Sophia's Spirit Journey by ryusui

[raw]
made by ryusui for Ludum Dare 55 (JAM)

Sophia, a beautiful and powerful spirit channeller, investigates a ruined temple where an ancient malignance was sealed. Alas - the seal has been weakened due to centuries of neglect, and the dark spirit held prisoner there attacks Sophia as soon as she arrives, attempting to possess her! She breaks free of the spirit's hold, but at a terrible cost - and with only the dregs of her vast power remaining as a result, she must venture through the once-hallowed halls and seek aid from the elemental spirits who once maintained the seal.

These ruins were not meant to welcome intruders, though, and with the ancient defenses still active, and vast swathes of the ruin reclaimed by the elements, Sophia will need every ounce of power she can summon from the spirits!

  • Sophia - Power of Spirits (summon forth aid from the ether)
  • Hiberna - Power of Ice and Water (tame heat-based hazards)
  • Caloris - Power of Fire (incinerate foes and obstacles)
  • Veridia - Power of Earth and Nature (call forth columns of stone and soil)
  • Fulmina - Power of the Heavens (beckon down divine retribution)

There are many branching paths in the ruins, some impossible to navigate without the aid of certain spirits. Spirit beacons will light up on your approach, serving as checkpoints to return to should Sophia fall to darkness on her journey.

At the summit of the ruins lies a confrontation with the dark spirit that seeks to consume Sophia. Beware - it will use its stolen power without remorse or hesitation! When the dust has settled and darkness is thwarted, shall Sophia claim what is rightfully hers, or does her path lead elsewhere?...

Keyboard controls: WASD/arrow keys to move, Space/Z to jump, X/Enter to fire (Caloris and Fulmina only), Q/Comma and E/Period to cycle between spirits.

Gamepad controls: D-pad/left analog stick to move, botom face button (Nintendo B/PlayStation X/Xbox A) to jump, left face button (Nintendo Y/PlayStation Square/Xbox X) to fire (Caloris and Fulmina only), shoulder butttons (Nintendo L/R, PlayStation L1/R1, Xbox LB/RB) to cycle between spirits.

Created in Godot 4.2.1. 3D assets created in Blender 4.1. 2D assets created in Aseprite 1.3.5. Uses Cormorant Garamond, Vujahday Script, Viner Hand ITC, and Birch Std.

UPDATED 4/19/2024: Version 1.01 has been uploaded (updated to Godot 4.2.2). This is a minor bugfix release which fixes the functionality of collapsing floors and corrects the erroneous behavior of the death counter (multiple deaths were being registered when only one should have been counted). Clearing the game also no longer updates the game time or death counter from the last save. As always, please rate based on the original 1.0 release.

UPDATED 4/21/2024: Version 1.1 has been uploaded! This is a more extensive update which adds sound and music to the game, as well as some upgrades to the presentation and polish, and some fixes to platforming bugs.

Godot<em>v4.2.1-stable</em>win64<em>2024-04-15</em>18-35-04.pngGodot<em>v4.2.1-stable</em>win64<em>2024-04-15</em>18-32-55.pngGodot<em>v4.2.1-stable</em>win64<em>2024-04-15</em>18-34-20.png

Ratings

Overall 618th 3.529⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Fun 572th 3.456⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 905th 3.015⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1134th 2.721⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 690th 3.574⭐ 36🧑‍⚖️
Humor 776th 2.688⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1083th 2.894⭐ 35🧑‍⚖️
Given 37🗳️ 53🗨️

Feedback

marrs
16. Apr 2024 · 16:29 UTC
Graphics are very nicely done and the levels pose some good challenges. The one thing I was struggling with is to aim jumps to I actually land on a platform. I found the 3D effect that is used there a bit confusing. But great job overall!
Mmm1008fm
16. Apr 2024 · 21:32 UTC
Very bright and beautiful colors, nice graphics and user-friendly gameplay. It's a pleasure to play this game!
marleeeeeey
20. Apr 2024 · 04:39 UTC
Great graphics, clearly a lot of effort went into them. However, I got stuck on the scene right after the head comes off. I can't get past the trees. Might there be a bug in the game?
congusbongus
20. Apr 2024 · 04:49 UTC
I like the level design, it was fun to prance around the levels and they weren't overly confusing. Challenging game!
BlueDingo
20. Apr 2024 · 04:50 UTC
i kinda like it. The graphics were also nice. It got a little too hard for me and I wasn't the biggest fan of instant switch between scenes leading to many deaths from running room-to-room just to fall into the instant lava/spike pit. But good game overall!
🎤 ryusui
20. Apr 2024 · 05:07 UTC
@marleeeeeey It's the one control I realize I didn't explain - you can jump down through thin platforms by pressing down + jump! (You'll be able to get through trees later. ;))
Kamizenki
20. Apr 2024 · 05:46 UTC
I was blown away to find out that this game was made by just one person! You did an incredible job. The gameplay is super engaging, the characters are incredibly creative, and the swinging mountain feels so realistic lol. Seriously, great work!
Shawn Beck
20. Apr 2024 · 16:34 UTC
There's a certain charm to the artwork that transports you back. It's fun and challenging!
Skizil
20. Apr 2024 · 16:35 UTC
Both graphics and level design seem cool and the game plays fine. The scene switches were a bit off, there was a couple spots where I instantly died after I switched a scene. Also I Couldn't figure out what that 3/3 was for a long time so maybe explaining that to the player along with everything we can do would be nice. Great job overall!
Gametrodon
20. Apr 2024 · 17:06 UTC
Few Quick Thoughts. Overall, this was incredible.
1. Some sort of short stop when switching zones might have been nice, I ran into lava a lot by just sorta running from one room into another and not stopping between.
2. For stage 2 of the boss, it might be cool if you couldn't drop through those platforms, I died a lot more to just... sorta misjumping/tapping wrong then I did to the attacks in that zone.
YukimiItsuka
20. Apr 2024 · 17:10 UTC
Defeated the boss just now. It's unbelievable that you finished a metroidvania game in a game jam. Great level designs with a lot of fun. The machanics to change your head is a bit like a game called "Puppeteer" on ps3 which I like it very much. Btw I suffered a bug for a long time that you may get through the platform and fall into the lava on stage 2 of the boss.
Xeph-Nebula
22. Apr 2024 · 22:14 UTC
great work, the character design made me smile. Same with the music :D
Thomas Gelman
23. Apr 2024 · 07:31 UTC
Honestly pretty impressive that you made a whole metroid vania by yourself in such a short amount of time! Gameplay was pretty good, although there were some level design decisions such as the placement of certain checkpoints and the fast-moving enemy cycles being a bit cumbersome to play around. Otherwise though, the platforming felt pretty good, and the abilities/integration of the theme was really interesting! Well done!
Constance
23. Apr 2024 · 10:14 UTC
Loved the idea of switching between characters and taking advantages of their abilities on certain part of the level. And the 3D graphics was really well made, I'm impressed that you were being able to model all these characters and objects in such a such time frame.

The level design and overall gameplay was pretty good, but just like you mentioned, the collapsing platforms was a bit off since the character can still stand on them after they fell off. And I think the enemies were moving a little too fast which makes some areas difficult to get pass. And some transition gates were too close to a dead source like lava or spikes, I think lengthen the safe area around those gates a bit would be a thing to consider, because I died quite a number of times just because I didn't have time to react after a "sudden danger" after a zone transition.

But there're some other things I want to point out. First being the lack of some kinds of tutorial to guide the player through the controls and core mechanics of the game, as I find myself struggled on some parts of the level because I couldn't figure out the controls needed, like falling through those blue platforms at the beginning of the game.

As for the second, I think the dead animation was taking a bit too much time, like 3-4 seconds or so. At first, it was no big deal, but it might become annoying on some hard parts of the level because the player might die a lot, which costs their patience and reduces replay-ability.

Anyway, this is a very neat submission nonetheless, I genuinely appreciate the effort you put into this, great job!
🎤 ryusui
23. Apr 2024 · 14:03 UTC
@constance Be sure to give Version 1.1 a shot - I fixed the collapsing platform bug, *and* added room transitions which make it less likely you'll enter a room only to run straight into a lava pit!

Also, speaking of lava pits, I adjusted the design of two rooms: the floor in the lava hallway leading to Caloris no longer leads straight into the lava pool (there's a ledge now), and the entrance in the final climb leading to the end boss has been lowered so you can see the lava when you enter.
zirconcode
23. Apr 2024 · 16:30 UTC
Impressive that you made a complete metroidvannia, difficult game but I found myself trying over and over again, the elements fit very nicely together, amazing job!

Small thing I noticed, the first time I shot a projectile with fire, the game lagged quite hard for a moment, maybe assets were loading or something?
Antti Haavikko
23. Apr 2024 · 17:22 UTC
Managed to do it.

![Screenshot 2024-04-23 at 19.57.10.png](///raw/1e4/3/z/64bac.png)

All in all pretty good. The boss was a bit of a horrible experience with no sound cue for shots and them blending so well to the background and platforms. The platforming wasn't really precise enough of what it required, the blue platforms sometimes just letting you fall trough without any rhyme or reason and the brown platforms timer starting weirdly early if you go near them.

The final stretch before boss was kinda annoyingly long too with all the possible sources of chip damage there were. Not hard but just not very fun either to run repeatedly. Pretty much the same as the early phases of the boss after knowing what to do on them.

Other than that it was pretty well balanced. The checkpoints were plenty enough (maybe the beginning section could have used one too) and the dangers were never too much to handle but posed some threat at least.

First time I died after getting the first head I thought it glitched as my head was removed. Could have hinted somewhere (in the game) about the head switching at the point when you get your first one. I tried to do a full refresh at that point to start again but the continue screen with showing me 1/x heads gave me a clue and then I checked the description for anything I was missing. Obviously would have been nicer to have it on game.

The ice head was pretty useless. It served no purpose on the boss level with lava as you needed to switch off it to use the platforms and it required way too much dexterity to pull off with the clunky controls. And just staying on the platforms and hoping that the projectiles don't hit you was the way to go. The green one also was kinda moot and those moving platforms activating were just too damn slow. Waiting around doing nothing is never fun. On the boss it being slow served a purpose but normally it was just waiting for the sake of waiting. It, just like the blue one, served pretty much just as a passive effect. Which mechanically they could have easily been. And the shooty ones could also be just upgrades on top of each other which would have pretty much made the whole head switching unnecessary. And as it was only a hinderance really I don't think that might have been a bad idea. Of course it wouldn't have made sense thematically.

Noticed you made an updated version with sounds and music (and bug fixes) which is nice. Too bad you couldn't squeeze them to the original schedule. They were missed and surely would have added a lot. The art worked but I'm not entirely sold on the purple on the walls (and everywhere else even hiding boss projectiles as I mentioned). It was a bit too attention seekingly bright and could be toned down in brightness and saturation to make it more serve its purpose as a static scenery element.

But yeah, good job! 👍 Very "full" experience already for a jam game and I bet the...

Well, my curiosity got the better of me and took a peek on the updated version. Looks like it shares the same save file and indeed the changes make it so much better. Especially the sounds help a ton. Pulled it off on the first try without any problems and found the "secret ending" too. Very dark soulsy...

![Screenshot 2024-04-23 at 20.20.11.png](///raw/1e4/3/z/64bae.png)
🎤 ryusui
23. Apr 2024 · 20:07 UTC
@antti-haavikko Yeah, in retrospect, the "current power" gauge in the corner functioning more like a scrolling list would've hinted better that you can switch (or remove) heads once you start collecting them.

Early in development, Hiberna was supposed to give you an Ice Beam-type freeze shot, but I decided making that work (or worthwhile) would introduce too much scope creep. If I revisit this game, both Hiberna and Veridia will probably have their powers reworked somewhat!
HermitGamesmiths
24. Apr 2024 · 00:23 UTC
Wow, the scope of this game is incredible. Interesting level design, loads of polish, pretty amazing! The controls for switching powers were awkward on the keyboard, but overall great jam game.
Bender Biber
24. Apr 2024 · 19:30 UTC
Nice Game. for me the jump felt a bit to floaty. Such a game benefits a lot from snappy movement
Rentem
24. Apr 2024 · 19:35 UTC
Great game! An enjoyment to play
Ace17
26. Apr 2024 · 18:15 UTC
Really nice game, loved the metroidvania-style exploration, with new abilities unlocking new parts of the world ...

Not a fan of the jump / platforming : it seems the ability to jump up "through" platform doesn't play too well with perspective view. I'm sure there's no issue with the physics code here, however, the perspective view makes it look like there is, which is a pity (Blasphemous also has a similar issue)
Rowlof
27. Apr 2024 · 19:16 UTC
I kept falling through platforms randomly. I liked it though.
Merrow
29. Apr 2024 · 06:41 UTC
Nice game, wonderful graphics, great work! Although I missed the theme a bit
Ned Murry
29. Apr 2024 · 07:53 UTC
This is a really impressive game, and there were a few great metroidvania moments which I loved. The horizontal vine/logs which you need the lightning for were a good tease, and the exit to that room was great to encourage me to go back (it would have been even better if there was some sort of one-way platform to trap you there). The way forward was only ever behind one branch, and there was usually only one way to go (Blocks needing the lightning head half a screen away from the branch to find it). This is fine for a jam game, and without a map a more dense, interconnected world would have just been painful, but in future it would be cool to see this expand into a more fully-fledged metroidvania.
I also found the switching heads mechanic tricky to do quickly, perhaps using a different button to equip each head instead of scrolling, but I'm not too sure.
Great job!
josang1567
02. May 2024 · 08:55 UTC
Good game, love the models