“A bullet hell game with a risky healing mechanic. The better you play, the harder the game pushes back and the more painful the potential failure is. […] [You] can overheal to accelerate your combo growth.”
Traditionally, the shooting mechanic is one of the two primary game design elements in the bullet hell genre. However, in “Damnation” that happens automatically, which is why you only have to control the firing direction. That leaves you time to focus on the second main element: The avoiding of enemy attacks. But what makes the jam game really special is its unconventional healing mechanic, which can be used in multiple ways.
By pressing the spacebar, you go into the healing mode, where you have to press the right keys that get shown to you. When you are successful at following the pattern, you restore some of your energy points. Keep in mind that this advantage comes with a harsh price, as you are not able to move then. But when your spaceship is in an absolutely good state, you can even ‘overheal’ yourself! While that does not give you any extra health, it will help you to grow your combo multiplier faster. The higher the multiplier, the more points you get and the the more powerful your own strikes will become. However, “Damnation” is pretty good in recognizing your strength and adapting its own behavior to it. I wish you good luck because you will surely need it. [PLAY]
