To The Core We Go! by Rost
Do you have what it takes to take the stairs down?
For centuries the local town folk is wondering where the mysterious stairs in the woods leads to. You, the adventurer, will find out for the towns people.
Fight monsters! Go Deeper! Can you reach 1000 meters deep?

| Link | https://stlunatick.itch.io/to-the-core-we-go |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/to-the-core-we-go |
Ratings
| Overall | 996th | 3.474⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 921th | 3.342⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 1805th | 2.368⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 686th | 3.816⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 878th | 3.711⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 840th | 3.289⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 1016th | 2.528⭐ | 20🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 1189th | 3.289⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 9🗳️ | 19🗨️ |
overall the game is amazing and good job!!
the tutorial was a bit too fast, but no biggie.
Where is loses out is the tweaking within the different aspects. The combat feels a little off, the enemies feel a little random, the difficulty goes from super easy to super tough on a whim. The combat conttrols are slightly clunky too. Just, overall, needs a lot of playtesting and polish to be well-balanced.
The torches seemed like such a cool mechanic, I only wish they'd had some use.
Overall, though, a really charming entry. Enjoyed playing it!
I like the light effect, but maybe the torch could have a bigger radius to make it more useful ?
The bats are hard to kill... or I'm just bad ^^
One aspect of the game killed the fun for me though. The controls felt clunky as I got stuck on edges very often and needed a moment to squeeze through. This always killed any flow that may set in.
So I'm happy with my 700 meters and leave the content of the remaining 300 meters to my imagination. :slight_smile:
- Design of the game, it shows clearly creatures
- Idea of the game is cool, i think you should improve it
Things may be improved:
- Hard to control and it's not very clear
- Some troubles with understanding game, you should visualise more
Overall, Great job!
My only criticism would be the balancing. The first 6 layers / 600 meters felt way too easy while the 7th layer suddenly threw 15 enemies at once at me. Not sure how I was supposed to handle them with the mechanics at my disposal. But I get that procedural generation (I assume the levels are procedurally generated?) takes quite a bit of time to balance so it's really hard to get these things right within the scope of a jam.
On another note, do the torches provide purely "visual" value by making areas outside of your direct surroundings visible or do they serve another purpose? sorry if it was explained and I missed it.
Music gives me nostalgia for some final fantasy/Dragon quest elements.
I like your beginning training area to get everyone on the same page in how to get further in the game. Maybe have a button to allow the player to reread what the tutorial is if they missed it first being explained.
Beautifully done!