Second Chances

This game was made for the 2025 GMTK Game Jam, with a theme of "Loop". We hope you enjoy our "rogue-like" bullet-hell.

We have released a post-jam update. You can still get the jam version in the downloads. See our dev log for the full list of what has changed. One highlight, there is now a setting to reduce the cost of upgrades by half, if you think the early game is taking too long.

We are open to feedback. Let us know what you like, what you don't like, and what you would like to see!

Early game can be a bit tough until you get some rate of fire or armor/shield upgrades. This game focuses on the gameplay loop involving accumulating currency to buy upgrades to make future plays easier. Early enemies are kamikaze attackers, and you do get points for destroying them, even if you are also destroyed. Don't feel bad if you die a lot early, as you still get currency that can be used to buy upgrades! The game auto-saves, so you can take a break and come back later.

You are part of a team of scientists being forced to work on a top-secret prototype spacecraft. Fearing the power of this ship in the wrong hands, you steal it and try to escape. Your team was experimenting with time travel, and when your ship is destroyed, you are returned to the moment before your escape. As you return, you exist outside of time, while the universe tries to right itself. During this time you can upgrade your ship to improve your chances of escape. The more entropy you create by destroying enemy ships, the more time you have to upgrade your own. Your ship retains all past upgrades, allowing you to grow ever more powerful, and creating an even greater threat should the enemy get their hands on it.

Note: We use a pixelization shader in our transitions into and out of combat. If flickering lights are a problem for you, you can disable the transition in the settings. The backgrounds use several parallax layers, which can be hidden in the settings.

The game can be played with keyboard, keyboard/mouse, or controller. Input remapping is supported. The current controls are shown on the pause screen. In addition to being able to increase the base speed of your rotation in the upgrades screen, you can also set it into 3 states of half, normal, and double speed.

Fight your way through an onslaught of enemy craft. Each time your ship is destroyed, you will be brought back to the upgrade screen where you can improve your ship. You keep your entropy and upgrades, allowing you to craft an ever more powerful ship. There is an auto-save feature allowing you to take a break and return later. As you fight your way to higher levels, you can set them (in the settings) as the starting level for future plays. You can, optionally, submit your score to a leaderboard. The leaderboard can be disabled in the settings, or high scores options. In the settings you can adjust the game speed and dialog speed, as well as how many parallax layers are shown, and if the shader transitions are used.

Credits

• Music and SFX by https://ovanisound.com
• Sprites from https://medimongames.itch.io/pixel-spaceships-hd
• Backgrounds from https://aamatniekss.itch.io/sci-fi-space-background-set
• Input icons and some UI from https://kenney.itch.io/kenney-game-assets
• Hex shader modified from https://docs.godotengine.org/cs/4.x/tutorials/shaders/custom_postprocessing.html
• Leaderboard provided by https://silentwolf.com
• Made with the Godot Engine: https://godotengine.org