Loved the graphics and the sound effects. The game was very consistent throughout!

Realy Like GUI and sound!

:O i played this game because i thought it was going to be just another game with such an uncreative title like "keep it alive", who does that? I also didn't appreciate the harsh talk at the beginning, it was so mean to me as a faithful train worker, you know? But, once those initial things were out of the way, the game didn't insult me anymore. It delivered and it was a train ride! What a unique idea and a double take on the theme! Outstanding stuff. great work. Really enjoyed this one.

THIS GAME IS FUCKING INSANE!! Made it to the end, incredible all the way through! I'm amazed you found time to include such a level of polish with visual and audio art, holy shit. The multitasking mechanics are very fun, love the UI visuals to keep track of while you pump away at the heart or help the train up a slope by pumping in coal. My favorite part was definitely the changes in steepness and scenery as you continue through. I'm not entirely sure what *that* was at the end... but I'll be thinking about it in a couple days, no doubt. The kind of game that stays with you. Best LDJAM game I've played.

The punchline is AMAZING!! Setup and delivery all in all, so good.

Style is reminiscent of all the recent gorefield stuff, really spot on excellent work.

I can echo everything above me. Just an awesome game all around, really unique and charming. I wish I had any real criticism.

Amazing game! I thought everything from the graphics to the sound to the UI to the pacing / evolution was awesome. If I had one piece of constructive feedback it would be that it wasn't immediately obvious to me how to tie my shoes. I thought I had to press a button when the process bar was over the center (as like a timing minigame). Perhaps having a different graphic would avoid the confusion?

Have to say though, that ending came out of no where. I loved it, but it came out of no where.

Great stuff all around, I'm kinda amazed how you managed to add variety across the different stages, crescendoing with the other train in the final stage. From sound, to art, to the rhythmic action pumping and shoveling, just spectacular.

Wow! Very interesting! But the absence of the Full Screen mode is a big turn-off. I have a 4K monitor, so the game runs in a very small window. Can you implement Full Screen, please?

Nice itch page! Game was fun. Beat it in 20 min. Art work is fantastic. Difficulty curve is awesome. Really started to get into it during that last bit. One improvement was that it was really easy to conserve coal. Never came up as an issue, though the story seemed to think it would be.

Just Woooah! Great game and fantasy, nice graphics and very good audio. One veeery small thing is subtitle speed being just too slow (even with speeding them up) but this might be one of things that build up mood in this game. I love how all sounds work together well. (I didn't even have to use UI thanks to good audio)

Loved every second of it ! great idea !

Loved the spooky train. Wish the game was longer. Wonderful atmosphere, good sound cues. Loved the idea of keeping shoes tied as a mechanic. Great work.

Yup just really good all round. This inspires me!

[some minor spoilers ahead]

Few minor nitpicks (mostly echoing what others have already mentioned:
- I found the text sound a bit grating
- I also thought the shoelace thing was a timing minigame
- I didn't appreciate the final scene the first time round because I was so stressed out that I might have to do some active-time-event type thing at any moment (played it through a second time though :) )
- Coal reserves were never really an issue

Super slick tutorial, very clear, got the point across, at the same time building the theme/world.

Great atmosphere and world building (amazing considering how short/simple the game is). What is HQ? what was that thing at the end? I want more!
I freaked out the first time I saw an enemy! I had quite a few moments of panic after tripping over my shoelaces!

Something about the tripping kind of reminded me of old NES games like duck hunt etc. Random cutesy things that happen to your innocent character (that add great game mechanics)

Thanks for a great game!

I also thought the shoelace was gonna be a timing minigame, but I don't see the problem if it is almost instant anyway. The intro felt too long, but the ending more than made up for it. I have nothing more constructive to say; this is pretty much a flawless submission. Thank you for sharing it, Daniel.

This is really amazing. I really like the artstyle, the sfx are perfect and the world is very interesting. Awesome job!

Nice. Great quality like always. Good job Daniel!

Great art, great sound, the lack of music actually added to the tension. Gameplay got a bit boring for me (maybe because I'm tired like everyone else), but still a great game!

Wow! Great game with BIG mood! I loved all, the sound, the graphics and the gameplay. The shoelace was top notch annoyance, but great addition.

One little nitpick, in the first level I did not know what the gun was supposed to do or how it works (no enemies in lvl1), maybe it would be better to add gun in the second leve.

Still, great job at the game, enjoyed it.

Holy cow this is amazing. Reading the game description and looking at the screenshots paints a picture of a cool game, but playing it is a whole other experience! Just awesome!!

It really picked up steam. Basically perfect in all aspects

A lot of the submissions so far have just been people making regular games since in most games you try to keep the player alive, but this truly felt like it was designed specifically for the theme. Plus, the game itself is just plain fun. Good job.

Wow, this is definitely one of those gems to save. Well-paced and a riveting experience. The art and sound fit together perfectly. I have no idea what's going on in this world, but I want to know more, hah.

Wow, I played this with my friend over discord and the amount of super intense moments of the train going down hill and you tripping over yourself as the heart slows down was super awesome. Fucking fantastic lil game.

love that rotated effect you have on your pixel art; it made the game for me. well polished and paced, in line with your other work!

What a game! I really loved how the elements just get popping up to the dark screen, making me go from "meh" to "WOAH" when the game actually started. The graphics are just simply amazing, I love the way you set up the scene. Mechanics-wise the balance between the actions felt great, and there were just the right amount of those! Also the hills were a nice touch, I would've hoped for them to be visible in the progress bar tho.

Overall, amazing work in itself, but what's even more amazing is that you made this in 48 hours!

Loved it! Not only was its gameplay really unique, but its story was pretty intriguing! I also loved how you incorporated the shoelace tying necessity as a funny thing during the dialogue. The graphics are really nice, and went perfectly with the rest of the game. It took me a bit to figure out the controls and what I was supposed to be doing, but when I did it was really fun!

Amazed on the quality of the art and on the fact that you managed to create a story based game. Cool game-play mechanics Simple but effective.
Hope yo'll work on developing a longer story, I can see the potential in this.

Feedback:
- I would add the ability to quit the game and change settings, as well as to load the game at the last "level" you've left off

Wow, that was a lot a fun. The heart did die on my trip, so I couldn't save her. I guess there is another ending for when it is alive. It would be nice if you could revert to before it died.

Wow great game! The atmosphere that it creates with the text and lore is awesome! Well done!

Wow, what a great piece of art. Realy outstanding, fantastic mood, nice graphics, good theme interpretation. One of the best LD-46 games I played so far.

Great - the best I played so far. Also - what is there at the ending? I typed D too fast :( Love the graphics style. On thumbnails it reminded me of the old Speccy games and gameplay wise it reminded me of old Game and Watch games :)

My favorite game for the moment ! I love the story, mechanism..... good job !!

The game is cool, but there is too much text in the beginning. I really like the rhythm of the game!

The most polished and thought out thing I've played thus far. A perfect example of a jam's game. Hope to see it in among the medals.

Excellent work.
Art and audio, and by extension, the atmosphere, were great, save for the lack of any music.
Shoe tying looked liked it was a timing thing, but I guess not? And I wasn't sure if after falling I'd have to press W to get back up. But for the most part the controls were intuitive, and the gameplay, while not much, was well made. The small story woven in there was nice as well.

Loved this! Great writing and graphics!

This is an INSANE game!! Loved it, the pixel art was on point, the UI was perfect, and this ending and the general vibes of the world are amazing!
And wow I almost got killed near the end but it was so good to play this game!
Congrats!

Amazing. I hardly have any criticisms except that the intro was quite long and I didn't really know if what I was doing on the first level was right (but that could just be me being stupid) :D

Also the mood of the game was on point.

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! My only gripe is the text being unskippable and the noise that came with every letter, other than that its amazing

Feels very complete. The levels become progressively intense and the introduction/tutorial is just on point.

This took me off guard! Absoloutely mind blowing that you put this together in 2 days. Art, sound and atmosphere were really married together in a cohesive way to form a kind of modernized Game & Watch forumla. Everything from the introduction to the interprative end would have been something worth applauding regardless of time frame; but that it was put together in such a short time is utterly commendable.

I do agree with a couple of commenters that it did take me a train ride or two before I knew exactly what I was doing and how the effects were being delivered, but it's a minor criticism of a complete and rounded package.

Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your fantastic entry!

What on earth did I just save? Top marks for mood in this LD. Great art. Only quibble is I never felt short of any resource.

Absolutely lloved it ;) Thought the graphics were fantastic and really added to the feel, especially when the ui goes all slanted when the train is on a hill and the straight lines go all jagged - really adds to the unease I thought :)

Amazing aesthetic and art, fantastic job.

Great graphics, amazing mood and atmosphere, interesting mechanics and game play. I just wish I could remove those damn shoes hahahaha Brilliant entry!

Hello!! I love this game! Above all the story of the game is amazing! The graphics are beautiful and the game play is quite apprehensive but the mechanics are fun. I could only say something about the audio, I know it is a complicated part when it is done in the compo mode, but for example, the sound of the heart crank as well as the sound of the shovel picking up and throwing the coal are very close. I think that varying the sounds would make the actions even more distinct. In addition to the music, a sound ambience would also make the experience more immersive. Congratulations!!

Wow that was amazing, the mechanics the polish the story. I thoroughly enjoyed playing it, but I felt it lacked ambient sound. Other than that I don't think I would change anything! Amazing job!

This game looks great and has an incredible storyline! I especially like the sounds used for the dialogue text and the multitasking element was truly hectic. I'd be interested in seeing what a hard mode would be like.

Ok the first time I tied my shoes, I laughed out loud (5/5 humour). Thought that was such a funny character building thing, but wow when it became an actual task, it was intense!! Such a fun game, left me wanting to play even more. The difficulty was quite easy, but I think that's great for an LD proof of concept game, so that everyone can play and finish it and see the ending. The graphics are perfect and I enjoyed the audio a lot. The world-building was next level, especially for such a short game. The narrator had so much character and the story was so immersive. I had a great time, this is a model LD game.

Whoa dude. SUPERB game! That's really all I can say, without sounding like a broken record listing off all the things you did well. Truly excellent. Wouldn't mind seeing this expanded into a full game (maybe with varying cargo or something). Well done!

Well polished game, just the shoe tying tripped me up a little and I wasn't quite sure if there's anything I could have done to prevent the heart from being shot.

Suuuuper slick! Nice art, smart use of assets and theme, good writing, amazing sound... just solid all the way around. I wasn't quite sure what the heart on the left was doing, at one point it died but the game kept going? But, really cool stuff, well done!!!



Thank you for creating

Great looking game, some real atmosphere created here.

It's amazing !
Everything is so clean, the art, the difficulty curve, the atmosphere, the sound design, the number of mechanics. I don't have words for that, and you were alone on that :o
Definitiley going to look for more from you, it was insane

I loved it! My first playthrough before I went to bed yesterday, I was so stressed out and spooked. The experiences from my first playthrough:
- I, too, thought the shoe-tying was a timing minigame. I comprehend it's the same timing bar style as the overall progress bar between stations, but we see the shoelace bar before the overall bar, so with that one spike in the middle of the graphic it just looks like a timing minigame. I'd ditch the middle bit or use a different graphic entirely.
- The icon for coal is introduced, then you are told about coal conservation (which was never much of a problem). The icon for bullets is introduced... then you're told about a cell tower range. I thought the bullets were a weird wifi signal until I saw the gun and recognized I'd have to shoot things.
- Was originally very confused by the "llord" comments, but got a chuckle out of me for the reveal of the Queen. Not sure if it was meant to be found humorous, but it did amuse me.

Today, I spent some time playing it more critically-eyed. I worked really hard to get game-over screens. Here are my experiences:
- The beginning heart beeps would be an excellent time to introduce a temporary volume setting bar. The game's pretty loud, at least for me, so I had to turn my computer's volume down. Though, that tends to be true for most games for me. C'est la vie, I guess.
-- The heart beeps at the end seem to go away after a bit of staring at "THANKS FOR PLAYING", but the flat-line doesn't, which is kinda painful although appropriately thematic? Not sure if I like it or not. Hmm.
- I enjoy that it's difficult to lose on stage one. My boyfriend asked me for the link to the game while I was playing it, and somehow says he coasted the entire stage 1 without doing anything, though when I did the "do nothing" approach I ended up dying about halfway.
- The legs of the replacement heart's body are a nice touch.
- When you use the dead heart as coal, the spot where the heart used to be still bleeds when shot by the C H O P P E R S.
- When you don't use the heart as coal on the way to Pasadena, it still disappears from the final stage.
- When you do use the heart as coal, it still exists for the ending scene.
- I wish the ending scene would let me see the other frame of the shoveling animation before it cuts to black, it makes it feel like I didn't hit "d" or right arrow.
- I wish the ending screen had the 'w' to restart and 's' to quit options that the game over screen does.
- I gather everything on the main UI screen is an image except for the coal amount, because the amount of coal looks kinda weird on inclines/declines when everything else gets skewed a little. It's passable uphill, but looks a lot weirder going downhill.

I think that's all I can remember. I enjoyed trying to fail and seeing what happens. Amazing little game!

Oh my god what an ending! :D
This was fantastic all around. Graphics and audio are on point. Gameplay was astonishingly intuitive and very fun.
Those damn shoelaces tripped me up more than once

It's a short but cool experience. I really like this game and it's one of my favorites LD46 entries.
The game feels very polished and in some moments you are push to the limit. That's great.
The graphics and the music are so good and fit well with the thematic. The game mechanics are simple and intuitive, I can play it for hours if the game was longer. The humor is perfect and tell a story to the player. Congratulations for such a excellent compo entry.

This game was incredibly well done for a compo game. Amazing job, I adored the art and I felt so bad for the old man :( but is one tough old man :p

Very cool how you got so much out the simple gameplay. The narrative is aiso very nice. I did not fail on my playthrough, now I feel I missed something.

OMG! This is amazing!

Phew, nerve-wracking! Beautiful art and perfect difficulty curve as well as a well told story, really fantastic entry.

A cool game with cool graphics and multiple endings. That's great!

So crazy this game. Simple and fun

Definitely my favorite game this jam, feels super complete and really fun to play. Also I love how it is pretty easy to pick up, you don't have to spend a lot of time figuring out the controls.

WOW. An amazing game all round - well thought out and keeps the player on their toes. Coal was probably too generous, but otherwise really super!

I love this game. Gameplay is easy to understand, and some games has similar concepts here, but this game is polished and has cool controls and fun gameplay. Incredible work!

I'm not 100% sure why but this kindy reminds me of the old Game & Watch games.
Like a modern Game & Watch game. With retro looks, but not that retro. :sweat_smile:

Got to the end. This was so good considering it was a Ludum dare submission

I love it so much, feedbacks are clever and really good. the ideé is simple but élégant ! a love it. my favorite tested for now!

This game just oozes style and seems to be one of your fortes. That is, creating a world+vision in your head and going ALL IN on it. I agree with others here, the game just kicked into another gear when the cart tilts and it just breaks the player's idea of limitations in their head, very brilliant mechanic.

On a side note I had to look you up since I've enjoyed your past 2 game jam games. I love that you're an industry vet that takes game jams seriously and loves the community. It's great to see that because I find that a lot of people in the industry don't make time for indie efforts like this. I'll certainly be following you and am excited to see a full release of Sacrifices Must Be Made.

Superb job! Favorite game of the jam yet!

Wow this is definitely a best LD game i played so far!

SOLID entry you have the potential to be in the top 5 for the game jam

Wow now I think this is my favourite of Ludum Dare so far, what an engaging game, so atmospheric, looks amazing, you built such a deep feeling world, the gameplay keeps you riveted and man those railworkers or choppers, whichever the ones with hooks are, are utterly terrifying. Amazing job. I love that his shoelaces keep coming untied, and you just made everything feel so satisfying.

Enjoyed it quite a bit, so it felt sad for the journey to over so soon... And I was hoarding on coal and kept like 30 by the end of the game, so it felt like it was not necessary. Nevertheless, this is indeed my Compo favourite! Amazing job done!

Really amazing game, embodies the theme incredibly well and builds up just the right mood and atmosphere.
Also very neat graphics and very polished entry. Congrats man!

In LD44 I made a game about shoveling coal into a steam train while you multi-tasked, so when I saw this I had to check out another take on the concept.

But this is just so well executed in the details. The air of mystery in the storytelling, the old man, his shoes, it all just works so well together. The sound effects are great, and fit with the chunky move system. The discrete nature of the state transitions in the shoveling made it feel more physical and satisfying, and the inclines were a great way to ratchet up the tension for brief bursts. The end had a sense of urgency and I saw I had to hit the button, so I only got a glimpse of the final scene, which was somehow fitting.

Very impressive entry, nice work.

Everything is well executed and played smoothly. it was enjoyable to play within the dialogue explaining the whole concept. the sound effects made it satisfying and fast pasted, which is well suited. it was easy to play with four-button which give that feature of the game easy for non-gamer. it would be impressive if they were hard core mode for this game (minor). dialogue scene and the gameplay was executed, which gave huge impact to the audience. well played!

Love the style of this game! The multitasking was so much fun. The animations reminded me of game and watch and I really liked that for some reason. I enjoyed the dialogue as well. The simple controls made it really easy to get into. 5/5!

Love the dramatic intro text. Flatline was a great moment. Retro graphics are amazing! Simple clean mechanics, clean ending. Good job!

Wow this game is good! I'd love to keep on playing if there were more content! The story is good and I love the simple controlls. Amazing work!

Such a good game, the mechanics were super interesting and the overall atmosphere was awesome! Great job, especially for a compo submission!!

The functional gameplay and the design of what you actually do in the game is rather simple yet the execution and production of it all are top-notch such that it all comes together to create a proper interesting experience about something.

While I'm not a big fan of high quality production, I can't deny that this game is good.

Incredible game! Congrats! Really fits the theme, nice gameplay, I wish it lasted longer! I see a lot of long comments have already been made, so I won't develop further, but it was a really great experience!

Awesome game! Well done! I played it twice to see if I could chose not to give the heart at the end but it looks like you don't have the choice :(
But I really loved it, everything is well made, sounds, visuals, gameplay, story!
GG! <3

Well thought and well assembled. Although I prefer lighter themes, it is yet an awesome work.

Well, that is a fun game. Very cool! The idea was super interesting

Wow, Impressive work! Loved everything about the game. Awesome game

Impressed by that much work in so little time, good job! It looks beautiful, and got inmediatly used to the mechanics. The text sound was a little annoying.

A really awesome experience! The gameplay is quite simple, but varied enough and it gets rather hectic at times. It's still always manageable, which is great. The visuals and audio are quite amazing, and together with the narration and the dense moments it all creates an outstanding atmosphere. Really enjoyed playing it!

So simple yet so fun as well. Every mechanic was well made and well done. The game overall was very fun and well put-together. I absolutely loved the pixel art and the audio as well. Didn't know the importance of the heart till the end though XD. I guess the only real complaint I have is that the game could be longer. But I suppose this way it doesn't overstay it's welcome. Awesome game overall man. Well done :)

This is some of the best atmosphere I have ever seen in a game jam game. Great job

That's a one of the greatest game from that Ludum I've played! Great pixel art, sounds are discernible and because of them I hadn't to check what's going on. Some words about story: till the end I thought that we transport something like gas, like in Mad Max world, were the beating heart is one part of train's engine. You completely well done with topic! It feels through gameplay and narrative! And if that game become bigger, I'll probably gonna play in extended version.

This game was absolutely fantastic. Possibly the best game of the whole compo.

I'd love to see you push this a little further post-LD. There are so many possibilities with player choice and story and progression and the like.

Whoa, this game is really deep. The atmosphere is top notch from start to end and enhanced greatly by the hectic gameplay. You managed to balance the game's difficulty just right and I had lots of fun though I started to feel a little depressed halfway through. But the great ending fixed this for me again. Awesome game. I'm looking forward to seeing your next game already!

wow, amaizing game, really like the art style and sound effects, the writing is also superb and fits perfectly!

Incredible submission!
From the start, it is clear you have a very polished game. The tutorial is perfect, plus the story is simple yet engaging.
... and the mechanics, oh boy! it is incredibly well balanced and complex for such simple inputs.
The art is a plus, but nevertherless is also excellent.
Congratulations, you might have a winner here!

Hands down the best submission I've played so far! The scope and execution of the game is incredible. A big congrats to you.

Looking forward to seeing it on the top of the charts :D

Played to the end. not bad. thanks

Very well polished ! It is really an awesome game, it was really fun and interesting to play. I loved the art and the atmosphere, well done !

The game is super good. Very polished and fun. I like the pace, the clever tricks (like the slopes) and the overal mood/narrative. I just wish it was a bit deeper, resource management never seems to be an issue and I didn't feel there was any real risk. Those are some minor stuff. Good job with this game!

This is VERY impressive! Heartbreaking!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8TaNJDdrJQ

Very cool idea, and i love the whole post-apocatiptic setup. I love the style and the pixel art, and the old man's story. Keeping the heart alive is a very good idea for the theme. I loved the minimal control scheme and the Mad Max like goons. The atmosphere was intense and maybe in the future you can add music to it. Best of luck!

Thanks for the game!

this game is frantic, pretty cool. We have to really pay attention into everything at the same time.

First off, I played the Mac version. It didn't work as supplied but I was able to fix it with Terminal commands. I can give you the fixed .app in a .dmg file If you'd like.
The game only played in Windowed mode, I would have liked a fullscreen option.
The game itself was very good. The controls were simple but intuitive so it worked out. Player animations were just as complicated as they needed to be. I won on my first time, but I have a feeling I barely did, so the challenge is there or at least the essence of it.
I didn't quite catch what I was saving in the end... some sort of llama king?
Anyway, good job.

Somehow everything about this reminded me of _Papers, Please_ (which is a big compliment) I don't even have anything to nit-pick for once! :slight_frown:

Wow, that was something... Really interesting control scheme I'm not sure I've seen before, and the entire game was super polished. The story was really unique too, and I loved the style of writing. Amazing work here! If the game was longer, I would play it all!

Simple mechanics, but fantastic job creating a rewarding play experience. The art, audio, and story all draw the player in. This game was just dripping with mood. Really wonderful job =)

It was SO satisfying to play your game. It really has MOOD. Great!

Nice game!!!
Was seeing it a lot on Itch.io first page, liked the game, it fits right in the theme.
the difficuty is very balanced

the mood is great, very confining and dark, the pixelart and the sound design is very good, it was fun to play, the only thing that annoyed me personally was the gag with the shoelaces

Really cool game! I like the resource management you have to do and how you have to keep track of several things going on for each level, though it doesn't feel particularly hard. Having to keep track of the shoelaces too so the player doesn't trip is a nice extra touch to make things a little harder.

It was a really great immersive experience, what a nice piece. Congrats on making such a gem. Love the pixel art, the sound design, the pace, the mechanics... Everything worked so well together.

What a great game! Had my palms all sweaty by the end of it. I thought the difficulty was pitched just right and all the elements of the game came together so beautifully. Well done. Some day I hope to make a game like this for a jam. Some day. Until then, we will endure. :)

Oh my... I was really into it. Wonderful game! Well done for achieving all of this in such a short time!
The progressive difficulty was very challenging at the end, even if I managed to finish the game straight, I really thought I wouldn't make it with the 4th guy :grin:

Great ambient! Really got me engaged!

So well done! With all these nice backgrounds and scripted events. Super cool! Amazing style, very atmospheric and immersive.

Really well put together :smile:

Congratulations!

What could I say man! Great ambient and love the sfx!

Congrats on taking first place overall in the compo! :trophy:

Just an FYI: I didn't play this first time around, because it looked like it was Windows only. I'm sure more folks will get to enjoy it if you note support for macOS and Linux here :smiley:


very cool :> great idea and execution on the theme, really polished gameplay and graphics :) so impressive that you made this for a compo!!