Hellbarrel by LDJam user 142558

[raw]
made by LDJam user 142558 for Ludum Dare 54 (COMPO)

Hellbarrel.gif A frantic twin-stick bullet hell where you are trapped like a fish in a barrel.

Controls: WASD + Mouse

Screenshots: 1.png 2.png 3.png

Can you beat my high score? HellbarrelScore.png

Credits:

Font

Godot Native Bullets

Ratings

Overall 24th 4.172⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Fun 14th 4.188⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 166th 3.484⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Theme 46th 4.25⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 37th 4.219⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Audio 44th 3.903⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Mood 34th 3.952⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Given 32🗳️ 20🗨️

Feedback

red-stake
02. Oct 2023 · 16:23 UTC
This was so much fun!

I liked how the game is paced out, with small pauses, and varied enemy design so it feels lively. I liked the music & sound design, which fit the aesthetics nicely. There are nice touches like the red ring animating.

My only criticism was that when I got hit for the first time, in the time it took me to readjust, I'd get hit again. So while I had multiple health points, I often got a game over after get hit only once or twice. That, and the difficulty spike felt a little aggressive - I think the game could've kept in a sweet spot for longer.

Overall, loved it, and wouldl ike to play more of it!
HolyBlackCat
02. Oct 2023 · 16:27 UTC
Nice game, really liked the visual style and the overall mood. Soundtrack is great too.

Time freeze on hit felt a little too long for my taste.
jellycopter
02. Oct 2023 · 20:41 UTC
10/10, feels incredibly clean and polished. Felt well balanced despite the very tight space you would end up in. Overall a very solid entry, excellent work!
Koxsol
03. Oct 2023 · 05:33 UTC
This is some of the most intense bullet hell experience I've ever had. The graphics are on point, the audio is on point, the music is on point, the pacing is on point. The difficulty is high, but doesn't feel unfair for the most part.

I honestly cannot really criticise anything about the game other than it leaving me wanting more. it's that good.
Abdul Zakkar
03. Oct 2023 · 05:33 UTC
So nice and juicy and clean. Love it! Rounds don't take long, nice to quickly pick up and play. Some bullet hell in a cage.
NobodyDGF
03. Oct 2023 · 05:40 UTC
That's so clever designed and fin! Good job creating the theme and the visual style.
Rezistor
03. Oct 2023 · 07:59 UTC
Great work! it feels polished! when ring gets smaller it makes stressful game even more stressful =D love it!.
xinux
03. Oct 2023 · 12:08 UTC
Simple, nice graphics, odd but nice tune. Great variation in enemies and patterns. No complaints!
DSFAN
03. Oct 2023 · 17:12 UTC
Really enjoyed playing your game. Everything feels so good, the art, music, the circle getting smaller then widening, the audio feedback, great job!
![image_2023-10-03_200949965.png](///raw/cf8/95/z/5f508.png)
silkworm_sweatshop
03. Oct 2023 · 19:13 UTC
Hell yeah, intense! First time through I definitely felt the difficulty curve seemed to ramp up a bit too quickly but after a couple of tries you learn the patterns better. Very polished and well executed idea!
RenD
04. Oct 2023 · 07:03 UTC
Pretty addictive little game. I'm usually not a big fan of bullet hell but the gamefeel and the neat Downwell-like art direction got me hooked up more than I would have thought. Nice job!
PowerOfSin
04. Oct 2023 · 13:40 UTC
![hellbarrel.png](///raw/dac/b5/z/5f942.png)

Didn't beat the high score but I got pretty close. Maybe if I died a bit less near the end.

It's a very good bullet hell, gives me Devil Daggers vibes (may be intentional?).

Very good pacing and first time here I see limited space taken to literal dozen pixels of motion near the end.

As others mentioned, deaths tend to chain. Would be nice to either clear the screen of bullets on death or give you a temporary shield instead of invulnerability so you can tank a few shots instead of becoming hittable on top of a bullet you paniced into.
wisstopher
05. Oct 2023 · 23:10 UTC
This is so cool, I love a bullet hell! Really impressed with this, it kicked my ass. The music too, added to the frantic gameplay. Great jam!
Camden Obertop
06. Oct 2023 · 04:02 UTC
This game looks so sick! I am always a sucker for black/white + red! I love the bullet hell aspects
JKazuk
06. Oct 2023 · 04:07 UTC
I'm absolutely terrible at this but I love the vibe. Feels fantastic
aevek
06. Oct 2023 · 04:25 UTC
Wow I really feel the limited space in this one. There is just not enough room to maneuver and it really changed how I approached this kind of game which was super cool. The visuals and audio really set a mood, and I loved all your particle effects they really made everything in the game feel great. Awesome work!
caeonosphere
06. Oct 2023 · 04:50 UTC
Cool submission! Love the look, reminds me of Monolith. Feels nice to play as well. Agreed with some others that I would have expected clearing the screen of bullets after a death. Having the arena shrinking be the result of player (in)action would be cool too, with some kind of visual feedback to make the claustrophobia all the more visceral.
picross
06. Oct 2023 · 04:57 UTC
Awesome game, super twitchy and fun. Member on my team suggested me to play it and I'm glad he did! Super polished as well, love the minimalist graphics. Would be a very fun game to play on a handheld device. Fantastic work!
MetaGen
06. Oct 2023 · 05:18 UTC
Great shoot 'em up with limited movable area. This would be better if there is a little bit longer invincible time after respawn.
zubspace
06. Oct 2023 · 21:31 UTC
Really good bullet hell which matches the theme perfectly. Simple, but nice graphics. Love it!
LDJam user 352490
07. Oct 2023 · 18:11 UTC
This was a lot of fun! Didn't beat it (not skilled at bullet hells) but it was 5/5 on theme, I really liked the use of space (it was so tiny towards the end). The music was awesome, and the cadence of enemies appearing on the screen was a work of art in itself.

![bullethell2.png](///raw/ae0/65/z/5ff7f.png)
Wuppos
08. Oct 2023 · 14:08 UTC
This was so much fun! I really like these kinds of games, even though I am not very good at them. I have not idea how you are supposed to beat that boss kind of skull that appears at one point. You have so little space to work with!

Anyway, this is the best I could do

![Knipsel.PNG](///raw/1ab/a3/z/60051.png)

The art and music were really good as well, and the whole game felt really juicy and fun to play. I dont have much feedback here XD Really well done! I had a blast :D
animatrix1490
08. Oct 2023 · 18:08 UTC
![Screenshot 2023-10-08 120626.png](///raw/5c6/f/z/6009b.png)
I didn't do super well at it or anything, but even I can tell this is a Real Game. Very well done, especially since you worked solo. Incredibly satisfying gameplay loop, the red/white/black aesthetic is really cool, and I appreciated that it wasn't OHKO
I had fun! Good job!
moonlightbomber
10. Oct 2023 · 00:36 UTC
A well-done bullet hell game. Will recommend this to a friend who likes these shooters.
LudumDareDevil
11. Oct 2023 · 20:58 UTC
Pretty fun game. It has a similar mechanic to mine.
cdunham
15. Oct 2023 · 20:48 UTC
Fun, polished game. It'd be cool if the circle had some variable change that depended on how big the players multiplier was. Some powerups or incentive for the player to move around the circle more would be cool too. Great work though!
gentoogames
18. Oct 2023 · 16:41 UTC
love the 1-bit look, and the music is very tense! i think the audio is all left-aligned, so it was a little odd playing on headphones, but not too big of a deal. one suggestion id make is having some sort of visual difference between projectiles/objects that can be shot and destroyed, vs those that cannot. i found myself trying to shoot the indestructible pellets a lot. great entry :)
almost
20. Oct 2023 · 23:18 UTC
Simple but cool. I wish enemies and enemy bullets were different colors so I could see more easily which to dodge and which to shoot. The theme fits well and the game is challenging in a good way.