Steam doesn't give you shit until you already make at least, 5 figures. What you are talking about is status quo of 2015. Plus - I would rather give 100% of the cash to Tim rather than feed the already enormous behemoth. Of course it's Tim's choice. And refusing to buy his game on Steam - is mine.
I chose to move the game to steam. I don't feel bled out at all, and I'm extremely grateful for all the different services steam has to offer. Would gladly give 30% to steam to handle all the services, refunds etc.
Having to only publish one place when I updated the game is great for me...and I think that the steam version is the best experience because you get cloud save, achievements, etc.
Here is a link to a one minute review that I did for this game! Would appreciate it if you checked it out and let me know what you all thought, too! Hopefully this will help those who are unsure about whether to buy the game or not.
Great game. Very good design of puzzles and snappy platforming. Graphics could be more polished but it doesnt ruin the whole atmosphere. How about sequel?
P.S. Your Youtube channel lead me to buying Phylophobia
here is my impression of the game (for people who are not sure if they should get it or not, and want to check the reviews first)
I followed Tim for a longer time now and occasionally tuned in for his dev streams on the game. However, at that time I couldn't envision the game as finished product yet. After completing it, I can say that I am very positively surprised about the outcome.
Philophobia - Review
Philophobia - a game where love is literal hell and your worst enemies are hearts
Inspired by a breakup and one of the darkest times in the life of the developer, this game represents a 4 year long jouney about how to cope with your feelings after you figuratively got your heart ripped out by someone. This process is well reflected in the small cutscenes and the overarching theme of the game. You will accompany the main character stuart out of his deep dark prison inside himself and hopefully manage to find a way out while dealing with the 5 stages of grieving: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
Gameplay:
Mechanically, the game is a precision platformer with the objective of getting to the portal of each level. Portals mark the end of the current level. In later stages, you are required to collect a key to activate said portals. There are a handful mechanics you would expect from a platormer, some of which you will acquire in later sections of the game. Aside from the regular platforming levels where you have to solve puzzles and avoid fierce enemies and traps, there are some really fun and challenging bossfights. Make no mistake, this game is hard - it is not a surprise if you die 50+ times in certain levels - but it is well worth the experience. Despite being hard, the game never feels unfair. The levels play out in a consistent manner, so the only failing factor are the inputs of the player. This is true for the most part, because if you have a weak PC and can't consistently reach 60fps, the player movement will be your enemy too. More about it in the next section. The game does a good job of introducing you to new mechanics and completing levels and the bosses is a really satisfying feeling.
Controls
The game can either be played on the keyboard, which works well, or on an Xbox 360 controller (my preferred solution). At the time of writing, inputs cannot be remapped yet and the only controller that is officially supported is the Xbox 360 controller. The inputs feel responsive and precise enough if you can keep a consistent frame rate of 60fps. Do you have a mid to high range PC? Then you can skip this section and the inputs will work well for you. Should you have a weak PC and cannot reach this target framerate (on game version 1.0.1) you will face inconsistent movmeent behaviour for jumping heights and dash lengths. I wasn't too bothered by the dash length variations, but in my opinion, the varying jump height can be game breaking in rare instances. While trying to record the game (and sometimes even when I didn't record) frame drops would cause me to have a decreased jumping height I would otherwise have with the conistent 60fps, leading to the behaviour that for some jumps, I would have to try 20 times to gain a height which allows me to reach a platform above me that is mendatory for progressing. This also led me to complete one level in a way it was not intended to be completed, because the intended path wasn't possible for me. One very small annoyance was that the trigger threshold for the controller is really low, which would cause me to sometimes perform the actions for the triggers while pressing the bumper above.
Presentation:
When you start the game, you have a minimalistic menu with options and the possibility to start a game or to continue, along with other smaller menu sections. The menu art and UI looks appealing. In the main game itself, you will encounter a story presented with some smaller cutscenes with minimalistic animations and voice over, aside from that, it is mostly the core gameplay, which looks and sounds great. The sound design is well done in my opinion and the choice of music is an excellent match for the atmosphere the game tries to paint. The art is minimalistic for the most part, but very charming. Most objects in the game are either hearts or consist of heart shapes. In addition, the color palette chosen for the game is fantastic and the contrasts of different elments also helps to clearly recognize what is going on on screen at any time. The only times when this is an issue is when it was intended (such as lingering enemies). The animations are rather minimalistic too and feel clunky at some parts, especially for some of the boss fights, but that did not deduct anything from the feeling of immersion the game exhibits.
Fazit
Pros:
+ challenging precision platformer
+ fun factor
+ progressive difficulty
+ coherent art style, great voice acting (for the little cutscenes there are)
+ decent length for the price (around 5-6 hours for my first play through)
+ developer is actively supporting the game and provides bug fixes and features post release
+ fantastic choice of music and sounds
Cons:
- not for the impatient (the game is designed to have one difficulty level, if you are bad at platformers, or get impatient when you die often, this is not for you)
- Little to do outside of completing the main story (the most appeal it has outside from completing it, is to collect all heart pieces (which are optional in the levels) and try to speedrun it)
- inconsistencies when you are not able to get stable 60fps (this affects jump heights and dash lengths, at least in the version 1.0.1 I have played) - which in the worst cases can lead to game breaking behaviour: e.g. you can't reach a certain platform because your jump height is not strong enough. I had some issues with it, but it wasn't breaking for me, and it could be that at the time of writing, this has already been fixed.
- Very few menu options at the moment (in the version I played, it was only possible to change the sound volume, but I heard that further settings will be implmeented, such as key/button remappings)
- Only controller support for the Xbox controller at the moment (your controller might work if the button mappings are the same, but I cannot guarantee it)
Final verdict
In summary, I can recommend the game if you like platformers and have a capable PC, it is a lot of fun and a real challenge. There are small issues with the game, but it is well worth the money.
Howdy! Amazing game that's worth way more than the $10 (launch price). It has fantastic atmosphere and polish, the platforming is top quality, controls are tight, and level design is great. I highly recommend it.
I only played up to first boss so far but I love the atmosphere of the game. I like the color pallette and the music and sounds. I like how your voice adds to the atmosphere as well. The game feels very claustrophobic with the moving shadows and it does make you feel uncomfortable and I think it suits the theme of fear of love.
I've been watching your videos for couple of months now and I can't imagine how you feel with so many years put into this project and seeing it finally released. Congratulations on the release, Tim!
Awesome game, overall! Congrats, Tim! I only made it halfway through the 2nd chapter so far. It gets difficult pretty fast (in a good way). I like the introduction of new abilities and the feel of the jump + tiny screen shake. It would be cool to see some speed runs of this eventually.
He was testing Mac and Linux builds so hopefully :) I think he's possibly just postponing that until all the serious bugs people find are out of the way so he doesn't have to keep building it.
Hey, I started to play your game but I think I am invicible. For example, heart that pop when you go trough their shadow do not kill me. I can go through red heart without dying.
Watching this game being made I was really excited to finally play this. Honestly it's even better than I could have imagined. This is a challenging game that gets your heart going. Just an awesome experience overall.
A Heart felt story line that makes you question how you would react if you traveled in the character's path. Great game-play, animations, and voice-overs. worth a play.
I can not believe the time has come. It is an absolutely fantastic time to be alive. Nothing has ever made me feel as grateful as this great event. This is indeed a marvelous point in time. Finally, the folk may unleash itself from the prison it was captivated in. I do not have the words to describe what I feel right now. I have waited for this time for my whole life. To see the word buy appear on the screen, gazing at me, gazing into the abyss. I am absolutely speechless. I want to thank my friends who were there to help me my whole life. I want to thank my parents. My mother, because she was always so nice and only hit me a few dozens of times in the five years that I'm on this planet. I want to thank my father, for leaving. If you ever come back, though, that would be very nice. I want to thank you all, users of this great social network, for believing that it could be done. We are victorious, and this amazing day will forever be commemorated in our collective memory, as a day of joy. This is a day of celebration. Of being truly happy that we were born into this vivacity. That we are descendants of a generation that has believed in us. a generation that has put all of its trust in the people that built this world to be what it is today. You made this world a better place. All of you. And this spectacular historical event will be forever remembered as a day where we left all of our sorrows behind, with audacity and gallantry. We have survived the 4-year drought that this game has been in development for. We have been crowned victorious by the Gods of Tim. We are the people that others don't even dream to be. We won the war. Life will cease to be what it used to be. The sun will shine differently. The people will now be merry and joyful, instead of grumpy and gloomy as they always were. The world will be viewed from different eyes from now on. Eyes that are filled with pure satisfaction, instead of despair, constant agony and crippling depression. I have lived 4 years to see this happen. I've seen my son graduate, and I didn't feel as blessed as I feel now. I've had my six brothers and sisters exploding in a terrible plane crash right in front of my eyes and I didn't shed a single tear. Today I am letting the floodgates burst open, and tears of joy are released, along with tears of pain I held inside for such a long time. I have murdered the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan and I didn't feel even 50% as good as I feel right now. You made this happen. I once again thank you all. You made me happy, even though I have no heart and therefore am incapable of feeling emotion. Today, for one day, we can forget about all our worries. We have triumphed over the disbelief.
← Return to game
Comments
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Why is this game not available anymore on itch? :(
The game is available on Steam :)
This is not the answer to my question. Fuck steam. They bleed out indies.
Yes but this is Tim's choice.Steam take a bigger percentage on your game but it also give you a bigger market.
And Tim explained it is an director's cut edition like he added a few things, corrected many levels, etc...
Steam doesn't give you shit until you already make at least, 5 figures. What you are talking about is status quo of 2015. Plus - I would rather give 100% of the cash to Tim rather than feed the already enormous behemoth.
Of course it's Tim's choice.
And refusing to buy his game on Steam - is mine.
Yes you can't so you don't that's your choice.
What do you mean by "make 5 figures" ?
Did not age well.. https://nogravitygames.itch.io/connection-haunted
I chose to move the game to steam. I don't feel bled out at all, and I'm extremely grateful for all the different services steam has to offer. Would gladly give 30% to steam to handle all the services, refunds etc.
Having to only publish one place when I updated the game is great for me...and I think that the steam version is the best experience because you get cloud save, achievements, etc.
Steam Key pls?
If you go to your library, and where you go to download the game, there should be an option to request a key.
Hey, how do I get the steamkey?
If you go to your library, and where you go to download the game, there should be an option to request a key.
This game is awesome. It brings me back to my childhood Super Mario Bros. days. It's frustrating, but it's that GOOD kind of frustrating.
Saw your video on sharing your revenue - thanks a lot for that.
Just before I buy the game, I would like to know if you have increased itch's cut now? :P
Looks Good
Here is a link to a one minute review that I did for this game! Would appreciate it if you checked it out and let me know what you all thought, too! Hopefully this will help those who are unsure about whether to buy the game or not.
Great game. Very good design of puzzles and snappy platforming. Graphics could be more polished but it doesnt ruin the whole atmosphere. How about sequel?
P.S. Your Youtube channel lead me to buying Phylophobia
Congratulations on your game release,
here is my impression of the game (for people who are not sure if they should get it or not, and want to check the reviews first)
I followed Tim for a longer time now and occasionally tuned in for his dev streams on the game. However, at that time I couldn't envision the game as finished product yet. After completing it, I can say that I am very positively surprised about the outcome.
Philophobia - Review
Philophobia - a game where love is literal hell and your worst enemies are hearts
Inspired by a breakup and one of the darkest times in the life of the developer, this game represents a 4 year long jouney about how to cope with your feelings after you figuratively got your heart ripped out by someone. This process is well reflected in the small cutscenes and the overarching theme of the game. You will accompany the main character stuart out of his deep dark prison inside himself and hopefully manage to find a way out while dealing with the 5 stages of grieving: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
Gameplay:
Mechanically, the game is a precision platformer with the objective of getting to the portal of each level. Portals mark the end of the current level. In later stages, you are required to collect a key to activate said portals. There are a handful mechanics you would expect from a platormer, some of which you will acquire in later sections of the game. Aside from the regular platforming levels where you have to solve puzzles and avoid fierce enemies and traps, there are some really fun and challenging bossfights. Make no mistake, this game is hard - it is not a surprise if you die 50+ times in certain levels - but it is well worth the experience. Despite being hard, the game never feels unfair. The levels play out in a consistent manner, so the only failing factor are the inputs of the player. This is true for the most part, because if you have a weak PC and can't consistently reach 60fps, the player movement will be your enemy too. More about it in the next section. The game does a good job of introducing you to new mechanics and completing levels and the bosses is a really satisfying feeling.
Controls
The game can either be played on the keyboard, which works well, or on an Xbox 360 controller (my preferred solution). At the time of writing, inputs cannot be remapped yet and the only controller that is officially supported is the Xbox 360 controller. The inputs feel responsive and precise enough if you can keep a consistent frame rate of 60fps. Do you have a mid to high range PC? Then you can skip this section and the inputs will work well for you. Should you have a weak PC and cannot reach this target framerate (on game version 1.0.1) you will face inconsistent movmeent behaviour for jumping heights and dash lengths. I wasn't too bothered by the dash length variations, but in my opinion, the varying jump height can be game breaking in rare instances. While trying to record the game (and sometimes even when I didn't record) frame drops would cause me to have a decreased jumping height I would otherwise have with the conistent 60fps, leading to the behaviour that for some jumps, I would have to try 20 times to gain a height which allows me to reach a platform above me that is mendatory for progressing. This also led me to complete one level in a way it was not intended to be completed, because the intended path wasn't possible for me. One very small annoyance was that the trigger threshold for the controller is really low, which would cause me to sometimes perform the actions for the triggers while pressing the bumper above.
Presentation:
When you start the game, you have a minimalistic menu with options and the possibility to start a game or to continue, along with other smaller menu sections. The menu art and UI looks appealing. In the main game itself, you will encounter a story presented with some smaller cutscenes with minimalistic animations and voice over, aside from that, it is mostly the core gameplay, which looks and sounds great. The sound design is well done in my opinion and the choice of music is an excellent match for the atmosphere the game tries to paint. The art is minimalistic for the most part, but very charming. Most objects in the game are either hearts or consist of heart shapes. In addition, the color palette chosen for the game is fantastic and the contrasts of different elments also helps to clearly recognize what is going on on screen at any time. The only times when this is an issue is when it was intended (such as lingering enemies). The animations are rather minimalistic too and feel clunky at some parts, especially for some of the boss fights, but that did not deduct anything from the feeling of immersion the game exhibits.
Fazit
Pros:
+ challenging precision platformer
+ fun factor
+ progressive difficulty
+ coherent art style, great voice acting (for the little cutscenes there are)
+ decent length for the price (around 5-6 hours for my first play through)
+ developer is actively supporting the game and provides bug fixes and features post release
+ fantastic choice of music and sounds
Cons:
- not for the impatient (the game is designed to have one difficulty level, if you are bad at platformers, or get impatient when you die often, this is not for you)
- Little to do outside of completing the main story (the most appeal it has outside from completing it, is to collect all heart pieces (which are optional in the levels) and try to speedrun it)
- inconsistencies when you are not able to get stable 60fps (this affects jump heights and dash lengths, at least in the version 1.0.1 I have played) - which in the worst cases can lead to game breaking behaviour: e.g. you can't reach a certain platform because your jump height is not strong enough. I had some issues with it, but it wasn't breaking for me, and it could be that at the time of writing, this has already been fixed.
- Very few menu options at the moment (in the version I played, it was only possible to change the sound volume, but I heard that further settings will be implmeented, such as key/button remappings)
- Only controller support for the Xbox controller at the moment (your controller might work if the button mappings are the same, but I cannot guarantee it)
Final verdict
In summary, I can recommend the game if you like platformers and have a capable PC, it is a lot of fun and a real challenge. There are small issues with the game, but it is well worth the money.
Congrats Tim!!! Can't wait to play!!!
Congrats ! :)
Hey hey frontpage! Good job!
Howdy! Amazing game that's worth way more than the $10 (launch price). It has fantastic atmosphere and polish, the platforming is top quality, controls are tight, and level design is great. I highly recommend it.
Congrats on the release, Tim.
It's done, I bought it !! It's an awesome game!
I only played up to first boss so far but I love the atmosphere of the game. I like the color pallette and the music and sounds. I like how your voice adds to the atmosphere as well. The game feels very claustrophobic with the moving shadows and it does make you feel uncomfortable and I think it suits the theme of fear of love.
I've been watching your videos for couple of months now and I can't imagine how you feel with so many years put into this project and seeing it finally released. Congratulations on the release, Tim!
Congrats on the release and getting featured Tim!
The platforming in this game feels great! It's quite a challenge, but a good one! Doesn't get old.
Awesome game, overall! Congrats, Tim! I only made it halfway through the 2nd chapter so far. It gets difficult pretty fast (in a good way). I like the introduction of new abilities and the feel of the jump + tiny screen shake. It would be cool to see some speed runs of this eventually.
I've only been able to play up to the first boss so far, but so far really loving it! Grats on the release Tim :)
Congrats on the release Tim!
Seriously, if u scroll down to see if it worth the 10$, u can scroll back up.
its worth way more. get it before the dev realize what a huge mistake it was to price it so low.
Is there gonna be a mac version of this game?
He was testing Mac and Linux builds so hopefully :) I think he's possibly just postponing that until all the serious bugs people find are out of the way so he doesn't have to keep building it.
Yes, coming soon. I have them working I just dont have a ton of testers.
Hey, I started to play your game but I think I am invicible. For example, heart that pop when you go trough their shadow do not kill me. I can go through red heart without dying.
EDIT : I can even go in lava without dying
update to the latest version, fixes the bug
Thanks dude now it works (I can die)
Sorry about that!!! Build was only up for a bit.
please fix the shield mechanic it sometimes kills you despite having the shield "up" :)
Note: not sure if this is the best place for bug report, if not please point me in the direction of the correct one :)
Note2: Thanks for the downvote i guess? Would help to know why though.
Bug reports here: https://goo.gl/forms/NMKxbSFCwzNy86Rn1
Looking into the issue!
thanks, will post it there too :)
Great game. I love it. Highly recommended.
Watching this game being made I was really excited to finally play this. Honestly it's even better than I could have imagined. This is a challenging game that gets your heart going. Just an awesome experience overall.
- Craig_L_
Ahh Tim! I waited to play the game and now it's only available for Windows??? :( Please add a Mac version of this game.
agreed
love the game its great its help get though a break up or had one recently break up
A Heart felt story line that makes you question how you would react if you traveled in the character's path. Great game-play, animations, and voice-overs. worth a play.
Picking this up this weekend, I'm so happy its finally launched!
I can not believe the time has come. It is an absolutely fantastic time to be alive. Nothing has ever made me feel as grateful as this great event. This is indeed a marvelous point in time. Finally, the folk may unleash itself from the prison it was captivated in. I do not have the words to describe what I feel right now. I have waited for this time for my whole life. To see the word buy appear on the screen, gazing at me, gazing into the abyss. I am absolutely speechless. I want to thank my friends who were there to help me my whole life. I want to thank my parents. My mother, because she was always so nice and only hit me a few dozens of times in the five years that I'm on this planet. I want to thank my father, for leaving. If you ever come back, though, that would be very nice. I want to thank you all, users of this great social network, for believing that it could be done. We are victorious, and this amazing day will forever be commemorated in our collective memory, as a day of joy. This is a day of celebration. Of being truly happy that we were born into this vivacity. That we are descendants of a generation that has believed in us. a generation that has put all of its trust in the people that built this world to be what it is today.
You made this world a better place. All of you. And this spectacular historical event will be forever remembered as a day where we left all of our sorrows behind, with audacity and gallantry. We have survived the 4-year drought that this game has been in development for. We have been crowned victorious by the Gods of Tim. We are the people that others don't even dream to be. We won the war.
Life will cease to be what it used to be. The sun will shine differently. The people will now be merry and joyful, instead of grumpy and gloomy as they always were. The world will be viewed from different eyes from now on. Eyes that are filled with pure satisfaction, instead of despair, constant agony and crippling depression.
I have lived 4 years to see this happen. I've seen my son graduate, and I didn't feel as blessed as I feel now. I've had my six brothers and sisters exploding in a terrible plane crash right in front of my eyes and I didn't shed a single tear. Today I am letting the floodgates burst open, and tears of joy are released, along with tears of pain I held inside for such a long time. I have murdered the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan and I didn't feel even 50% as good as I feel right now. You made this happen.
I once again thank you all. You made me happy, even though I have no heart and therefore am incapable of feeling emotion.
Today, for one day, we can forget about all our worries. We have triumphed over the disbelief.
*We did it, Chat*
Congratulation on your full release!!
I can't believe it's finally out, I'm super pumped tbh.
CONGRATULATIONS BROTHER!!
I came here a few seconds before release, lol
I was linked here
Looks cool.
Beautiful visuals, the page looks nice and inviting. Good color choices.
Damn, I'm so excited to play it...