Zemstar Assault
A downloadable game for Windows and macOS
This game is a reverse-bullet-hell roguelite shmup in which you use cards to fight off waves of aliens across a series of stages. One full playthrough lasts about 60 minutes.
As the current version is not entirely finished, the controls and rules are not adequately communicated in the game itself, so here they are:
Controls (in-game):
- WASD to move
EFT CLICK to attack
- ESC to open options
- TAB to open inventory
- In inventory:
- Drag a card into an empty slot to equip it
- Left click an equipped card to unequip it (you can only unequip a card when it's not on cooldown)
- Arrow keys to scroll through unlocked card slots
- Left click an equipped card to unequip it
- C to open character menu
- E to interact with level fixtures
- 1-8 to activate ability cards
Rules:
- You can equip cards to empty slots in your card belt through the inventory
- Some cards are weapon cards, which means they attack automatically when you press left click
- Others are ability cards which must be activated by pressing an associated number key based on their position the hotbar - this number is indicated at the corner of the hotbar slot
- You gain cards by opening card packs dropped by enemies
- When you have three of the same card with the same rank, they fuse to produce a single card of the next higher rank
There are windows and mac executable versions provided in the download section.
One fateful day...
A group of four unsuspecting college students come into contact with a mysterious crashed alien spaceship. Inside is a prerecorded message which reveals to them that they have been selected by the Kardrians, an extinct alien race, to take on the mantle of the Zemstars.
Historically, the Kardrians selected one champion from each of planet Kardria's four moons to become a Zemstar, a warrior who wields ancient magical artifacts known as the Kards. The Zemstars used the power of the Kards to enforce peace, and to retaliate against invaders.
The galactic conquerors that wiped out their race are now headed towards Earth, and it falls upon Maja, Daria, Estera and Kasia - the first human Zemstars - to use the power of the Kards to defend Earth and avenge the Kardrians.
Zemstar Assault was originally made in one month (Feb. 15 to March 15, 2022) for the Magical Girl Game Jam 5! It's my first formally published game and my first game jam game, and although the vision I initially had for it was quite a bit bigger, I'm happy with how it turned out and it was a fantastic learning experience. Thanks so much for checking it out - I'd be really happy if you could let me know what you thought in the comments! <3
Many thanks to Shreybae (@shreyba.e on instagram) for providing the lovely title screen and character art, along with most of the map tiles! Zemstar Assault wouldn't have been possible without her help and support :)
*This version is NOT FINISHED! There are still several things we wanna add so give us a few days (or weeks)! These additions include:
- Additional music tracks
- Augment cards (cards that can be attached to weapon cards to enhance them)
- Intro cutscene explaining the story
- More perks and cards for each character
- Better optimization
Comments
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Literally my fav gameee~ =v=) the characters r so cute n each is fun to play (haha totally unbiased). I love the background music too - I never get tired of it. The bosses r freakin spooky, but its very exciting!
alright, so i beat all the dudes in area 2, but it says theres still 1 left but i cant seem to find it
I feel for you, been stuck there since last night...no matter how many runs. They're working on it, there was a similar issue with the first stage in 1.03. Fun game though, yes?
Thanks for bringing that to my attention, it should be fixed in the version I just uploaded (v1.05) :)
This was a fun game. Great work!
Thanks so much for playing!! The fact that it said there were enemies left when no enemies were spawning was indeed a bug - sorry! It should be fixed in the latest version (1.04), so if you feel like trying it again you should be able to experience the rest of the game - the first level is only the beginning!)
Psst...I have a similar issue with the second level...other than that I am loving the heck out of this right now! I keep getting stuck with one enemy left...and have several playthroughs if those would help :)
Thank you! This Jam had some great entries!
Thanks for letting me know! I just uploaded version 1.05 in which that bug is fixed (hopefully for good!) and some of the weaker weapons were buffed. Thanks for playing :]
Very yes! Awesome, getting on that right everloving now.
Oh jeez, beefier weapons as well? ON IT, thanks much!
EDIT: Slash was already my favorite, now it is even more so! Everything works fine so far, just hit the third stage, everything is beauteous!
Feels smoother and faster, whatever witchcraft is responsible...well done :D