Search Keywords: HTC Vive, Oculus, Mac OSX, Linux, Android, Flash, HTML5, Java, Unity
Theseus is a puzzle platformer. You can't jump, but you can grow, you can change, and you can leave some things behind. Play through more than 20 levels, each exploring unique aspects of your abilities.
Left/right arrows or A/D to move.
Press spacebar or right-click mouse to prepare (or cancel) a split (later on in the game).
Press shift to fuse (later on in the game).
To finish each level, stand on all exit pads -- and don't stand on any blocks without an exit pad.
Update: I've uploaded a Post-Jam version with some minor level tweaks, as well as an option to mute all audio by pressing M. A web version (HTML5) of the original jam game is also available now.
Update 2: I've made an expansion pack with 9 new levels that explore some twists on the existing mechanics. Most of the levels are at least as difficult as the hardest levels in the main game. It's got a fun little surprise at the end, so if you're up for a challenge, give it a try!
Downloads and Links
Ratings
 | Coolness | 100% |
| #4 | Theme(Jam) | 4.45 |
| #4 | Fun(Jam) | 4.32 |
| #4 | Overall(Jam) | 4.44 |
| #6 | Innovation(Jam) | 4.42 |
| #24 | Mood(Jam) | 4.22 |
| #71 | Audio(Jam) | 3.91 |
| #268 | Graphics(Jam) | 3.82 |
Comments
Oh the little feet on the square made me laugh :D. This game is really well put together. I am impressed. Best entry I have tried out so far.
First 5 stars all the way ever from me. Cannot find a fault with this effort.
This is fucking excellent. A great and simple puzzler with the philosophy of something like the witness: you really locked into a core mechanic and fully explored it. Well done.
I havent beaten it yet but I plan to because I actually feel super clever when I beat each puzzle.
Great job.
I'm so glad I found casually your game. I enjoyed a lot playing it, congrats on the final result!
Wow awesome game, i love the gameplay mecanics. Best entry for me! Great work! :)
Your game is very nice and interesting. Feel myself relaxing playing this one.
Fantastic. Really interesting puzzle design. I did feel kinda bad leaving some squares behind though :/
Great graphics, haunting music, and a puzzle mechanic, the likes of which I have never seen before!
This is super great! The adding and splitting mechanics really made me have to puzzle in a different way than I was used to. Lots of nice little touches like the tiny feet, and it had a super sad feeling to it reinforced by the rain and the music and the fact that I had to leave parts of myself behind. I think this is definitely worth continuing to work on after the jam, there's lots to explore with this idea!
Amazing! Very well done puzzle game. loved the piano in the background and the rain it really sold the mood.
Very nice puzzle game. Love the little animations and music fit perfectly, it really set the mood.
Really really great. Excellent puzzle design and presentation. The last level took me ages!
My gosh this is brilliant. 5/5 accross the skies. Wow. So much fun, such great graphics, the rain pitter patter and piano music is just so mezmerizing. Hands down best game I've played honest. Thank you for making this. just. wow.
Great puzzle design! Hard enough to make me feel smart when I got the answer, but not enough to frustrate. Loved seeing something similar to our initial idea evolved in a completely different direction.
This is a really unique puzzle platformer. I like how you shape from the end of a level carries on to the next level. I will come back later and play again.
Awesome. Top marks all around. I noticed a couple nice quality-of-life features, as well, such as hinting about the restart button when the player starts seeming stuck.
Thank you for adding a web build of the jam version, as that means it's playable (without bugs!) on Linux :).
Level 19 is evil, you clever clever dev. Or maybe it's a sign I should go to bed :P.
My favourite entry so far by quite a long way. I would happily play a full game of this. Good work introducing new interesting mechanics as the game goes on.
Soron - level 19 took me a solid hour, but after I finally got it I literally cheered haha. Stuck on 22, but will not give up.
This is quite a bit of fun, and is super realized as a full game, which isn't always a given in LD. The feet and eyes on the player character makes you empathize with them more that I would have expected! Super well done!
Thanks so much for the comments, everyone!
@Soron and @ChummyWinds: In the game files, Level 19 is literally called "Level_19_MaybeTooHard" :-)
Solid game with superb puzzles. Had me sweating a few times, but managed to finish in the end. Also lovely music!
Overall an excellent game.
Very clever and interesting concept with some tricky but well thought out puzzles (Think it took me 10 tries to work out how to solve level 4).
Hey TheMeorch, I really, really enjoyed this. After playing Snakebird, the difficulty of this was just about right. I stop playing at level 22 for now, but will come back later :) The mood is awesome, and the continuity of the shape between levels is impressive! Good level design, too! Perfect implementation of the theme. Theseus is my favorite LD game so far! <3 The (pleasant!) music got a little annoying after a while.
The level design is incredible! I got stuck on 11, but the concept that you add on each level is brilliant, and I commend you for making over 20 levels like that. The gameplay is very fun and challenging, too, and ultimately has a great feel. Great job!
woow you did an amazing job on the main mechanics making it one of a kind and increasing the difficulty! amazing job!
Seriously, this game is FANTASTIC. I love the puzzles. The level design is great, I love how the shapes aren't reset each level, and the puzzles are just mind-blowingly superb. I played this game with my friend and we both went "WHAAAT" every time we found a new crazy solution to a puzzle. Top it off with the cute atmosphere from the rain effects and some chill-ass piano music, not to mention completely fluid and intuitive controls, and this game gets the first full 5 stars in all categories from me that I've given in the Jam this far. Absolutely superb work. You should be proud.
Really nice puzzle game and take on the theme. I've tried something similar on unity and just crashed constently the computer :D
Wow, thats an absolutely great idea for a puzzler, you should keep worknig on it, very creative idea, well implemented, nice touch with the leg + eye animation.
Great game!
Great work!
The level progression is well done and remains engaging throughout. Add more levels and do a full release.
(The eyes and the music don't mix well for me. I was also worried about cutting off blocks where the eyes were, then found out it didn't matter.))
Great game. got to 19. spent about half an hour on it and gave up. was hard.
Well done
This is the best entry I've seen so far, and probably one of the best games that have been made for this Ludum Dare
Very nice! Forces you to think, looks cute (because of the little legs :D ) and then it even sounds and looks great! I really liked the rain-effect.
Glad I ran into this (advertised in a post by dat.not.my.game!)
Really loved this puzzle game of yours. There was a very creative idea for design and levels there and also is very challenging, congratulations!
If I'm not mistaken, I found an alternate solution to Level 17
http://i.imgur.com/YWqRTDq.png
@snowyowl -- Thanks, you most certainly did find an alternate solution, nice work! I've updated the Post-Jam version with a tweak to Level 17 that should fix that.
If anyone finds any alternate solutions in the new Post-Jam version, let me know!
P.S. The problem with alternate solutions in this game is that they'll result in your shape changing between the end of one level and the beginning of the next one. You can read more on that here:
http://ludumdare.com/compo/2016/04/22/theseus-the-risks-and-rewards-of-continuity/
One of my favorites! The little touches really make it memorable, like the eyes, feet, and rain. The subtle background is really nice too, adds atmosphere and depth without being flashy. I got stuck on level 9 but I'm going to come back and try to solve it later.
Great game! But I think you improve the game using the keyboard only (it's hard to play with keyboard and mouse) and watch the window and the resolution of the game! Congrats!
Wow, this is awesome, the aesthetics are awesome, the mechanic is unique and intuitive, the music and colors combine to give it a lonely feel, well done!
amazing game, all aspects of it! tiny glitch though, you can shift while in the cut screen, and it wont be able to cut the newly added body.
Got stuck a few levels in (with a group of 3 buttons a gap and another button)
@thegunmaster -- Thanks for the heads up on that bug! I've updated the post-jam version with a fix for that and a few other little bugs.
I couldn't get the player to split so I got stuck a few levels in. I'm thinking I wasn't doing it right. Wish I could of played more of it.
It's a fantastic game. I don't know how to finish the level 5 :)The purple square thing with eyes and foots is cute :)
This is a fantastic game! In all honestly, this is the best game I've played so far. Simple mechanics, great level design and progression. The only think lacking is the graphics, but the game more than makes up for it. Perfect scores on 5/7 categories.
What did you use to develop this? The source seems like it is machine generate.
@danieldsj -- Thanks for the comments! I made Theseus in GameMaker: Studio.
Best game I've played in the Jam! Would love to see the finished game.
Didn't expect to spend so much time trying to get the last level. Thought I had the first step right, but it was wrong :)
Everything is so nicely done, really enjoyable puzzle game! Awesome entry! You should make a mobile app from this,
An obvious highly rated game on mood.
This is an exceptionally chill experience that is also, y'know, full of puzzle frustration. Love the graphics, mood and audio.
Super great game. Solid concept! Super well put together puzzles. I'm impressed that there were very specific solutions yet it felt like I was discovering a unique one organically. Loved the mood and aesthetic, the patter of the rain was really nice.
Absolutely brilliant mechanic, and wonderful art and sound that fit perfect with the theme. Little things like the rain and the eyes and the little feet (the little feet!!) really made it wonderful to play. Also the level design was really smart, and nothing I had seen before. Five stars all around from me.
Bonus points for the extra details like the legs coming out the bottom and the rain splashes. :)
This got quite tough early on, but very rewarding when you can complete a level. :)
The best entry I've tried so far!
Great idea and the level design is clever.
I've stopped at level 19 for the moment but I'll be back.
I really liked all the attention put to details.
Well Done !!
I've just made it to level 22.
And well, this is seriously good! You've made one of the most interesting mechanics on this LD.
Visuals are good and puzzles were really nice.
The music sets the mood really well (although, it get's repetitive after a while, but maybe it's just me).
Also, I really liked fancy rain effects and funny movement animation.
My only suggestion would be adding more visual differences between the levels, but the game is amasing even as it is.
Great job!
Came back to play the expansion levels. They're great! And they took me a lot longer than the original game. I think I have nonstandard solutions to 4+ and 6+? http://imgur.com/a/MMS62
@reheated -- Thanks! I'll get those alternate solutions (which are quite clever, nice going!) fixed up in a new version of the expansion pack later today.
I breezed through all the puzzles.
And then came 19.
Seriously, good work man.
Also, I found one of the hidden solutions on (i think) level 17. Illusion=Broken.
Very solid, thanks man:D That feeling that you're in control of choosing shapes, but you really have one right choice! Nice!
Played the whole game and collectected everything at the end. So fun. Love the puzzles. Top 5.
I had some great time playing this, but you know it because you watched my stream. Thanks :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqDS9CXji3A
Loved the squares with their tiny legs and the whole game.
I forgot to add a square in 12 level and had to start again from 1. It would be great if I could return to the previous level to finish it correctly and continue playing:)
Hi, nice game and congratulations ! We're realizing a video with several winners of the Ludum Dare #35.
Can you add your game on indiexpo.net ? (it's free)
So we can include also your game in the video ;)
p.s. write #LDJAM in the game's description
You must sign in to comment.
Mini Submission FAQ
TEAMS: Teams entering the Jam should pick a single representative to submit your game, or create a team specific account you can share. We currently do not support Team Voting, but sharing an account and together playing and rating games is acceptable.
CAN I ENTER BOTH EVENTS?: You should pick 1 event, whichever you think it’ll do better in. If the idea is strong, and everything plays well enough, you can go Compo. If you’re a perfectionist, and would prefer people to play a more polished game, do the Jam. Historically, more games are entered in the Compo, but with more people and more time, Jam games have the potential to be better (that doesn’t mean they are). Many solo participants do enter the Jam.
If you made 2 games, unfortunately, the website doesn’t support multiple submissions per user. To submit your 2nd game, you will have to make a 2nd account. Only do this if you made 2 games. Alternatively, if one game is better than the other, then consider just entering the better game.
CAN I KEEP WORKING UNTIL THE DEADLINE?: Yes! Immediately after the 48 or 72 hours, we do something called Submission Hour. As the name suggests, it’s an extra hour for you to package, upload, and submit your games. If there were catastrophic issues trying submitting your game, or you misunderstood how submissions work, that’s okay. It happens. We’re flexible. If you need advice, check with the folks on IRC. If you need an admin, get in touch.
CAN I KEEP WORKING ON MY GAME?: Oh definitely! You should! But for the sake of judging, keep the Compo or Jam version around. You can include a link to the Post-Compo/Post-Jam version of your game on your games page, but sure your main links are the original version.
PORTS: Ports to other platforms can be done after the deadline. That said, the sooner you finish your port, the sooner people can play your game, improving your chances of placing in the final results. For best results, provide a Web version of your game, or a Windows version with no dependencies. Also be sure to rate at least 20 games to improve your visibility (Coolness).
MY GAME CRASHES, IS UNBEATABLE, OR I MADE A TYPO: We allow you to fix crashes, win condition, or tiny bugs after the deadline. In a sense, this is like “porting” to support more players. We leave this open to interpretation, but generally speaking your game should be identical to the game you submitted. No new features, just fixing mistakes you should have caught had you been better rested.
MY GAME DOESN’T SHOW UP: If you can’t find your game, it’s usually because the URL to your downloads are missing ‘http://‘. Fix your URLs (http://mysite.com/mygame.zip) and you will show up. Alternatively, if you just posted it, wait a minute. The cache may not have refreshed yet.
NOT LOGGED IN?: If you get a message about not being logged in, even though you are, it’s because your web browser cached the non-logged in page. You can fix this by either refreshing your cache or clearing your cache. CTRL+F5 in many browsers. Chrome is a bit more work. Press F12 to enable Developer Mode, then you can right click on the refresh button and select “Empty Cache and Hard Reload”. This option is unavailable if you are not in Developer Mode.
Lovely game, some clever puzzles, but nothing so sinister that I couldn't prevail. Chill mood, would also work as screensaver. Love the fun ending room too.