Philophobia: The Fear of Love

The controls are tight and I love the shadow mechanic. The shadows make it fun to discover what's around each corner and getting through a level on the first try is a thrill. And if you don't make it on the first try, the shadows force you to commit the level to memory. Most of the levels fit on a single screen which makes them short and sweet, although there are a handful of levels that will make you want to rip your hair out but in a good way! This is where the theme of heartbreak, anger and frustration fits really well. The levels are very fair in that it doesn't take long to figure out how to beat them, so it's entirely on the player to execute! Dying and respawning is also very snappy which motivated me to give even the most difficult levels "just one more try" without realizing I died 40 times. I enjoyed the minimalist art style and the color palette works really well. Well done Tim! Definitely a labor of love.

I've been watching Tim Ruswick's YouTube channel for the last few years and decided to take the plunge and buy Philophobia. My time with the game was quite enjoyable (albeit also frustrating) and it was definitely a fairly challenging platformer. The shadow mechanic was quite interesting and added to the challenge and I liked using the dash ability a lot, though I feel the other two abilities were underused a bit in comparison. There's some elements introduced in the later realms of the game that I feel could have been introduced earlier in the game to be utilised more, like these heart stalactites that try to fall on you. The 3rd and 4th bosses were also sort of annoying due to requiring a lot of rapid key presses and quick responses to avoid dying (which I did a lot). Some of the levels in the game did also suffer similar problems with relying more on rapid responses which can lead to a lot of deaths and are a source of frustration. The story presented in the game is simple and serviceable, so anybody looking for a deep story and well written characters will want to look elsewhere. All in all, I enjoyed the game and would recommend it to people who want a challenging precision platformer and can look past some rough edges. 7/10 I also want to thank Tim for being a huge source of inspiration and advice to myself as a budding game developer and I wish him well with his future endeavours.

Nice straightforward puzzle platformer with tight controls and an evolving main mechanic of blindness, I suppose love is blind.

Ok so i absolutely love the concept of this game. I do wonder how Tim came up with this concept as I have not really seen it in a video game. The game is great and frustrating at the same time lol. I keep on falling down to my death in the same as i quickly forget where the map changes :( I would not suggest playing this game in public as it could lead you to shouting out obscenities lol. The game truly represents love and heartbreak in the way it makes you feel whilst playing it.

Great game! I liked the story and the poetic cutscenes. A small detail I also liked is how thematic are the names of the abilities (deny the pain etc.)

Dealing with a broken heart isn't an easy thing, and neither is this game. The unique visibility mechanics combined with a good challenge in a strongly emotional atmosphere are things that make this a fine gaming experience for those who have what it takes to press on. As such, I would heartily recommend it. Pun intended.

Great sound design! Good controls. Really innovative way of you using shadows in a platformer. Incredible work for a solo developer. :)