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This game was undoubtedly a very fun one. At first I just followed the visual indications without knowing wtf I am to do. But after each mid coffee I received tips on things to improve and I was really happy Yura got more and more satisfied with the coffee. I stopped after doing a "pretty good job" and having a Jasmine note on my brew, but I know there's more to unlock and would definitely come back.

Gameplay itself aside, you really cooked with the visuals and audio. This felt like something I'd play on my old Nintendo 3DS or smthin. It's really hard to find things to nitpick, and even the meme about not having autosave was funny. It's rare for a jam game to be in a state where it just needs more content and this one is in such a state.

Very, VERY fun game, really great take on the theme (and one of the ideas I threw out there but knew I'd not be able to pull off for now). The character designs are charming and not outstanding: you must be one of those who're way better at animating / dynamic visuals than drawing, with lots of self-conscious laziness with those fourth wall breaks. Meta humour was golden at least for me even though sometimes it could break immersion, cross-examination statements to find whatever BS I could use to defend the obvious culprit was really really fun. It's hard to find anything that annoys me, though you could've added a system where if you fumble over your words too many times, you lose the game (here the player can just brute-force through evidence until it works). Here you're relying on the good faith of players who will try to solve the cases for real instead of clicking through every option, and luckily I'm one of those so this was more of a nitpick. Really hilarious comment about the jam near the end, and I'd totally see myself coming back to this game if it ever gets expanded on after the jam.

It's always the little things... I'm not very good at arcade games even though I really like them. This one is no exception (my max score was 88 millions) and I don't know if you did it intentionally but the sh*t score calculation actually makes the game better imo.

In some runs I was just trying to survive the projectiles which led me to the point where lights were out and enemies were harder to dodge. In other runs I tried chasing the bullets to hit max combo and spin a lot which led me to a really good increase of points before the lights were even out. This game really fits the theme and if there was a jam about "courage" it would fit really well too because here the player is encouraged to brave the bullets to keep the numbers going up.

I also noticed that when you don't spin the music is really simple and while spinning it gets more catchy, and I've downloaded your project only to see that you don't have actual sound files (except for the Juniper serious one) but you're actually mixing the song from code? I don't know much about all this but it's seriously impressive.

To get back at what I've said in the beginning: I think it's a good thing for the score calculation to stay "sh*tty" like that: score increases exponentially when spinning with really good combo count, in a way the player can't really intuit well. That stops them from trying to mathematically beat the high score and encourages them to just stay in the zone. This was exactly what made the charm of old arcade games where you look at the scoreboard and wonder how the best scores were insanely huge.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, all I have to say is that this is a submission you can really be proud of.

I don't read VNs a lot and was a bit reluctant at first before trying it. Turns out it was actually fun, and you incorporated the theme in a simple and natural way: usually VNs' outcomes depend more on the player's choices so they're just a "click the option you never clicked before" simulator. Here the wheel and the mini games kinda stop that (though some of those really have no cue at all which is fine).
Never realised that I do like my stories with a bit of RNG, great job on this.

Ok that was lowkey really fun and my eyes hurt now 😭. Would've been really nice if there were specifically levels to complete after certain distances but as it stands, it's an enjoyable endless runner with lots of adrenaline and a really cool music. Aesthetics are good too, but maybe having to spin a lot makes the game too "hypno style". If that was intentional, then good. Could use more controls than just spinning around to fit the gaps, perhaps gravity inversion to immediately go upside-down fast for example? All in all this is really cool and eye-hurting, well done 👍 

Ok so this one had really fun Smash Bros vibes. Wish I had friends to play this with. The bot is kinda goofy because it just tries to follow the player. Not very smart, literally a birdbrain. For instance sometimes I could get into a funny position where I'm on top of its head and it keeps jumping. Then I'd slowly move to the edge and make it fall while it's unable to fight back. Other than the bot being kinda dumb, you did a good job! Wish we had more mechanics than just moving though (maybe an ULT?) but what you already have there is solid.

Ok that was actually a fun experience, lasting longer than it should've because of some bugs: in the image I attach to this, I could try pressing anything, my character would just not move. I think it's a bug that can be replicated if you climb a yarn from under a platform and not the edges kinda. So I had to refresh the page because there's no "restart level" and going back to main menu does not work which is sad. But I still managed to beat the level and what I can say is that you found a really good interpretation of the theme: spin the yarns to win indeed. Plus cats are featured in this game too. What's there to hate? Really nice visuals and sfx and music too.  Overall a good game despite its jank and small scale.

This is an endless and a decent one: compulsion to spin makes it skill-based and only movement really matters here (and holding shift). At some point though you get so any upgrades that you're unbeatable. The combat is still satisfying. Even reached floor 13 but at that point I felt like all th floors above would be the same so I stopped. Really enjoyable while it lasted, very cute and polished visuals, audio was fine but could've chosen a longer loop / more variety in the music. Overall a solid submission.

Hey there, I really like that Paper Mario style you went for (didn't see many going for that) and the music. The acceleration-based spinning felt really smooth and the whole gimmick of "guiding the orchestra" before they overwhelm you was interesting: I could see it having the style of a cool rhythm-based game. Only issue as others pointed out is how easy it is: maybe make the enemies faster each time you press space and don't hit anything? You could even make it so that if the player spins too fast for long enough they get dizzy and their accuracy lowers. In addition to maybe adding that (or other stuff to increase difficulty) it would have been cool to have an endless mode where you can just go grind for better scores but if you want the game to have a "finished" state you don't really need that. Overall a fun and serious entry, good job 👍.

That's a very polished game. "Deluxe" checks out here. Would enjoy it more if it gave the player more control on what to do though: only thing they can do is ult (?) with space but the physics simulation was really cool and the fights were satisfying to watch. Maybe with a more dynamic camera it would have been perfect. Overall a seriously great submission.

This really deserves more views and a tutorial fight because the mechanics are not really hard to get: experiencing them is much more easier than reading them and here you basically have to be mindful of the relative size of the future slice and the ownership it will get: if you don't expect to get the slice try to make it negative, if you do expect to get it try so make its size positive. The element of RNG and the shaking effect before spinning the wheel (actually the whole vibe) make it really thrilling but I hate the music a lot (idk if you're into metal or something but it just wasn't it for me. The boss music I meant 'cause the rest was just fine). Real diamond in the rough, and works perfectly on Mac. Also really good take on the theme, gotta love RNG X Strategy in roguelikes.

Ok that's a refreshing one and an interesting take on time-rewinding: only the player's state goes back in time but the world stays the same. That was basically super useful for phasing through stuff and I wish there were more levels to expand on this really smart gimmick. Only issue with that is when rewinding, the enemies are still seeking for you which is not very natural since only the supernatural being (i.e the player) should be aware of their own state when rewinding, if that makes sense. If I had to point out another issue, it would be that enemies' line of sight could use some fixing: sometimes they would shoot me through props when it looked like they shouldn't have been able to (although this is just a mild annoyance because I can just rewind time) and when at point blank, they simply wouldn't be able to kill me because bullets spawn too far away from their own position. This gave me puzzle / escape game vibes and it felt like playing it on "easy mode" because rewinding is so broken. To expand on this, you could keep the current levels and add a "normal mode" where for each room, the amount of rewind time is limited: should make the player use their brain at least. Other than that, really great game and it is a hilarious excuse that "rewinding time spins the hand of the watch hence you spin to win". I remember thinking of something similar but scrapped it early on. Glad someone actually did it.

Decent game,  tried to play it 2 different ways: on some runs I'd not care about humanity and try to just not run short on blood which led to lots of fighting and eventual death. On others I'd try to keep my humanity over 16 to avoid fights but it was hard to manage blood. So in the end there's no real strategy to cheese it, which is good game designing. Lazy effort to fit the theme though.

Enjoyable, simple game with simple controls and a simple gimmick. It kills boredom. as others said before jumping is hard, so you could think of balancing that by increasing the jump power: like that jumping is hard but at least rewards the player. Apart from that I don't have much to say. Good endless runner.

Definitely enjoyable, this is exactly the sort of things I used to do as a kid, but made into a game! The physics work really well here, CPU is smart enough to pose a threat, game is so simple you don't need some fancy tutorial, visuals are polished and there's even a playback after final round knockouts. Would have been so much better with sounds but as it is, it's already almost perfect.

Bullets of Hatred – Review

Bullets of Hatred is a fast-paced bullet hell that immediately understands what makes the genre enjoyable: movement, pressure, and constant decision-making. It doesn't try to overwhelm the player with unnecessary mechanics or lengthy tutorials. Instead, it throws you into combat quickly and lets the gameplay speak for itself.

The first thing that stood out to me was how responsive the controls feel. In a bullet hell game, movement is everything, and even a slight delay can make dodging frustrating. Here, moving around the arena feels smooth and predictable, making every mistake feel like my own rather than something caused by the controls. That responsiveness creates a satisfying gameplay loop where surviving dense projectile patterns becomes increasingly rewarding.

The enemy waves gradually build in intensity, introducing more bullets and requiring better positioning as the game progresses. Rather than relying solely on larger numbers of enemies, the game creates tension through the way projectiles fill the screen. There were several moments where escaping through a tiny opening felt genuinely satisfying, and those moments capture the essence of why bullet hell games are so enjoyable.

Visually, the game embraces a simple presentation that prioritizes readability over excessive detail. That's an important design choice for this genre because players need to quickly identify enemy attacks and safe spaces. The effects are easy to distinguish during hectic moments, and I rarely felt confused about what was dangerous. While the graphics aren't aiming for realism or lavish detail, they suit the gameplay well and keep the action readable even when the screen becomes crowded.

The audio complements the experience nicely. Sound effects provide useful feedback for firing, defeating enemies, and taking damage, helping reinforce the flow of combat. The music maintains the game's energetic pace without becoming distracting, although adding more variation between different stages or intensity levels could make longer play sessions feel even more dynamic.

One aspect I appreciated is that the game stays focused on its core concept. Rather than adding progression systems, complicated upgrades, or multiple gameplay modes, it concentrates on delivering straightforward arcade action. That simplicity makes it easy to jump into another attempt immediately after losing. Every run becomes an opportunity to survive just a little longer or improve your movement.

That said, there are areas where the experience could be expanded. More enemy varieties with unique attack patterns would increase the strategic depth of later waves. Introducing occasional mini-bosses or full boss encounters could also create memorable milestones and provide a satisfying change of pace. Additional environments, unlockable abilities, or difficulty modifiers could significantly improve replayability without changing the core gameplay.

Another possible improvement would be giving players more visual feedback as they progress. Small achievements, new visual effects, or incremental upgrades could create a stronger sense of advancement while preserving the game's arcade nature. Even cosmetic unlocks earned through gameplay would encourage players to keep returning.

Overall, Bullets of Hatred succeeds because it understands the fundamentals of a good bullet hell. The movement is responsive, the combat is engaging, and the escalating challenge encourages players to improve through practice rather than luck. While the game could benefit from additional content and greater variety, its core mechanics provide a solid foundation that is already enjoyable.

For a game created during a game jam, it's an impressive effort that delivers exactly what it promises: a challenging, fast, and satisfying arcade shooter. It demonstrates a clear understanding of the genre and leaves plenty of room for future expansion. I had fun playing it, and I'd definitely be interested in seeing how the concept evolves with more content and polish in future updates.

Hah, if anyone is stuck on this game they should just RTFM: 3 buttons mapped to 3 lanes with the SHIFT modifier to escape crocodiles really is too simplistic to complain about. This was a simple yet quite fun and visually polished arcade-style game. Visual cues to jump over a leaf or skip a crocodile even makes what is to be done kind of intuitive even without the tutorial. QWE is horrible controls though but that's just my opinion. The theme was kind-of in the back row seat because sure there's this spinning roulette and the long jump mechanic but no one really needs it to score high. Aside from that there isn't really much to say, good job.

Played this for about 6 minutes. Thumbnail does not really do it justice. Was fun to figure out that to control the skate rat you had to distribute its weight in a certain way on the skateboard, and idk if that's the result of goofy code but when on the floor after losing balance, spinning the mouse around is an easy and fast way for the rat to get back to normal. Also great intro.

This one's my favourite Beyblade game in this jam. Really like the Kill La Kill references all over the place, the difficulty curve, and how each opponent has their quirks. Really impressive story writing, visuals, intense battle music. As a wise one once said: absolute serious.

Nice retro aesthetics in this game, easy to understand puzzles, the level rotating gimmick could have used some bullet time to help the player land on platforms more easily. Others before me pointed out the bugs so I won't do it here, and there's technically level select anyway so it's not too bad, music was good but sfx were awful, especially death sound and 'rotate the level' sound.

Overall a decent project.

A very good puzzle platformer. Visuals and sounds are really pleasing. Idk if I should call the puzzles or the game design itself crafty: puzzles themselves were too easy in my opinion (except for the last one, more on that later) because when having really limited options at the beginning of the level, what you had to do could become very obvious. Could be called good game design too (for example as soon as I was introduced to the teleports I could intuit they would conserve Y velocity). What I really didn't like was the camera, especially at the last level. Artificially increased the difficuly. Would have been better to make it freely movable to explore the level and plan things out without committing the hamster: is this game challenging our logical thinking or our visual memory? Plus it messed with the green teleporter which had to be used a lot for high jumps to complete the last level, thanks to the fact that it did not follow the player at all times to see where it lands. But those are mostly just nitpicks and aside from that you did a great job.

Would really need to find a friend to play this. Rotating the board like this is an interesting variant of the game. I kinda understand that you did not just slap a dumb bot on this game since it would not be fun, and all the smart chess bots are trained on the classic version anyway.

One of those weird times a one-input game is this fun. Pure genius.

Not wrist fatigue for me, more like my fingers are burning since I play on trackpad. Now I regret not having a mouse. BUT this was one of the most enjoyable games I had on this jam: VERY fast-paced, the kind of combat that rewards the player for just going for it, which is how it should be done. Noticed that damage is calculated based on speed so instead of swinging the sword a lot you can swing it slightly while moving and aiming. It's stuff like this that makes you feel like a real swords master. Also tell whoever made the music that it friggin slaps. Always been a fan of hip hop and rock 'n roll x shamisen or whatever traditional instrument you had there.

This is a really cleverly designed game for the following reasons:
1- It was made using Löve (I'm a sucker for bare-bones frameworks so this is totally objective and non-biased)
2- You carved the tutorial in the level using the tiles didn't you?
3- It rewards the player for randomly smashing into candles (any good rogue like should do that)
4- There are no walls, just platforms and the void so you did not even need to implement line of sight check / pathfinding (idk if that was really intentional)
5- The amounts of HP is irrelevant in a good way and the boss fight is the reward itself.

Now some things I did not like were the fact that attacking and grappling are the same action, so sometimes I'd try to hit an enemy, miss, grab a pod and perish in the void. You need to distinguish those actions. By the way the boss fight was really well-made and it was easy enough to guess what had to be done to beat it.

Nothing else to say. Would speedrun.

Really enjoyed this one: visuals were stylish, narration was absolute cinema (no pun intended), gameplay was enjoyable and fast-paced which fits the jazzy music that really slaps. Movement was slippery which is fine compared to how hard it was to aim for enemies so I had to get that upgrade for melee damage. Combat-wise this is my second favourite in the jam for now, and the aesthetics are genuinely impressive. Had to download it 'cause it lagged a bit in browser but it works perfectly fine on my machine (you even bothered to get a fully working MacOS app which is not common).

Great job overall 👍.

I just found this really charming one: https://velocity915.itch.io/spin-spin-spinerella

For those who love fast-paced combat and parrying: https://bbnco.itch.io/draydoll

And this one popped on my random queue: https://itch.io/jam/theveryseriousjuniperdevgamejam/rate/4692647

Cute little arcade game. Would see 10 year old me having lots of non-stop fun with it. The introduction to the mechanics through the images and description is not something I've seen often in this game jam (it was either just text or intuitive tutorials baked into the gameplay). It's very clear that you went in a completely different direction compared to other entries and nailed the old school arcade feel in a really creative way. Visuals are pleasing to the eye, it would be hard to find music that fits this game better than what you have, and the game is undoubtedly serious because I could see it being used to teach kids about spiders in an interactive and fun way. Seriously though, good job. Only downside was the lag in browser but it seems to just be something wrong with the browser because the downloadable Mac build worked super fine.

Overall it was really fun capturing bugs and saving the babies, 5/5 👍 

It's amazing how you had time to include Eurydice, Achilles, Tantale and all those myth characters in a way that makes sense: interactions with them being references to the way they died shows you know your stuff. When I died after my first run (which lasted reasonably enough for me) and saw the ending screen, I deduced that there's no real end to this game, which makes sense because MC is literally Sisyphus. Voice actor did a really good job, game is undoubtedly serious, what I'd suggest would be to add ways to heal or upgrade between fights since this has a rogue like feel (unless I missed some way to do that already in there). Also the fights could use less RNG: the wheel combines getting a speed value and landing on attack/defence with bounds. Would have preferred if the wheel landed on fixed numbers instead of number ranges. Oh and btw the scope-creeping clearly shows 😂.

Still a great submission for this jam, good job!

Very cool game considering it was made in like 6 days and based on a meme. Gameplay felt very fluid, I found the story funny, and didn't find bugs aside from the pause menu triggering when you press ESC from the main menu (I was trying to exit fullscreen there). I know I could have done a lot better on my first run if I'd switched to Z controls and had a mouse (I'm on trackpad rn). Overall a very fun and speedrunnable game, with polished visuals and audio, and one can clearly see that the low effort on IRS and Job Application in terms of visual appeal was intentional, and that cat is totally relatable.

Really had lots of fun with this totally-not-related-to-real-life-in-any-shape-or-form game. Immediately understood that the intro was mostly for the lulz and the mechanics were very intuitive. Interesting entry, 'cause not many (or probably no one else) went with the city sim genre. Arstyle was nice and goofy very serious and the experience was overall great (and also wtf did I just read?).

Really had fun with that one! Just finished one level after like 400s because of skill issues but I'll come back later to beat it for real. The title and character reminded me of something very specific (yeah you definitely did NOT take inspiration from Zoobles for the removable parts) Really got nothing negative to say about it, loved the retro style, kinda reminiscent of Mario64, and the (8-bit?) music as well. And of course very serious game.

Nice visuals, good job on the character designs (really love them). Though at times the pixel art was blurry (inventory for example) and the game state does not restore when you pause and go back to title (is that intentional?). The combat in it is not intuitive at all and not properly explained, good thing you have a cheat code. Finally this game is in desperate need of a skip button 'cause when you lose once you just want to skip through all the dialogue to go back to where you were. This game could have benefited from that or a save option so the player can save before each boss fight but with 7 days to do all this I get why it's not there. Overall nice work.

This is such a work of art, from the storytelling to the visuals to the gameplay itself which was the best part of it all! This game has an engaging hack and slash style combat encouraging the player to just dice 'em up slimes: the more you attack the more you gain torque which leads even more slashing and dashing. The parrying mechanic relying on perfect timing an rewarding the player with a counterattack was a nice touch even when without that the combat itself was already engaging enough.

Also really liked that character design: oozes with personality. Got nothing more to say 'cause this already looks like something belonging on Steam. Great job really.

The mysterious potion brewer was just a dorky chem nerd mixing random stuff huh? That was quite a fun experience.  Really liked the dialogues, the item descriptions (still wondering if "burging" is an actual thing) and the process of mixing ingredients, adjusting the heat, and shaking the contents till you get the right colour. Recipes with the egg were my faves because I love crashing stuff into walls. You'd just need to adjust the physics of the flask (would fling way too much for light swings imo) and perhaps reinspect the story 'cause I seem to have hit a soft lock there (see image, I click "next" and nothing ever happens). Good job on that 👍 

This should be a meme. The literal interpretation of the theme is another level of genius. Brought a good laugh out of me so I guess it was enjoyable.