Game Off 2023 results 🏆
The GitHub Game Off results are in! All games have been rated, ranked, and reviewed. Read on for a look at the 10 highest-rated submissions overall.
Lee Reilly In this year’s GitHub Game Off, the theme was “Scale,” and oh, did the developers rise to the occasion. An impressive array of games (632 to be exact) were created in just one month and the creators spent thousands of hours over the last few weeks playing, rating, and reviewing each other’s games.
From microscopic worlds to colossal landscapes, please join us in celebrating the outstanding entries. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or a casual player, this showcase of the top 10 entries overall promises to unveil a spectrum of games that will entertain.
Let the games begin!
Glory to SCALE
Glory to Scale immerses players in a dystopian world where, as a resident of the totalitarian state SCALE, they must navigate a seemingly peaceful society under the watchful eyes of the Ministry of Truth and omnipresent surveillance, challenging players to uncover the truth by observing those who observe others.
Absolutely LOVE the atmosphere, the music, the art style!
Arithmometer
Arithmometer is a dynamic card-playing and deck-building game that combines strategy and arcade excitement, offering four distinct challenges using the same deck, with opportunities to acquire new cards and abilities for climbing the online leaderboard.
I loved how weird and unbalanced this game is. The characters look cute, there is a lot of variety in terms of mini-games and cards. The theme is very well incorporated into the game.
Grapple Pack
In Grapple Pack, players must escape from an underground facility using a Grapple Pack—a unique device combining a backpack with a grappling hook—relying on their wits and agility to overcome obstacles and evade pursuit.
What a blast! One of the most polished games I've played in this jam. Loved the art and funny voice acting!
Scale Travel – Infinite scaling…
Embark on a grand adventure from minuscule beginnings to cosmic proportions in this platformer, where you solve puzzles and attempt speedruns.
Oh my freaking lord, this is by far my favorite so far! Simple but beautiful graphics/shaders, and with the sound, it's stupidly immersive.
The Scales of Judgement
Battle through all nine circles of hell in a frenetic shoot-’em-up, where you must stack demon bodies to climb out, while balancing the increasingly sinking Scales of Judgment under the weight of your foes.
Really fun game with some interesting mechanics! The mixing of genres here is unique and the graphics just look incredibly clean.
Merlin: Scale of the Magic
Merlin: Scale of the Magic is a Metroidvania-style adventure where players control the legendary wizard Merlin, embarking on a quest to vanquish a vampire within the treacherous confines of an ancient castle.
Just put it on Steam already you animals. Incredible pixel art all around but particularly for Merlin, wonderful chiptune remix score, good level design with signposting for the player, excellent intro cinematic to set the stakes, I could probably go on.
Sputnika Game
In this cosmic twist on a Suika-style game, players help the adorable Sputnik in its journey to become the Sun by combining planets while avoiding game-ending bubbles, using intuitive mouse drag-and-drop controls for planet shooting.
Great take on this classic type of game, a perfect fit for the theme. Nicely done!
Squirveillance
Step into a 90s alternate timeline as a vigilant squirrel, using CCTV footage to uncover suspects and maintain order, with the help of a nutty assistant to scan and enhance photos, featuring intuitive controls for panning, zooming, and photo analysis.
Oh my gosh this game is so polished and elaborate with everything...full narrative, stylish art, brilliant audio, intriguing mechanic. It truly amazed me and drew me in for its entirety!!
A Waltz in SPACE
Embark on a cosmic adventure as the captain of a spaceship, maneuvering through galaxies by skillfully scaling planets’ gravitational forces, collecting energy balls, and navigating a serene, waltz-infused universe in a strategic dance of celestial navigation.
Excellent fun, had me playing it late into the night trying to slingshot to just the right trajectory on the later levels.
Tower of Cat-astrophe
Balance your way through Tower of Cat-astrophe, a whimsical, physics-based puzzle game where players strategically stack a variety of quirky cats on a scale, contending with a mischievous cat cannon and aiming for high scores, all while guided by the wise Purrfessor and tracking discoveries in the Cat-alogue.
Adorable and fun. I thought I found an exploit by building a bridge of sick cats from one side to another. I was wrong and it collapsed on me leading to my demise. Great Work!
As our digital odyssey through the GitHub Game Off comes to a close, it’s evident that the theme of “Scale” inspired a universe of creativity, technical skill, and storytelling prowess. See for yourself by taking a look at the hundreds of other games created.
To every developer who participated, your entries were not just games, but vibrant worlds of imagination. Your ingenious interpretations, from microscopic adventures to galactic quests, have left an indelible mark on the game developer community. We extend our heartfelt thanks to each of you for your passion, dedication, and the countless hours poured into crafting these masterpieces. Your contributions have scaled new heights in the world of game development, and we eagerly await to see where your talents will take you next. Until the next Game Off, keep scaling those creative peaks!
Related posts
Top-rated entries from Game Off 2021
Here are the top games created in our annual game jam as rated and reviewed by the developers that made them. Game On! 🤘🏻
Highlights from Game Off 2020
Game Off is our annual month-long game jam. This year’s theme was “moonshot,” and there were more than 500 tre-moon-dous submissions! 🌛 Here are some of the top-rated games as…