Umbral Hermeticism

Umbral Hermeticism was a project that turned out to be bigger than I could handle. Between social, work, and family obligations, I wanted to join this Jam because of the extended timeline versus other Jams. There are a lot of things I want to do differently if I ever enter another Pirate Jam. Starting with the engine - Unreal Engine 4.23 is old, outdated, and buggy. It proved to be a great source of friction during the short bursts of time I could actually work on the game.

With that rambling out of the way, here is

UMBRAL HERMETICISM

A top-down twin-stick shooter that takes inspiration for its mechanics from games like Vampire Survivors and Death Must Die. The original intent was to give the player multiple weapon and passive choices, with alchemical motifs for why certain passives might cause a weapon to "evolve" into a new, more powerful form. The player would be fighting shadow creatures spawned by a demonic force, and alchemy seems to be humanity's only effective weapon against them.

Well, that's the idea anyway. About 90% of what you'll see is just default UE assets. I'm not sure if I could have finished the game by the 31st, but I know it would have been easier without the clunky, awkward 4.23.

Controls:

• WASD: movement
• LMB: Fire
• Mouse: Aim