I enjoyed the creepy ambience. Had RE vibes. The simple gameplay was interesting. I died as I was going back to light the fireplace.
Author Comments
MANTRA is a episodic survival horror game meant to instill the mood of the classics. A pixel induced nightmare that is sure to have you at the edge of your seat.
In "Episode One: Foothills", we follow Seth as he journeys back home to Lumbermoor so that he can repent for his family's super natural crimes against the town. As he arrives in the foothills to make his descent into town, horror ensues...
***UPDATE: 2022***
There will most likely never be another episode of this game. Thanks to everyone who played and commented.
***Make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for news about Episode 2 @darkforestmedia ***
JTSquires responds:
Thanks for taking the time to check it out. Glad you enjoyed it :)
I.. I have to double-click to fire the gun? Am I missing something?
This was good. it scared the hell out of me the first time.
JTSquires responds:
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
excellent work. unfortunately, a laptop does not lend itself to playablity when all you have is a touchpad. the game is also somewhat slow. i'm running AMD. and i'm using the lastest version of Chrome. could you perhaps add a touchpad option for laptop users or make a separate mode that streamlines the game for Laptops?
JTSquires responds:
Hey there. The controls were designed with a mouse in mind, and for touchscreen with mobile devices. I will keep that in consideration as I make Episode 2. Thanks for the input, and thanks for checking it out.
I'd say this is fairly solid for a simple survival horror. Some odds and ends seem to offset me from the full experience. First of being the disposal of the lighter after lighting the fireplace...to make the valve appear. Seems kinda silly, would've been more interesting to have the valve be revealed with lighting the fireplace and having said valve be amidst the coals and wood. But I suppose writing a new object for each little fetch quest can be quite deterring and slow to the game's progression.
Secondly, perhaps instead of only healing one block of health, the medical kits can heal two. I find it at odds and ends when these creatures eat my health faster than I can let the lead out.
Also some short descriptors or perhaps fearful exclamations of the player character after every defeated monster would instill some more immersion into the experience. I almost feel like it is normal due to the character's mild familiarity with the subject matter though it has come to life before him.
Not really a fan of the art style, but it's not bad on the eyes.
Pretty solid game so far, gonna reload and try again.
Keep at it. We need more horror genre.
JTSquires responds:
Thanks for the suggestions.
1.The fireplace secret was a homage to the Resident Evil series (where items burned out of paintings hanging over a fire place) I originally had a cut scene for it but had to scrap it do to file size.
2. Ive thought long and hard about the health/bullet ratio for this game. Ive been told that the game is a challenge and is hard due to the monsters. I think I will balance it out slightly in the next episode, but I want it to remain a challenge. I definitely like your idea about dialogue after killing the enemy though, I will put thought into that.
Thank you for taking the time to check the game out and give me input. It is greatly appreciated.
Credits & Info
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Frontpaged November 17, 2017