Zooid Nexus by Benski

[raw]
made by Benski for Ludum Dare 57 (COMPO)

Zooid Nexus - Made in 48 hours

Interesting fact: Siphonophores are bizarre deep-sea creatures—long, delicate chains made up of smaller beings called zooids. Though they appear as a single organism, they’re actually colonies of specialized individuals working in perfect harmony.

In Zooid Nexus, you are a newly-formed zooid drifting through the abyss, seeking others to complete your living colony. As you collect zooids, your siphonophore grows—but so does its fragility. Watch out for obstacles, one wrong move could shatte the whole.

Itch page: https://tolinski.itch.io/zooid-nexus X: https://x.com/BenskiGameWorks

https://youtu.be/XbboyDskLl8

Ratings

Overall 196th 3.306⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Fun 146th 3.316⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 154th 3.289⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 250th 2.947⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 186th 3.237⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Humor 223th 2.2⭐ 17🧑‍⚖️
Mood 187th 3.222⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Given 8🗳️ 12🗨️

Feedback

psychomonster
07. Apr 2025 · 08:37 UTC
A very interessting game. Also I learned about Zooids ;)
Have a good time and get many positive feedback
Scott R Howell
07. Apr 2025 · 11:58 UTC
Neat game, the presentation lets you sink in easy, I could see myself soaking in a game like this for a day!
🎤 Benski
07. Apr 2025 · 12:14 UTC
@psychomonster

Thank you for playing!

To be honest this game doesn't do justice to the Zooids and Siphonaphores. When I was researching for the game idea I had such a grand vision and ended up with a bunch of glowing spheres.

Have a great time and tons of positive feedback too! cheers
Clintor24
07. Apr 2025 · 23:47 UTC
Yay! it makes me happy to see another Unreal developer. So many of the submissions were done with Unity, Game Maker, or Godot, so it was refreshing to see. I really like the concept of the game. Really creative and the subject mater is obscure but interesting. As an Unreal developer, I died laughing when I heard the death sound effect and instantly recognized it as the build fail error sound in Unreal lmao! I'm sure that will go over so many peoples heads. I find it so interesting to see peoples unique approach to making a game for the jam. I went through the whole process of modeling, rigging and animating the character in my game and the thought hadn't even crossed my mind to make a game using simple shapes to save time. A totally valid approach and your game is a perfect example of using simplicity to your advantage. The music tracks are a highlight as well. Great job!
🎤 Benski
08. Apr 2025 · 15:13 UTC
@scott-r-howell
Thank you for playing and for the positive feedback!!
🎤 Benski
08. Apr 2025 · 15:19 UTC
@clintor24

Yeah game jams are a bit of a mess for Unreal engine, it's better to use engine that supports playing in the browser in these cases. I think I'll try to learn a bit of Godot just for game jams when I feel I'm knowledgeable enough in UE (which probably will never happen XD).

Haha very sharp!! indded all the sound effects in the game are actually from the UE menu sounds XD (except the music itself I mean).
I was definitely looking to save time, but I'm unfamiliar with rigging. Funny enough I have spent the whole first day animating the sphere to act like a blob with spring and stretch physics.

Thank you for the deep and positive feedback!!!
atsh
08. Apr 2025 · 15:29 UTC
Very interesting to learn about the creatures! And I think you did a good job making the circles that follow you feel somewhat dynamic. It was also nice that is was a complete game with levels, although the level select didn't work for me

The abstract shapes hurt the immeresion a bit, and I didn't understand at first those were obstacles. I wonder if the idea of long chain of organism could make a less furstrating game (navigating a long chain in narrow corners is though)

I think there's a good idea here, very interested to see this one explored
Jaxrud
08. Apr 2025 · 16:25 UTC
Fun game, wish there was more levels than just 2. Looks great, plays great and easy to pick up but challenging.
milq
08. Apr 2025 · 18:29 UTC
Wow! What an incredible debut at Ludum Dare, and using Unreal Engine, no less! I also had no idea what siphonophores were before this, it's always fun to learn something new. Honestly, the game is fantastic. It's like a twist on Snake, but with a fresh and intriguing concept. It would've been interesting to see some visuals that show exactly what a siphonophore looks like, but I totally get that time is super limited, I had the same issue. I also wanted in my game to add more synergies between objects and characters, and some animations, but the clock ran out. Your game felt way too short, I wanted more! Truly impressive first entry for Ludum Dare. Can't wait to see what you make next!
🎤 Benski
08. Apr 2025 · 18:54 UTC
@atsh

Thank you for playing and feedback!

Indeed I forgot/didn't have time to implement the level change, and also add the third level I Originally planned. I think I have overstepped it on the second level, because I realized I won't have time to add a third one and pushed the difficulty too far apart from the first level.

My original plan was not to even make a snake-like but I wanted to have a a chain of different organisms that will do different jobs for the bigger organism resembling the Siphonaphore. But as always, I dream too big for my developing skills at this point hahaha.

About the shapes, I agree, I wish I had the skill and time to make some beautiful models, but that's for next time haha.
🎤 Benski
08. Apr 2025 · 18:58 UTC
@milq

Thank you very much, I appreciate the positive feedback!

Indeed my development skills were pushed to their limits, I'm really bad at planning ahead haha.

I believe you already know how I enjoyed your game, I appreciate your feedback very much!

Cheers
Helagos
08. Apr 2025 · 19:09 UTC
I think it can be a good relaxing/puzzle game where we have to find the right path floating around.
With just 2 levels, i see a good potential.
Good job !
🎤 Benski
08. Apr 2025 · 20:55 UTC
@helagos
Thanks for playing and feedback!

Totally agree, I wish I had more time to make more levels and also add more variety. Unfortunately I got to the level design at the last few hours so the level design was pretty rushed.

Cheers!
Dingbat
08. Apr 2025 · 22:22 UTC
Nice job on the project! Simple but fun concept. I have to say it seems you put a lot of time into the UI / menu design which is commendable but I would have loved another level or two lol. The music is pretty great as well. Nice work!
Spexxilove
09. Apr 2025 · 18:25 UTC
cool game. last level took me a few tries but I did want to complete it.
also how dare you make that the sound effect for failing a level I hear it too much already xD
LDJam user 337697
12. Apr 2025 · 18:23 UTC
Always glad to see another Unreal-powered gem!
Loved the pleasant art style and chill music—it creates a really nice vibe. The gameplay is basically classic Snake, it’s well-executed and super fun to play.
Great job on this one!
Eugenik
14. Apr 2025 · 11:57 UTC
Nice entry. Stylish and good story. Good job.