Games made in Puzzlescript have a uniquely-nostalgic feel, beyond the usual endeavor toward ‘pixel art’. The Penanggalan resembles a little old Atari game, starring a “floating head and entrails time-traveling vampire.”
The Penanggalan, by Rupix and Beavl, is fresh out of the weekend’s Ludum Dare competition, the 32nd edition of the regular, themed high-speed game development event. This compo’s theme is “An Unconventional Weapon,” and the floating head can pull itself around increasingly-complex level spaces by its neck tendrils, disarming flying spikes along the way.
It’s a moderately cerebral and not particularly unconventional route-and-block puzzle, but something about the aesthetic, its chunky whistles and bloops, or its intentionally-quaint, dramatic text-only intro drew me in til I found myself playing for a while. Playing with a tiny entrails-head vampire is a fine little palate cleanser for your workday afternoon — free to play in your browser, simple to jump into.
Stay with Offworld for more little gems from Ludum Dare 32 — our own Laura Hudson participated this past weekend for the first time!