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! 🤘🏻
The results are in! Game Off, our annual game jam (hackathon for building games), finished with over 500 amazing entries this year. 🤩
Last November, almost 8,000 participants were challenged to build a game with the theme “BUG,” and that spawned all sorts of creative and colorful games created with a variety of different game engines and programming languages. All sorts of creepy crawlies, intentional in-game bugs and glitches, plus some other interesting interpretations of the theme can be found in the glory scroll below.
Here are the top entries as rated and reviewed by the folks that created them. Many are playable right in your browser and/or a quick coffee break. Enjoy!
do;MIN(0)
“Well if there is a such thing as a perfect game this would be it. I loved the music, sounds, puzzles, choices, the theme fits just enough to make it cute and quaint.” – @chreeshendolo
Play (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @anttihaavikko
Bendyworm
“Dang, what a fun game! Just beat the whole thing, I might go back and try it again! The concept was really creative, the mechanics were perfectly fluid, the graphics and the sound design were all incredible!” – @snuffysam
Play (Web, Windows, macOS) · Source (Godot, GDScript) · By @Bauxitedev
Hivemind
“Absolutely gorgeous! I’m honestly amazed at the beautiful models, animations, music, textures… everything! It’s all gorgeous!” – @Trigonious
Play (Windows, macOS, Linux) · Source (Godot, GDScript) · By @Raformatico, @BuendiaGames, @jjramos, Fran Arroyo
Doorframe OZ
“Very cool and innovative game with lots of nostalgia for people of a certain age. Great job!” – @joegaffey
Play (Web, Windows, macOS) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @craftyclawboom, @7SevenStudios
godot_platformer.exe
“Fun game! Very unique, I enjoyed playing it – and really enjoyed the sense of humor with real Godot error messages which we’ve all had the pleasure of seeing at some point!” – @sredna43
Play (Web, Windows) · Source (Godot, GDScript) · By @TheWinrawr
Bug on the moon
“The mechanic is super cool. I love the idea of modifying the game codes on the fly.” – @sh1ft15
Play (Web) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @lopes-vincent
Bumblebee Blitz
“I LOVE this! The music is spot on, the game play is fun, the art is cute! Very nicely done! The AI is well done too, I had issues winning against them!” – @Daverinoe
Play (Web) · Source (Godot, GDScript) · By @nisovin
Don’t Bug Me!
“Simply amazing -one of my favourite games of the jam. I loved all the little details that went into making the levels feel like a real micro environment.” – @christopherbot
Play (Web) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @octobass-games, @majicmoo, @OdetteParkes, @Madmouseman, @AdamskiPadamski
Cordyception
“5 stars for me!! This is hands down one of the most fun game to play. Nothing is missing: cool powers, a very innovative plot (and I watched those fungus parasite documentary before, very nasty on ants!) everything made sense to me.” – @Harmades
Play (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux) · Source (Godot, GDScript) · By @nwallenfang, @nheeb
PatchDroid
“Like the puzzle platformer elements and gradually increasing how to use your skills and testing them. I also love the neon style and the visual effects like the 0s and 1s you put to the character. Really polished game!” – @michaelprimo
Play (Web) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @adidinchuk, @ArtomD, @corynorris
Use That Gravity Bug
“The game is so addictive. So innovative!” – @divinelight2021
Play (Web, Windows) · Source (JavaScript) · By @letmegoforit
Apex Colony
“I don’t think I have ever seen an rts at a game jam before! I had fun amassing an army, and the game felt easy until all my units died to a worm” – @WAEliasmith
Play (Web, Windows) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @Huntrt
Squashy Bug
“What a well polished game with such cool aesthetics, gameplay and even a leaderboard! The soundtrack and the sfx’s are so cool too! Maximum score!” – @Murilomsq
Play (Web) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @PetPumpkin
Shield of Faith
“I love the Pokemon vibe! It’s a well polished game, gameplay is on point, sound effect and music all come together very nicely.” – @Harmades
Play (Web, Windows) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @nlaracuente, ProdigalSon Games
We Follow The Fickle Path
“For me the ambiance is astonishing. I LOVE narrative stories, and I felt immediately in love with this one too. The Ants ecosystem is so well retranscripted and by so in such original way, I couldn’t stop playing.” – @Harmades
Play (Web) · Source (JavaScript) · By @seleb, @thehetmanm, @ianmart1n
Skittering Peaks
“This game is so beautiful, the little details are incredible, the grass movement, the fact the player is looking to the face of the nearby NPCs, the right choice of shader and consistency over the art during the entire game.” – @lucasteles
Play (Web, Windows, macOS) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @luninm
Bugged Out
“Very slick visuals, and it’s very satisfying to take out enemies.” – @emulrooney
Play (Windows, macOS) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @Charlesthed3v
Boog Doodles
“This was a really fun game to sit down and play! I absolutely love the detail and care put into the art and designs, and I smiled when I saw Baba Yaga show up.” – @rohaid-bakh
Play (Windows) · Source · By Mad Mushroom Games, Krqck, Marun, Anatole Arakelov
Gnatscapade
“Simple yet creative game. The art definitely stood out for me. It has a distinct story-book style and I quite like that.” – @OneThatEatYou
Play (Web) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @soapykelp
Boutheina: A Bug’s Adventure
“Wow this is amazing loved the art, music and mechanics of the game” – @adoankim
Play (Web, Windows) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @athenadai27, Yaz, DakotaHall
B.U.G.
“This was like a playing micro-game of WarioWare micro-games. I had some good fun for the short time it lasted! The art style is awesome and the games brought a smile to my face. Well done!” – @FussenKuh
Play (Web) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @spaghettioh
FAD
“Oh wow this is unique! Very good entry! Absolutely loved the voice acting and other audio elements.” – @AvatarGreggles
Play (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux) · Source (Python, JavaScript) · By @DouglasOrr
Fireflies
“Art and music are beautiful. I really love the atmosphere. Game feels really smooth and polished.” – @starzonmyarmz
Play (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @diego-escalante
CodeBreakers
“Amazing game! I loved the rhythm aspect and the sound design!” – @azbeaver
Play (Windows) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @aljonpineda, nycelly
Memoria Castaway
“Beautiful experience. Love the designs and everything is so calm.” – @pke1029
Play (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux) · Source (Godot, GDScript) · By @tpeng3, @ethverie
It´s Bug Season!
“For a game created within 30 days for the jam, that’s a one hell of an impressive feat!” – @GMPguy
Play (Web, Windows) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @juliopm99, @ArtemAnk1
Oshi
“Nice game, the music is very suggestive, the designs are well done, the gameplay and the UI work very well. Really a great job.” – @LucaFin
Play (Web, Windows, macOS) · Source (C++) · By @ldweller245, Melomadness, stefanomusilli, ZrEx
Trapped
“Super fun idea! Seriously the game controls were perfect. I feel like often games that are trying to do something new and tricky end up having really difficult controls, but this was perfect – great job!” – @chreeshendolo
Play (Web) · Source (JavaScript) · By @starzonmyarmz
Bugs Inc.
“Super awesome game. I love the diverse movement and characters and the puzzles weren’t that hard but thoughtful.” – @KennanHunter
Play (Web) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @Alliones
Venus Pie Trap
“I absolutely love that the game was so easy to pick up! And the difficulty ramped up nicely! The graphics were fun, and the music was enjoyable! And the theme is there of course, it all works together nicely!” – @avatargreggles
Play (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux) · Source (Phaser, JavaScript) · By @david8zhang, @zhang-edward
Bugnic
“Genius! I was laughing all the way through, the start and end cutscenes really got me Gameplay was simple but addictive, trying to get the combos drove me on” – @JackEvans24
Play (Web, Windows, Android) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @patrickbard, giupetry
Bugs On The Meadow
“Love the calm music and the choice of graphics! I love the oversized insects (especially the bee) and the flowers!” – @Vikerysh
Play (Web, Windows) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @alexvwegen
Feature
“This game really threw me away (in a positive way). The idea of modifying code within the puzzles is very unique.” – @nwallenfang
Play (Web, Windows, macOS) · Source (GameMaker Studio) · By @MamaGoblinGames
Decomposer
“What an interesting idea for a game. The platforming is so creative. The entire atmosphere of the game is very serene. Nice job!” – @dakotahall
Play (Web) · Source (Phaser, JavaScript) · By @christopherbot
Without Abandonware
“Awesome innovative mechanics. Good mix of “weapons”. A little bit hard to grasp, but once you get it, it’s fun.” – @nunes
Play (Web) · Source (Unity, C#) · By @aaronlws95, @BrianPrassad, @Aesaire
SYNTHESIA=NOX
“Really cool game idea. I thinks that fits well with the target audience you got here.” – @OrangeJam
Play (Web) · Source (Electron, JavaScript) · By @programmingincluded, @hirudan, cantataku, TellerRomantique
Squorm
“Wow what a simulation, fantastic effort on graphics and gameplay for the worm’s movement! I tried it on web and Linux and it works well, the puzzles are fun, the tutorial hints get you through it nicely, the game feels polished, well done!” – @sinisterstuf
Play (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux) · Source (Godot, GDScript) · By @MrBundles
Phew! There are hundreds more for you to try out—just view the submissions on itch.io and filter by operating system/browser.
Thank you, everyone, for joining this year’s Game Off and for rating and reviewing so many games. Hopefully, they’ll generate hours of entertainment for folks and be of educational value to folks learning to create their own games. 💖
We’ll see you again next year!
Did you miss the Game Off? Check out these other great game jams that are coming up: Global Game Jam (January 20—30, 2022) and Ludum Dare 50 (April 1—4, 2022). Or, keep your eyes peeled on itch.io’s game jam listings for something that piques your interest.
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