don't click here

SAGE 2023 - Demo Chapter Zero: The Angel Island Saga

I have to admit I was a bit puzzled when I launched the game to find the first very short "break the target" stages of Chapter Zero (which was already around for SAGE 22 if I understood correctly?).
But as soon as I tried to get below the Par Time, and being rewarded with a mysterious dialog... I was hooked. I completed Chapter Zero (even though the last stage was quite the challenge !) and played the only level currently available in Chapter One and I had a blast. The concept of the game is quite simple in itself, and I do find it weird that Chapter One is the real tutorial, but it is really effective!

Lots of fun in the Break the target stages, chasing the Par Time and on a couple of occasions beating the Dev Time as well. Congrats, looking forward to see more of this in the future!
  • Like
Reactions: Blacklightning
Blacklightning
Blacklightning
First of all, thanks for playing and leaving feedback! Almost anything I get at this stage helps, even if only as a morale boost.

If it explains anything, Chapter Zero is intended mostly as an optional, skippable episode in the full game - a separate mode if you will, a series self-contained challenges that subtly teach applications of abilities that might not be immediately obvious just by trying them out on their own. With the knowledge that people will be able to skip it, Chapter One is left with the unenviable task of covering all the necessary controls and functions of the game in a very short span of time. That being said, the psychological aspects of game design are something I'm pretty passionate about, so it makes me very happy to know that they are having exactly the effect I had designed for, especially in the case of Chapter Zero's drip-fed backstory.


I'm already running close to the character limit so I better cut it short. Thanks again for reviewing!
Admittedly wish I'd have known about this sooner, really. It'd be nice to... Sit and watch being worked on!
Ignoring that, it's fantastically done in a tribute to the other games mentioned. ...While I may have not played many 2d games, I know for sure that this has been a nice experience! It's hard to say much due to fumbling around and... Being on a one-track mindset to get the par time, but that goes to show how nice the speedrunning can be! The movement's nicely done in terms of the spells available.

...That, and it allows me to technically market garden a target, so it's a personal favorite.

Nicely done (as always)!
  • Like
Reactions: Blacklightning
SAGE 22 - Sonic Fan Game 6 out of 69 - Chapter Zero: A Dream Remembered
I did not expect to like this more than I should.

This game is pretty fun to go through, with its tiny bite-sized stages with huge speedrun potential.
The controls are solid and abilities, OH, the abilities. They're really fun to play around and experiment with.
I managed to get through all the stages except for "It's no use" (I am not good at puzzle games) and they were all very well designed and they all manage to be replayable in the long run.

I can't really comment on much else since this is a really short fan game, but again, I am very surprised at just how much I like it. Did wish this game could be expanded in some way because this could totally warrant being an original game on its own.
Last edited:
Blacklightning
Blacklightning
Expanding on it is certainly the plan! The game's current state is mostly due to time constraints more than anything - by the time I'd taught myself enough Construct 2 to get all the basic mechanics working, I had ~2 months left until the SAGE deadline so I had to crunch the hell out of designing levels and refreshing the visuals to make it on time.

With any luck, at least Chapter One should be done by the time SAGE 2023 rolls around o3ob