Bat to the Heavens

About

"Bat to the Heavens" is a puzzle-platformer game featuring a bat as the protagonist. With checkpoints, hand-drawn sprites, and deep mechanics, players must use their wits to surpass obstacles and climb to the heavens. The game boasts challenging puzzles, no combat, and numerous secrets, providing hours of satisfying gameplay.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

98%

Audience ScoreBased on 304 reviews

gameplay30 positive mentions

stability4 negative mentions

The game features a charming art style and engaging music that enhance the overall experience.
The movement mechanics are challenging yet satisfying, allowing for a variety of ways to solve puzzles and navigate the environment.
The game is well-designed with a good balance of difficulty, providing a rewarding experience as players learn and master its mechanics.

The controls can feel clunky and unresponsive at times, making execution frustrating, especially for new players.
Some puzzles may feel counterintuitive, leading to confusion about the intended solutions and causing unnecessary frustration.
The steep learning curve and lack of clear tutorials may deter more casual players from fully enjoying the game.

gameplay
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
58%
4%
The gameplay is characterized as a challenging yet fair platformer that rewards persistence and mastery of mechanics, with players finding satisfaction in overcoming obstacles and learning through trial and error. The movement mechanics are praised for their originality and depth, though some players noted a lack of proper guidance in learning new mechanics, leading to moments of frustration. Overall, the game offers a blend of cute art, engaging puzzles, and a variety of gameplay experiences that cater to different player preferences.
- “It's the best kind of difficult platformer -- the gameplay and mechanics are difficult but never unfair, and though it takes many tries, each try gets you a little closer to your goal, and to mastery of the way of the bat.”
- “The gameplay concept is super original, and it lends itself really well to its puzzles.”
- “Really challenging at first but learning the mechanics bit by bit, improving and progressing is so satisfying.”
- “Mechanics are left for the player to figure out, and the controls feel clunky for what the game requires of you.”
- “A new mechanic will be introduced and then the next screen will drop the player into a frustratingly difficult room in a trial by fire, before they've even begun to understand the extent of its mechanic.”
- “There's quite a few points where I got stuck and had to put it down, and it turned out I was missing some application of the mechanics.”
graphics
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
45%
7%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their charming art style, which combines cute 2D pixel art with impressive 3D backgrounds, creating a lovely atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience. Reviewers highlight the beautiful hand-drawn visuals and the effective use of color and design, noting that the art and music work harmoniously to create an engaging vibe. While the graphics are appealing, some caution that the game's increasing difficulty may deter more casual players.
- “Challenging puzzle platformer with beautiful hand-drawn graphics!”
- “The game will greet you with a lovely art style that mixes 2D pixel art with some really neat 3D backgrounds, all culminating in a great showpiece of what the Godot engine is capable of achieving.”
- “Lovely atmosphere and visuals paired with tough movement puzzles that teach and require understanding of an impressive amount of movement tech make for a difficult and incredibly satisfying platformer experience.”
- “Do not be fooled by the cute graphics.”
- “If you're a more casual type of player attracted to the graphics, I can't really recommend it though, as the ramping difficulty will drive many away.”
- “The game struggles to properly teach the rest of the mechanics.”
music
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
40%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and enjoyable qualities, perfectly complementing the charming art style and gameplay. Many players appreciate the relaxing atmosphere it creates, often likening it to the soundtrack of "Baba Is You." Overall, the cohesive blend of music and sound effects enhances the overall experience, making it a significant highlight of the game.
- “The music is incredible and sets the vibe perfectly.”
- “The art and music are also amazing and give the game a really relaxing atmosphere.”
- “The art style and music are also a vibe, and honestly worth the purchase alone.”
- “Oh and also a place to find the music!”
- “Also, I hope there is a release for the soundtrack at some point.”
- “The music even seems inspired by 'Baba Is You.'”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
56%
The game features a captivating atmosphere enhanced by stunning visuals and a relaxing soundtrack, which complements the challenging movement puzzles. Players appreciate how the atmosphere evolves alongside the gameplay, with the integration of movement abilities and lore creating a satisfying and immersive experience. Overall, the combination of art, music, and puzzle design contributes to a rich and engaging environment.
- “Lovely atmosphere and visuals paired with tough movement puzzles that teach and require understanding of an impressive amount of movement tech make for a difficult and incredibly satisfying platformer experience.”
- “After beating the game, the atmosphere and puzzle design holds strong, and everything really comes together as movement abilities and lore are slowly revealed.”
- “The art and music are also amazing and give the game a really relaxing atmosphere.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its cute art style, enjoyable music, and witty dialogue, creating a vibrant and memorable experience. Players appreciate the combination of hilariously simple mechanics with a high skill ceiling, contributing to the overall fun and charm of the game.
- “The art is cute, the music is enjoyable, and the dialogue is pretty funny.”
- “This game is just so unbelievably cute, funny, and vibrant, forming an unforgettable experience that I absolutely adore.”
- “Hilariously simple mechanics with an extremely high skill ceiling, loads of fun.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game currently experiences several bugs, including shader issues and audio glitches when returning to the menu. However, the developer is actively addressing these problems, which is a positive sign for future improvements.
- “It is buggy; there's an issue with the shader at the start of the Goldcherry (I can't remember the exact name; it's where the green arrows start), and level audio will sometimes play when returning to the menu.”
- “At least in these early stages, the game is experiencing stability issues, but the developer is active in troubleshooting and fixing any bugs you may find, which is a huge positive.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game manageable, with well-placed checkpoints alleviating frustration. However, some express a desire for a teleportation feature to streamline exploration and reduce the tedium of backtracking. Overall, while the mechanics can feel challenging, they ultimately contribute to a rewarding experience once mastered.
- “3 hours in, I haven't beaten it yet, but I do have one criticism: you should be able to teleport to previously unlocked light posts to make exploration less of a pain and allow backtracking to not be as tedious.”
- “The feel of moving around with a bat feels a little bit like a 'torture game' in how it works, but the game never feels tedious or overly frustrating as checkpoints are placed pretty well throughout, and once you understand a puzzle and get a good grip of the mechanics, you can breeze through some areas incredibly quickly.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players highlight the game's strong replayability, noting that as they continue to play, they discover new content and experiences, which keeps the gameplay fresh and engaging.
- “The longer I play the game, the more I find that I've never discovered before, which keeps the experience refreshing and highly replayable!”
- “The longer I play the game, the more I find that I've never discovered before, which keeps the experience refreshing and highly replayable!”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a mix of frustration and enjoyment, feeling challenged by the puzzles to the point of self-deprecation, yet appreciating the emotional engagement this brings to their gaming experience.
- “It made me feel like a dum dum because I keep trying to do puzzles in the wrong way, which makes them very difficult, and I love it.”