Whenever Ludum Dare comes around, you can expect piles of new games, and this one's theme was "Entire Game on One Screen". Here's a standout for you: Tightrope Theatre by Adventure Islands, a gleefully retro offering with challenge and charm to spare. You're a pixely little unicyclist tasked with performing death defying stunts before your enraptured crowd. Use the [arrow] or [WASD] keys to roll and jump from tightrope to tightrope, avoiding spikes, falling barrels, and fire along the way. Yeah, this particular circus doesn't mess around. And remember, you're on a unicycle and not your feet, so everything's just a little bit slippery up there. Patience, timing, and skill are essential if you want to make your bow at the end.
The best Ludum Dare games are easily accessible but with a strong difficulty curve that ramps up as you go. Tightrope Theatre starts slow but gets downright devious towards the end. The controls are extremely responsive. Your little acrobat rolls and jumps with extreme precision, essential for the later levels where the platforms start moving and they start shooting cannonballs at you... seriously, you are one dedicated little cyclist! It's not at the same level as other precision platformers like N but it's a fine time-occupier for fans of death defying leaps and hops. Moreover, there's something downright hypnotic about the music. Do we detect a Tetris vibe in there somewhere? Whatever the case, minutes pass quickly when you're playing this game. This is a fine example of a browser-based platform game, especially for one designed in only 48 hours. So check out Tightrope Theatre and enjoy the show.
Yeah, and I quit on that falling barrels level.
Pixel Perfect jump games died out for a reason in the 80's. Everyone HATED them.
I'd have to agree. The controls are clearly intentionally slippery, but the degree of precision that the game requests even early on doesn't work well with it.
I'd also argue that it doesn't even really fit the theme. It certainly has entire LEVELS on one screen, but that's nothing new. It's pretty standard for games like this. An entire GAME on one screen is something else entirely.
I'd argue otherwise on both points. I played through the whole game and never did I feel that the game was unfair. Hard, definitely, but never unfair.
As for the theme, think of it this way: after each level, while the curtain is down, the props and tightropes and so forth are rearranged to make the next one. All the levels take place in the same staging area.
Wish there were a way to turn off the music/sounds.
I quit on the falling barrels too!
I like the game -- the slipperiness makes it a little different than the usual platformer and you definitely have to strategize before you start moving.
I have no opinion about whether this violates the spirit of the challenge.
Here's a tip for getting past the falling barrels:
The barrels are more predictable than you think they are. Watch them until you learn their timing, then start navigating.
Nice short platformer. (Finished under 15 min).
NOT a highdifficult tagworthy game.
It doesn't tell you how, but pressing M turns off the sound. When a game doesn't tell me how to turn off sounds, I always try that first. Pretty standard.
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