
The theme and concept are very good though. I personally would have gone some other route - maybe there could be two parts in the game, running and night. During day you run, gathering resources and trying to survive. During night you can freely craft stuff and get ready for the next day of running. But your idea is great too, I just think it requires too much attention and multitasking to my liking.
Thanks for the game, it was fun!
Congratulations !
Good work!
I think maybe some small arrows over used/needed/obtained materials might be more visible while sprinting than just flashing? Also the text prompts could stand to stay onscreen longer (since you're always distracted)
Love to see a Pico-8 game. Your run sprites are great, and you also did a really good job with the animals telegraphing when they're about to attack. Also a big fan of the high concept. Good job, solid execution.
Other than that solid entry!
So the presentation was gorgeous and polished, maybe the screen was a bit busy with all the displays and notifications. What overwhelmed me, in the end, was the crafting. Without any guidance, I didn't manage to figure out what torches or arrows did, only that I needed to craft some food to fill up my hearts.
So considering how much I was occupied with jumping and gathering stuff, traversing the crafting menus with their sub-menus overwhelmed me a bit and I resorted to just randomly hitting the arrow keys, hoping for a boost ;)
I know how tight time is in a jam, but the game would benefit from some tutorial that gradually introduces new crafting recipes and their effects. Or at the very least, please spell it out somewhere, because I feel that my understanding of the mechanics is only skin-deep.
So overall: Exquisite little game with a lovely soundtrack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUjvukr54GQ