Carpathian Goodbye by FireSlash

[raw]
made by FireSlash for Ludum Dare 57 (JAM)

The diver is looking for something in the depths below.

Use your skills, and perhaps the assistant of a less than honest shopkeeper, to find what they seek.

ss1.png

ss2.png

Instructions

Collect loot and reach the bottom before your oxygen runs out. Once you get low, you'll automatically return to the surface. Buy upgrades to venture deeper.

Controls

  • WASD or arrow keys to move.
  • Left mouse to bash.
  • Mouse button abilities are aimed with the mouse, so you can use them to quickly change direction.

Music credits: * 香居 - https://dova-s.jp/EN/contents/author/profile314.html * くれっぷ - https://dova-s.jp/EN/contents/author/profile414.html

Ratings

Overall 491th 3.48⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Fun 522th 3.25⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 497th 3.146⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Theme 222th 4.02⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 342th 3.865⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Humor 507th 2.643⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 344th 3.712⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Given 17🗳️ 26🗨️

Feedback

BananaBobBert
08. Apr 2025 · 20:07 UTC
pretty nice game. has a good atmosphere, is a bit grindy at first. Thought i will check how far i can go until i was surprisingly met with the bottom.
rack47
11. Apr 2025 · 03:39 UTC
The movement is fun! I like how the diver takes time to turn. It took me a few tries to figure out how to get to the second floor, but overall, it's easy to understand. The fish are a nice detail. The only frustrating part is when the player or treasure gets stuck inside a wall. Great job!
LDJam user 383241
11. Apr 2025 · 04:51 UTC
This was a really cool take on the theme for the jam. I liked the dialog added in the visual novel style, it added a nice touch to a visually stunning game!
daniel
12. Apr 2025 · 02:38 UTC
Fun and felt like a well fleshed out gameplay loop for a short jam. Wasn't super clear to me the benefit of bashing enemies or upgrading the bash action though
djloker
12. Apr 2025 · 02:54 UTC
fun game! I loved the ending. very nice music and sound effects, the bash feels perfectly bash-y and was very satisfying to use!
TopperVideoGames
12. Apr 2025 · 03:33 UTC
A neat story that rewards playing to the end. The random generation of levels made some odd layouts, with treasure not just being out of reach, but in the walls made it take that much longer to get any money at the start. It was cool to see with each new oxygen upgrade I could get just a bit further down. Eventually I could reach level 3, and had enough credit to get the vampire skill. That is when the game really clicked for me, and I shot instantly down to the bottom! It was fun actually going for the fish with extra bashes that it felt like it should have been part of the core loop more! Faster draining oxygen with bigger oxygen boosts on hits, that would be a fun!
Good visuals and audio and more fun with more ability made this a great game, good work!
Nestral
14. Apr 2025 · 14:07 UTC
nice game with a cool story! the only thing is that gameplay felt a little idle after a few dives but thankfully it didnt stretch for too long until the end. really enjoyed it!
Xeridian
15. Apr 2025 · 20:59 UTC
Handling was smooth and fun!! Loved the music and the ambiance of the game!!

Wasn't sure what I was supposed to hit with my mouse click. So just went on a mad rampage at the start and made no credits lolol! But got a better hang of it on the subsequent play-throughs.

Nicely done!
mahc
15. Apr 2025 · 21:43 UTC
loved this entry! the movement mechanics felt pretty iconic. I wish I had a mouse as aiming was a little tricky with a trackpad, but when I got it right the grappling hook was a lot of fun. I basically didn't use the bash after I realised it used oxygen. I managed to buy out the shop and make it to the fourth floor
Sam Gorman
16. Apr 2025 · 19:43 UTC
Great atmosphere in this, and I like the structure of the game. It's always satisfying in games to slowly get more tools that let you make more and more progress - it gives the player lots of little wins. The mysterious shopkeeper serving to give you upgrades in between runs gave the game a great character. Nice job with the random generation also, it feels very natural.

I did find the game a bit repetitive, and I lost interest after a while. That's obviously natural for this type of game, but even when I got new upgrades and made it deeper, I never felt like the gameplay was evolving. The second floor was the same as the first, for example. You weave around the same types of walls and spikes over and over, and it doesn't get any harder or more interesting as you go. Some more excitement to the actual underwater gameplay, and some more variance in the level design, could help with this. It also didn't help that treasure is rare and doesn't give you a lot of money, so it takes forever to even be able to make it deeper.

Overall, great work! There's the bones of a really addictive game here - it just needs some changes to keep the player engaged and wanting to play more.
oeueGHa
17. Apr 2025 · 03:38 UTC
Like ambience, art and anim of player controller with sound gives good impact, but there is too few resources and they spawn too rarely, that i've never earned more then one for run.
ditam
17. Apr 2025 · 17:40 UTC
A beautiful game, and it's just a lot of fun to play, everything works very smoothly. Really liked the procedural maps (and names) too!

I wasn't sure if there's an end goal though - I stopped around level 5 with most of the upgrades bought.
niterich
25. Apr 2025 · 17:00 UTC
Very fluid (heh) movement mechanics! I made a game with a very similar theme and setting a few years ago - were you also inspired by Radiohead's "Pyramid Song"?

I think the random level generation and loot system might need to be revamped. There were a lot of times, especially early in the game, where I would dive as deep as I could but couldn't find anything to pick up. I think having more items to pick up, even for a lesser value per piece, would make each dive feel at least a little fruitful.
thristhart
26. Apr 2025 · 00:33 UTC
Love a good name generator!

I really liked the movement, especially the propulsive bash, especially when I got vampirism. Of course, as in all things, vampirism is really powerful and I instantly won on that run!