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Shadow Boxer's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Artistic Style | #1 | 5.000 | 5.000 |
| Cleverness | #1 | 5.000 | 5.000 |
| Theme | #653 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Playability | #804 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
Ranked from 1 rating. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- Had a few hiccups getting it to run in browser but resolved them. Hit boxes were pretty unclear and movement was not responsive. Jumping didn't do anything like what you'd expect, for me at least. Possibly a bug? I'm unsure. Beyond that, the theme was clever. Using shadow puppets as fighters really is clever. I would love for the 'filters' to have a visual effect in some ways. Without that it just feels like a bit of a tacked on way to check that box. Great, clear art style. Just like how you did with the puppets swapping out, maybe the filters could be another selection. Then the combination of fighter/filter produces unique combos. Much more intense than you'd do in a GameJam, for sure, but maybe for the future.
Did you include your Game Design Document as a Google Drive link?
Yes
Seriously... did you include your Game Design Document?
Yes
Is your game set to Public so we can see it?
Yes
Tell us about your game!
Shadow Boxer is a melee combat game inspired by titles like Street Fighter and the formative experience of hanging out in your friends’ basements as an early-aughts preteen.
Word has spread among the neighborhood kids that if you can sneak out after dark and find your way to the basement of the house at the end of the cul-de-sac, you will gain entrance to a one-of-a-kind show. Our three performers – Maxwell, Glen, and Ellory – set up their flashlights, tape on light filters, and hang the curtains. Knuckles are cracked, fingers are stretched, and wrists are cocked. It’s time for the ultimate shadow puppet throwdown.
Pick your character, pick your power-ups, and brawl!
Extra Notes
Don't mix it up, ya. We're fighting in the shadows.
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Comments
This is really cute. I love the vibe! The music fits really well, the art is phenomenal, and the concept is really fun.
As a fan of fighting games, this game left quite a bit to be desired gameplay-wise. For one thing, blocking feels a little too effective without any way to open up or punish it, such as the heavy attack inflicting some kind of guard crush or chip damage. With the heavy knockback and inability to deal damage to people after getting hit, fights dragged on for a quite a long time unless you’re able to sneak in some sneaky heavy attacks here and there. Though these are not really too much of a problem considering you’re fighting a CPU opponent that won’t exploit these much.
Overall, though, the idea is really inventive and fun, and I’d love to see this execution brought further to life! The game is great for what it is, and it was fun to mess around in for a while. Great job to the team!
Hello! Thank you for the kind words, and we definitely agree that the gameplay needs work, and plan to revamp! Thank you for the specific feedback; this will be useful as we continue development. Thank you for playing!
What a creative concept!
Right off the bat, the music and sound effects are really REALLY good and they help a lot with the intended vibe! I also thought it was really creative to have filters and moves that are focused on gliding. I don't follow too much the fighting game scene, so it's not something I've heard about.
The attention to detail on the hands and their projected shadow, the sleeves in case the character uses them, it's all really well put together. It's really impressive! And the artstyle is super cool! Loved the artwork in general!
The little detail of the instrument of the music in the fighter selection screen changing depending on which character's on screen was also a very good touch!
The character I liked the most was Maxwell because of the swan. Considering that I like ducks and swans are like long-necked ducks, I felt a true sense of power weaving the power of the swan. Liked the heavy attack quite a bit.
This game is really lovely. If you've got this much stuff done in 2 weeks, it'll be really cool to see what you guys will pull off being able to polish things up. Really well done!
Thanks so much! We love it when people notice those smaller details. We’ve had several people express a preference for the swan, and others say it needs to be nerfed (which maybe means they’re saying the same thing).
-Erica
This is an absurdly cute game, I'm stunned by how polished it is! The art is just beautiful, the music is so cosy, both embody the theme of the game so so well - how did you make me nostalgic about a memory I've never had?? I'm really glad to see from your responses that you're planning to continue development, can't wait to see how it shakes out! 💚
“nostalgic about a memory I’ve never had” is the compliment we didn’t know we needed, and we’re super energized by the sentiment. Thank you so much!
-Erica
This is such a great game, I really like the concept you came up with to fit the theme. Maxwell was my personal favorite to use with his boxer shadow and deer shadow. Though Ellory came in a close second, her dog shadow was very fun to jump over the opposite side of enemies with to mix up the fight a bit. The visuals with the hands up front making the shadows against the curtain is fantastic and everything feels nicely polished and very smooth. Really nice job on this!
These kind of anecdotes will help us make Maxwell, Glen, and Ellory better and better in future versions, so thanks for taking the time to tell us about your experience. And thank you for playing!
-Erica
As many others have said, the concept of your game and the visuals are just so charming and fun.
I just want to say that the music and the sound effects are just superb - I can see and feel your three characters performing the main theme, and i intend to keep your game open on the main menu just to listen to that lovely track.
Huge, huge props for making something this original, yet simple and filled with soul and character.
Keeping the tab open to hear the main theme is the ultimate compliment, thank you so much! And for all the other kind words, we appreciate it a lot.
-Erica
What a clever way to hit shadows and alchemy in one punch! With such fun gameplay and gorgeous artwork. The music is so...la la la catchy too! Simply brilliant all around!
Thank you! We’ve had the theme stuck in our heads for weeks, nice to hear the earworm is spreading.
Your theme interpretation is so creative. Wow!
The main music theme repeated in acapella in the main menu made me chuckle.
Loved playing this shadowy fighting game.
Thanks, and good ear! Excited to try Māji
Wow such a cool concept! Shadow boxing hand puppets! So much art had to be made for this as well so kudos on that front! Super impressive! I'm not sure the card mechanic was very useful or that I noticed any difference or effect on the game, but that theme was kind of shoehorned on this jam anyway. I think as a 2D fighter it would stand on its own as an interesting and fun game.
Thank you for playing! I appreciate the feedback on the filter system. We thought it was a cute idea, but we agree definitely needs some refinement. Hope you had fun!
I like the concept of this game! It's really interesting that you can play a different shadows in one character, which you can combine your attacks.
And this detail of the animals you put into hand is awesome.
Greate job!
Thanks so much for the comment and for playing! Happy that the puppet combo mechanic resonated with you.
-Erica
I love the concept and art direction and execution!
With some gameplay polish (hit-boxes, feedback) this could become awesome!
I loved the variance / discovery that there are different characters to play.
Thank you! We’re looking forward to polishing once the game jam is over.
Super interesting concept for a fighting game! It's just genius to use shadow play as a fighting game character. I am utterly speechless.
I tried to play your game a bit earlier before, and got stuck in the menu screen. Glad that's been fixed and I could finally play now. Sadly I'm no fighting game player so I can't give much feedback on that. But I just feel like it would nicer if there is a bit more animation frames to see what is going on in each attack. But we all know how long it takes to make such things, so no worries.
Love the game very much! Nice work!
Thanks for the comment, and glad you were able to play. We’d like non-fighting-game players to be able to enjoy Shadow Boxer, so knowing what you think about the animation and clarity around attacks is helpful :)
-Erica
Incredible work! I love the detail put into the hands. The music and sound effects are great too! Though as a fighting game newbie, I felt it was a little difficult to tell when my attacks were landing and when I was landing attacks.
There’s definitely a lot more we can do to indicate a hit has landed, and we’re excited to figure that out and playtest. Thank you for the comment and for playing!
-Erica
Really cool game! The art is on point, music too, fighting styles are creative, love the variety of shadows, it's super fun and well thought out!!
Amazing work!
Thanks for giving our game a play! Appreciate it a lot.
La la la la la la la... this game is really sick. First of all the art is great, shadows + their moves + the hands too??? Insane. I like the music too, the track during character selection particularly goes hard. Overall this fighting game has a lot of depth already so I do hope you guys continue with it. An impressive entry, you guys should be proud of what you've made!
Thank you! Loads of feedback got us itchin to push updates. We’ll take it further for sure. Appreciate you spending some time with us 🙏
yoooooo fan of your work man, didn't realize you did the music and did a double take when I saw you responded! Would love to be able to hear the Shadow Boxer music in full somewhere ;) Keep up the awesome work!
The art is amazing! Super creative idea.
I agree with some of the other comments about hitboxes also the attacks that had forward movement felt really good compared to the ones that didn't move.
Great Job!
Thanks for your feedback and for playing! We’re definitely really excited to tune hitboxes and movement while we playtest and balance on the path to stream release :)
-Alex
Did a double take when I saw Fighting Game in the description. This is awesome!
:D we really bit off a lot! Thank you so much for playing and the kind words :)
-Alex
Damn, that art is amazing!
Initially I thought it'd be a rock paper scissor game with great art, didn't expect a whole ass fighting game :P
It was really good. Had a few small issues with some attacks' hitbox feeling wrong, and when jumping I'd sometimes end up "stuck" on top of my opponent. But apart from that it was great, and the ability to switch at will between all 3 forms at any point is great!
Agree on the hitboxes; we’ve been getting a lot of good suggestions on how to make the combat more intuitive, and that includes tuning those up. (Also, make it so you can’t get stuck on top of your opponent). Thank you for the feedback, the kind words, and for playing!
-Erica
Wonderful concept for a game. This really stands out creatively, I never would have thought of shadow puppets! The character artwork is fantastic. You know how in fighting games they just reskin a character or just recolor it? You could totally do something like that here, just have the same silhouette but have it be different animals or have different faces. Anyhow, this was a lot of fun, keep up the great work!
Thank you for playing and for the suggestion! If/when we add more characters and puppets, we’ll definitely need to be smart about it, so the reskin approach is interesting.
-Erica
I cannot believe y'all were so bold as to make an entire game featuring the hardest thing in the world to draw: hands.
It's SO GOOD! I love the concept, and I like the lighthearted execution and tone behind it. Amazing work!
Ellory Mains Rise UP.
Ha – appreciate your saying this! Though maybe the one thing harder than drawing hands is drawing feet. Perhaps we’ll save that for the sequel :)
-Erica
Such a brilliant concept.
The art is insanely creative, the setting is cool and the music is so quirky. This is a weird idea executed perfectly!
I was glad to see you will keep development going on it! If it ever releases on switch, I'm buying this instantly!
Love to see this!
Minor feedback: the fighting is a bit clunky and unresponsive at the moment and after I won 2-1 vs the CPU, there was a round 4 suddenly, even though there were only 2 circles to win.
Thank you for playing, and for the kind words, it means a lot!
The game is set up right now as a best of 5 and so the third dot would be filled at match end, but we can make that more clear for sure. And gameplay is first on the list once we recuperate :D
That's great to hear, good luck with it! :)