Ludum Dare is a competitive game development event which takes place regularly, it sees participants attempt to develop a game in 48 hours or less. With the 21st competition just about drawing to a close in the next few hours, over 500 games have been submitted for the competition. Each time the competition has a theme, the theme for Ludum Dare 21 was ‘Escape’.
From the more recently submitted entries, I have selected 5 games which I feel are quite polished and offer a challenge, as well as being fun of course! To go through all 500+ games would take forever, so if you think there is a game which deserves recognition please say so in the comments and if possible provide a link so we can play it!
All these games are playable in your browser right now, if you fancy having a look through the entire selection of submitted games yourself, head to the Ludum Dare site.
Remember that because all these games were created in 48 hours, some may have bugs or be incomplete. Don’t forget the developers need to sleep during that time too! Despite that, the games I have selected for this round-up appear bug free and the majority are completed games. Some actually pose quite a challenge! Let us know how you get on with these games in the comments and which ones are your favourite.
To see some of the previous competition winners, take a look at the Ludum Dare 19 results
You can go directly to each game listed here by clicking the relevant screenshot.
Britain 2027
Britain 2027
Britain 2027, Made by Sophie Houlden
In Britain 2027, you are up against the new world police, who look pretty scary! (See above). Armed with your trusty water gun you must force your way through doors and evade the police. I really enjoyed the style of the graphics in this game, unfortunately there are only 2 playable levels at the moment, but they are enough to show off the concept of the game. In essence this is a puzzle game, you must find your way out of maze like levels, whilst avoiding the police – rust doors with your water gun and then bash them down. You can also use your water gun to knock down the police – giving you a few seconds to escape.
Hollow
Hollow
Hollow, Made by Connor
Hollow is another game with a great graphic style. The aim is to escape the cave by reaching the tunnel at the end of each level. You play that small luminescent being in the screenshoot and you are able to light up a small area around yourself. You are also able to jump and perform a jump-dive attack. In principle this sounds quite an easy game, however, that it is not! Hollow provides a satisfying challenge, you can’t simply walk through levels. You need to negotiate jumps (some in the dark), bad guys and more all with precision timing otherwise you are sent back to the start of the level. The game is really polished and is not short on levels considering the length of time it was made in – definitely worth a play.
Road to Escape
Road to Escape
Road to Escape, Made by _Ata
Road to Escape is a relatively simple game, but that doesn’t stop it being fun, the basis of some good graphics are in place as well. You are the skeleton you can see in the centre of the screen. You must guide him left and right to avoid passing cars and other obstacles such as traffic cones and birds. The longer you manage to run down the road, the higher your score. Quite addictive and whilst you might be thinking it would be a good idea to simply run down the centre of the road, that’s not entirely true as a whole host of obstacles will block your path.
McPixel
McPixel
McPixel, Made by SoS
One thing I have noticed with the majority of all Ludum Dare games is the the good ones are extremely unusual. McPixel is no exception. There are 6 scenarios in this game, and on each scenario you have 20 seconds to solve the riddle. Whether you solve it or not you move to the next scenario. I can guarantee that you will cycle through these first 6 scenarios a number of times before you realise what is going on, but there is something great about that – probably the music you get to listen to as you keep going through levels. Basically this is a click and point game, click on an object and then click on another one – if you’ve picked the right combination, you pass the level! McPixel is also quite funny as well with some cheap laugh gags which add to the relaxed and fun atmosphere of the game. Definitely worth playing.
Prelude to the Chambered
Prelude to the Chambered
Prelude to the Chambered, Made by Notch
The social behemoth and the brains behind hit indie game ‘Minecraft‘, Markus Persson, often gets involved in Ludum Dare and does a great job promoting the event. His entry for Ludum Dare 21 is this dungeon crawler ‘Prelude to the Chambered’. As you’d expect, the game feels pretty polished and is quite in-depth. You have to escape from you cell in prison, starting off with nothing but your bare fists. Navigate your way around the mazes of multiple levels, which link seamlessly together, to discover hidden trinkets and special power-ups. You can see that there are a number of power-ups to collect, such as flippers to help you swim or skates to help you traverse ice. Each level has puzzle elements to it as well as simple maze elements, there is also a decent amount of action and each level or zone has the equivalent of a boss fight – for example, in the dungeons, you must fight down the Bat lord to earn 1 of the 4 required keys needed to escape. The game can get a little difficult as you proceed and you only have a limited amount of lives – if you die its game over and you go right back to the start. At least if you attempt the game again you know where everything is!
