Little Mother by Save Sloth Studios

[raw]
made by Save Sloth Studios for Ludum Dare 48 (JAM)

The primal fear of the unknown.

Venture deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth to uncover the secret of your family's disappearance. Where have they gone? What holds power over them? What does he want from you?

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Ratings

Overall 142th 4.088⭐ 53🧑‍⚖️
Fun 761th 3.449⭐ 51🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 530th 3.55⭐ 52🧑‍⚖️
Theme 472th 3.961⭐ 53🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 50th 4.598⭐ 53🧑‍⚖️
Audio 96th 4.18⭐ 52🧑‍⚖️
Mood 19th 4.539⭐ 53🧑‍⚖️
Given 40🗳️ 33🗨️

Feedback

diabolical-sloth
26. Apr 2021 · 23:10 UTC
from the creator of one narrative based game with a frog in to another, this is really good

absolutely LOVE the visuals

your game is a lot scarier than mine though
DamonWakes
27. Apr 2021 · 00:57 UTC
Very sinister! I found the sound a little bit repetitive - particularly at the very beginning - but it bothered me less once I got into it.
alpharock6
27. Apr 2021 · 06:25 UTC
Amazing art and atmosphere! Wonderful animations and environment art wrapped up in an incredibly unsettling experience :)
Milan8890
27. Apr 2021 · 06:29 UTC
The art is really well done! Good job!
Random-storykeeper
27. Apr 2021 · 06:32 UTC
I love how dark this game gets despite maintaining a very warm, pastel palette. It makes for such a stark change visually, especially at the ending, and it feels more impactful.

I was pretty weirded out by the audio, but as the game went on, it became interesting. I'm not sure if it was dynamic or not, but it definitely felt like it, where crossing into different areas changed the music. All of it felt quite seamless and I liked listening in the background for different cues as to how the game was progressing. There was enough mystery to keep me intrigued for a game that mostly involved pressing and holding the down arrow key.

The visuals were the highlight, for sure. I love the design of the animals, and the way Little Mother turns her head back and forth while walking breaks my heart. Those poor babies. :cry: I like how the background had no outlines, though that made it hard sometimes to tell what objects were solid and which I could walk over. The game was simple enough that it wasn't a huge deterrent. Overall, an unsettling experience.
welby
27. Apr 2021 · 06:45 UTC
The art and animation for the little mother and the babies on top of the painted environment makes for a very tense stroll with very cute animals that i'm afraid for. The other animal dialogue in the world makes the situation narratively tense. My only advice would be to shorten maybe a couple of the longer stretches.
skill347
27. Apr 2021 · 06:55 UTC
I really love the game. The best one yet.
Xeke-Death
27. Apr 2021 · 12:27 UTC
THe way the background progression happens really tells the story of the journey. Good work.
mmisspelling
27. Apr 2021 · 15:10 UTC
adorable art these animals are just 2 cute
gamefive
27. Apr 2021 · 15:11 UTC
The soft animation was impressive. I think I saw an animation. The last twist in the horror mood was amazing. I loved the animations of the animals. I could understand the grotesque music after the game.
wobs
27. Apr 2021 · 15:13 UTC
What a moody and tense game, really well done! The art style of the background and the animals are just so perfect together and I love the progression in the background and music. The dialog really got me wondering on what is happening and the end really delivered.
Mighty Mufflon Games
27. Apr 2021 · 17:11 UTC
First thought was "What?!", but then I get it. Quite immersive and even kind of philosophic.
jasontherand
27. Apr 2021 · 17:20 UTC
Absolutely beautiful! The story was very strong and the visuals and sound reinforced it the whole way, so it was very impactful. There wasnt really much gameplay other than moving around a rock or a pond, but it was not tedious because of the visual diversity. I really enjoyed it.
karbirus
27. Apr 2021 · 17:41 UTC
a little bit too long at times, but good game! I feel bad for the babies...
Lilifull
27. Apr 2021 · 18:48 UTC
Well done, your game is very beautiful, the evolving background is superb as well as animations and animals. The scenario is really cool and we want to finish it. I was a little scary, but just enough I was able to get to the end :)
guimm12
27. Apr 2021 · 19:07 UTC
Ok, this is incredible. The art, music and mood of this game are absolutely perfect, especially the sound design! I have no complaints, great job!
Almighty Games
27. Apr 2021 · 20:03 UTC
The best word I can think to describe the game experience... it was gentle. I liked it. The game presented a morale story while keeping the player moving. i was engaged as I learned more and continued to delve deeper. Thanks for sharing.
jonathan-turner
27. Apr 2021 · 20:35 UTC
Well that was certainly an experience. I'm still not sure what I chose at the end. I chose to live, but then everyone seemed to be dead.

I also am not sure who killed everyone, so I might have missed it.

I loved the art and animation.

Nice job creeping me out! :)
Nivbeth
27. Apr 2021 · 20:42 UTC
The atmosphere is incredible. I really loved it when the music kinda cracked in the end and everything felt more and more uncomfortable. I decided to suffer with the pain, but live with my remaining 3 sons.. I hope this was the right decision ;_; °hoped to rescue all of her children°
NICE WORK! <3
TheBookSnail
27. Apr 2021 · 20:48 UTC
trust in the snail.
Doot
28. Apr 2021 · 14:18 UTC
This is so great!

I love the art, and all the little details in animations, UI and colors.
The story is well paced with just the right amount of mystery.

I was a bit disturbed by the music, it felt choppy with a lot of stutter, I don't know if it's wanted and I don't have the ear for it or if it is a problem with my old laptop.

Great job I enjoyed it very much 💕
LDJam user 237261
28. Apr 2021 · 14:50 UTC
@doot Thank you for the feedback! There's an issue with sound on the HTML5 build on browsers other than Firefox unfortunately, so if you use that or a non-web build, the sound should be fine.
ShaunJS
28. Apr 2021 · 17:06 UTC
Thanks for submitting! Hope my in-stream feedback was helpful!
systemeffect
28. Apr 2021 · 17:09 UTC
Super well done, love the atmosphere here and the contrast between this beautiful art style (great palette!) and this doomed ominous feel. Definitely matches the beauty and sometimes terror of the real natural world.

Music and sound design are amazing, definitely amplifies the mood here. I always appreciate the narrative-based games and especially ones like this that put a unique and strange twist onto the theme. Thanks for taking us down this dark little path (though I will choose to interpret a happy ending for our Little Mother).
azaliya
28. Apr 2021 · 22:20 UTC
I really like the visual. It looks simple but so nice :heart_eyes:
fabula_rasa
29. Apr 2021 · 00:42 UTC
Short but interesting. More a story than a game-game, an experience and a journey. The art is great and the animation is very nicely done. The music is totally the best - a bit trippy, a bit unsettling and ominous.

You should really host some poll and ask people what they chose at the end. It would be interesting to know what most chose!
MAB_Cat
29. Apr 2021 · 05:32 UTC
A very short game without many mechanics; the art and the music are phenomenal!
steelax
29. Apr 2021 · 17:54 UTC
mixed feelings of creeped out and cute, was a great game to play, i had to see both endings, the bad ending really just killed it with the lack of audio after all the sounds throughout . it hit me hard
Dane Tesla
29. Apr 2021 · 22:02 UTC
I...wasn't expecting this. This was AMAZING. Hope it'll get a top 10 Ludum Dare 48 games. The music is soooo goood, congrats to the creator. Does they have a website/soundcloud/any other media when I can listen to it outside a game (and hopefully to their other works as well?) The art and mood was spot on, everything worked so well together, I played two times just to experience it all again (and have the second ending as well). 11/10, this game just hits differently and I love it.
LDJam user 237261
30. Apr 2021 · 06:19 UTC
@dane-tesla Thank you for the kind words! You can get the soundtrack on [bandcamp](https://almam.bandcamp.com/album/little-mother-ost) or listen to it on [youtube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlEDdozHTyCUNNYCnyHUNXdkXAZkF_wn1)!
Nice Gear Games
30. Apr 2021 · 11:31 UTC
Grim and beautiful game, love the little touches with the animation like the mother's swaying neck and tail moving at different rhythms. The music was super creepy and atmospheric, and kept the hairs on my arms standing up the whole time, haha. The progression in the background also really sold the story, imo more than even the dialogue with the other NPCs. Very stylish and cool, great job!
Dane Tesla
30. Apr 2021 · 15:37 UTC
@save-sloth-studios thank you so much! I bought myself the OST on Bandcamp as I use it often. Thank you!
LDJam user 237261
30. Apr 2021 · 15:45 UTC
@dane-tesla Thank you!!
JUSTCAMH
30. Apr 2021 · 17:44 UTC
Hey matey, thanks for submitting your game to stream! I had fun playing it, and I hope you found the feedback useful! Here's the vod if ya wanna rewatch it;

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1006003249
Maniulo
30. Apr 2021 · 22:14 UTC
I did NOT expect this from the thumbnail.

This is absolutely gorgeous, beautifully written and that music progression will haunt me for days. I would be greatly surprised if I find anything better in this jam.
etrealjunior
04. May 2021 · 18:35 UTC
Hi all right !, I will sum up my words in I just loved everything about your game is "fantastic", I appreciate the opportunity to have known your work, a big hug to everyone, and I await your evaluations regarding my game.