The Drowned Dream
A 36-hour Game Jam entry on the theme Breath. A Lovecraftian side-scrolling dive into an underwater cave: guided by a sea hare spirit, manage your oxygen and sanity, gather the idols of an ancient god, and seal it at the altars — then wake up.
2026-10-04
UnityC#Game Development2DURPGame Jam
Gameplay
Core Loop
- Explore interconnected underwater caves on a Metroidvania-style map
- Open treasure chests for idols and healing items like bandages and pills
- With every idol in hand, activate both altars under the god's assault to seal it
Breath
- Holding your breath makes you invisible to enemies but burns oxygen
- At zero oxygen you keep losing HP; after a breath-hold you wait for the cooldown and a full tank
- Firing a harpoon mid-hold reveals you instantly
Sanity
- Sanity drains near monsters and recovers when you kill them
- The lower your sanity, the smaller your oxygen tank and the shorter your breath-hold
- At low sanity you go mad: directions get swapped and harpoons misfire
Harpoon & Creatures
- Harpoons fly in an arc and must be picked up again — you carry three
- Deep-sea creatures charge, raise ground spikes or fire gaze beams
- Death sends you back to the last checkpoint, but your max sanity drops for good
Controls
- A / D to move, W to jump, S to drop through platforms
- Space to fire, Q to hold breath, E to activate altars, Tab for inventory
- Gamepad supported
Development
- Made in 36 hours for Faust Game Jam 2026, theme: Breath
- I handled programming; design, art and audio came from my teammates
- Unity 6.3 LTS + URP 2D, with tuning values in ScriptableObjects so the designer could adjust them on site
Art & Scenes
Underwater Cave
The Sleeping God
Hero, Sea Hare & Deep-Sea Creatures
Waking Up
It Was All a Dream
Something Under the Bed