As Above, So Below
As Above, So Below is atop-down, 2D exploration, adventure game set in a dreamworld of the unconscious mind. With heavy emphasis on story and introspection you will enter a world rich in alchemical symbolism and philosophy.
Carly Young finds herself in a strange world. She encounters various talking animals in need of her help. But something sinister waits for her just beyond the door to her escape.
This project is meant to be a working demo and will be updated over time.
ThisOneStudios comprises of:
Kittnloaf
-Lead Artist, Game Map Designer, Scenario Writer, and Project Manager
Haydor
-Lead Programmer
Jxkejake
-Background Musician
Over the Hills
-Sound FX Technician
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Comments
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A very interesting and introspective little adventure.
The art kinda threw me off a few times. I didn't really understand why some of the characters were in colour and there rest were black and white. Same with the objects and environment. Everything felt a little mashed together and off style? If that makes sense. Like a bunch of different artists mashing together their stuff. Especially the heart sprite.
To be clear the art looked good overall and as a pixel artist I can appreciate the work that goes into it. It just felt a little off.
The narrative was interesting although very short it got to the point really quickly. I was reminded quite heavily by some scenes in Celeste and other titles that feature introspective characters with physical embodiment of their darker selves (shadows).
The audio was fine but some different music or SFX would have been nice, especially during the closing fight.
I liked the shadow mirroring my movement that was a really nice touch, however I could just spam attacks to wipe out their attacks without taking any damage so it was pretty easy to beat.
Overall it was an interesting experience It would be interesting to see how the concept would evolve given more development time.
Thank you for your review! The characters/items/environments that were colored correlate to symbolism in alchemical practices. The end boss fight being in full color was meant to visually represent the player entering a higher plane or dimension than the world they were in to confront their "shadow self."
As far as why certain animals were colored a certain way: unicorns in alchemy are associated with Mercury, Silver, the Moon, and the feminine. The stag is associated with Sulfur, Gold, the sun, and the masculine. In alchemical philosophy, there is a practice of "the marriage of the unicorn and the stag"/ the merger of opposites to reach either enlightened meant or becoming a balanced "whole" person.
I will agree though, that with the limited time, we weren't able to implement a stronger story narrative and dialog to convey these aspects to the player.
Although this was a love letter, filled with little nods to people that are familiar with alchemy, I knew going into it that it would be confusing for players that weren't. That said, I'll look over the script again, and see if there's a way to restructure it to be more understandable to players unfamiliar with alchemy and Carl Jung's philosophy.
Again, thank you for your feed back. It will help make our game that much better.
Well, really nice style, the contrast between the "Normal" and the "Inner" world is amazing. Music is realy on point, and the story is well defined for now.
Looking to see what you do with this ! GG
Thank you so much for playing our game! I'm glad you had a good time playing it.
alright !
It's a bit rough around the edges, but I like your little story.
It's an honest game, small in scope, but everything is working and it's pleasant to play, thank you :)
Thank you for playing our game! Is there anything that particularly stuck out to you as a "rough edge"? We'd like to be able to fix it in the future update.
this is super cute !!! keep up the good work!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed our game!