Give Up the Ghost: a puzzle checklist
Give Up the Ghost: a puzzle checklist
Note: The game may run slowly in some browsers -- I've noticed it behave weirdly in Firefox specifically. If you're having trouble the downloadable versions should behave more consistently. Unfortunately I cannot test and vouch for every browser version and OS combination.
This game will autosave your progress locally.
Controls
Click game to give it focus if it is not responding to input.
Game
| arrow keys (or WASD) | move |
| Z | undo |
| R | restart level |
| X | show floor (hide objects) |
| M | open menu |
Menu
| arrow keys (or WASD) | move cursor |
| Z or X | confirm |
Credits
Code | Art | Music | SFX | Puzzle Design
John M. Williams @GateEightyEight
Opening Poem
Anonymous Japanese Folk Song
Translated by Kenneth Rexroth
TIC-80 Fantasy Console
Vadim Grigoruk @nesboxcom
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- v1.0.0 release of Give Up the GhostApr 15, 2022
Comments
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I really like the game but at some point it sems impossibel
Yes. I can't pass level 9.
Finally got around to play this game. I remember playing a pre-release version of the game and then abandoned it because I wasn't feeling it, but now I've completed it in its entirety, I can say that it's very, very clever, and the puzzles only get better and better.
I like the fact that rather than having one specific core mechanic and hook, this game has multiple unique and seemingly irrelevant mechanics at play. While you can argue that some of those are more 'core'-y than others, like the portals, all of the mechanics just work so well together that they feel equally important. I believe the game did a good job bringing all these ideas together and exploring them to their fullest potential.
All in all, great game, strongly recommended.
hey, glad you enjoyed it so thoroughly! it really takes quite a bit of work to beat all the levels; glad you came back to it.
sometimes it takes me two or three tries with a game before it digs its way into my brain, too. i kind of love that feeling -- where i go "i would like to like this" to finally "i get it and i love this". i like exercising that intentionality about media, or really just anything in my life. if i just went w/ my initial reaction the world would be so much bleaker. digging past the surface is often very rewarding.
i have adhd and the eclectic nature of my games is not lost on me -- i lean into it because i've realized channeling that part of myself gives people a little window into my experience and sharing that feels very valuable to me.
does this have any edge case where it would infinite loop like in baba? did’t find it so far
[MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE GAME; DON'T DECODE UNTIL YOU'RE DONE WITH ALL 50 LEVELS]
contents: review and a bugging question
[rot 13]
fb v'ir orngra nyy 50 "abezny" yriryf (fperj lbh, yriry 1)
v srry gung guvf jnf n ernyyl jryy qrfvtarq tnzr. rirel yriry npghnyyl qbrfa'g ercrng (va grezf bs pbaprcg), rira jura gur yriryf ybbx fvzvyne (rfpncr naq uvtu svir). gur fbyhgvbaf jrer ernyyl uneq gb svaq, ohg fbzrubj ernyyl rnfl gb ercebqhpr bapr lbhe qvfpbirerq gur "pyvpx" va gur pber bs gur chmmyr.
naq bs pbhefr, gur synve! abg eryngrq gb gur tnzr ohg v ernyyl yvxr ubyqvat n xrl naq yrggvat zl punenpgre onat vagb n jnyy... fb shaal :) abg bayl vf gur yriry qrfvta tbbq (vapyhqvat gur "erghea gb yriry 1 guvatl"), gur tencuvpf ner ernyyl avpr gbb!
guvf jnf n terng tnzr, ernyyl. juvyr v'z gnpxyvat yiy 51 (gung'f zl anzr sbe gur erghea gb yriry 1), v'yy or cynlvat fbzr bs lbhe bgure tnzrf! jhzchf jhzc lbh vf ernyyl sha gb cynl, ohg v'z ybbxvat sbe fbzr bgure sha chmmyr/cyngsbezre tnzrf... pbageby gur obql ybbxf vagrerfgvat naq shaal
ohg jung qb lbh qb va yiy 51??? v haqrefgnaq lbh unir gb hfr gur "erq pvepyrf" gb qb fbzrguvat, ohg v'ir gevrq chggvat vg orfvqr gur tenirfgbar naq chfuvat vg (abguvat unccrarq, ohg v znl or qbvat fbzrguvat jebat)
zl frpbaq gubhtug vf gb gel gb chfu bar bs gur cbegnyf, ohg fbzrubj v pna'g rira qb gung! (nf nyjnlf, v znl or qbvat fbzrguvat jebat; v'z jbexvat ba gur cbegny gung vf ng gur obggbz evtug bs gur qvzrafvba evtug bs gur tenirlneq)
zl oenva vf ernyyl oheag... (yhpxvyl v qvqa'g trg n urneg nggnpx! un un...) fb sbe abj, v'yy or cynlvat fbzr bs lbhe bgure tnzrf! v'z nyfb qrfvtavat n tnzr bs zl bja (cngevpx'f cnenobk + tvir hc gur tubfg + fbzr fbxbona guvatl gung v unira'g pnzr hc jvgu n anzr sbe), naq v ernyyl gunax lbh sbe gur vafcvengvba gung lbh unir tvira zr (naq fgvyy pbagvahr gb tvir). lbh'er n terng tnzr qrfvtare. qba'g fgbc perngvat tnzrf, cyrnfr...
Omega_3301 :)
what a sweet review -- thanks omega! that's very flattering.
not sure if you were able to figure out the end. i can give you a few hints. they'll get more explicit each bullet point down.
(BIG SPOILERS FOR END OF GAME)
if you're still stuck, here is the explicit instruction on the goal of the level (but not the steps to solve it):
(BIG SPOILERS, SOLUTION FOR END OF GAME)
ooh, interesting! seems like my "loophole" wasn't a loophole after all!
now time to get the portals out... how hard could it be?
by the way, could i get an idea of how hard this is (relative to the other levels)?
now i understand why there is so much empty space...... time for some fun!
it's can be tricky but it should be easier than some of the levels in the 40s. certainly easier than level 50.
Ok, this should be fun!
First thought: (like 1 minute thoughts)
-v cebonoyl unir gb hfr gur 2 erq guvatf gung ner haybpxrq nsgre v svavfu nyy abezny yriryf (qhu)
-v guvax v unir gb hfr gur snpg gung v unir 2 ragenaprf (Nsgre fbyivat gur abezny chmmyr, v unir 2 jnlf gb ragre gur ertvba jvgu gur cbegnyf)
-v guvax vg nyybjf zr gb ragre n cbegny gung unf orra qvfnoyrq, gura chfu vg nsgrejneqf
Time for the final boss! (And then move on to control the body)
i'm stuck on level 24...
here's what i found out:
[rot 13]
-gur cbegny zhfg or qhcyvpngrq, naq v fraq zlfrys guebhtu gur cbegny gb trg gb gur bgure fvqr (jvgu gur k gbb)
-v qba'g guvax v fraq nalguvat ryfr onpx (be fraq zlfrys onpx)
-v'z abg fher nobhg guvf ohg v qba'g guvax vg'f cbffvoyr gb qhcyvpngr zlfrys be nalguvat bgure guna gur cbegny
-gur cbegnyf ner "zhygv ynlrerq"; gur gbc evtug cbegny yrnqf gb n qhcyvpngrq irefvba bs gur cbegny orsber pbclvat
-v arrq bar k sebz gur cerivbhf ynlre naq bar sebz gur nobir ynlre, gubhtu v'z abg fher ubj gb oevat vg sebz gur cerivbhf ynlre (fperj gur oernxvat oybpxf)
i'm pretty sure that some of the points i listed is wrong though
could i have some hints about how to continue? (or if my approach is correct at all)
btw, this is an amazing game, love this thing
frustrating but fun
there's a sneaky trick to this one, haha. you're close!
let's say your third bullet is wrong and see if that's enough of a hint. if not, lmk
OHHHHHHHHHHHH I FIGURED IT OUT
turns out you need to [rot 13] (reveal the hints in order, for anyone who is stuck on this level)
-lbh arrq n k sebz gur cnfg naq shgher
-gur qhcyvpngbef pbcl gur cerfrag fgngr bs jungrire vf vafvqr gur cbegny
-gur k sebz gur cnfg vf uneq gb trg hayrff lbh unir gur gevpx
-cercnengvbaf, qba'g fghss gur k va gur cbegny naq qhcyvpngr
-lbh unir gb trg gur k bhg bs gur jnl (naq ernql gb fraq vagb gur hccre evtug cbegny) jvgubhg fgrccvat ba gur pehzoyr oybpxf; guvf vf qbar orsber qhcyvpngvat
-vs lbh tb guebhtu gur cbegny lbh jvyy chfu gur k va n cynpr jurer lbh unir gb hfr gur pehzoyr oybpxf; guhf, lbh pna'g qb gung. vf gurer nabgure zrgubq?
-ubj jvyy qhcyvpngvat lbhefrys nsgre fghssvat gur k va gur cbegny uryc?
thank you so much for your help!
and escape is also hard
i think pulling one x from the future is the hard part now
but maybe 2 from the past? idk aaaaaaaa
ok i actually need hints
currently gave up on level 25 and working on level 26 "in series"
it feels easier to approach
here's what i found out about level 25:
-gurer vf bayl bar jnl lbh pna pebff gb gur bgure fvqr, fb vs lbh jnag gb qbhoyr onpx, lbh arrq gb haybpx gur 2 "4" ybpxf ng gur obggbz
-zl ceboyrz vf gung vs v haybpx 2 bs gur ybpxf, gur ynfg ybpx vf vzcbffvoyr gb ernpu (v'yy unir gb gnxr nabgure 4 sebz gur arkg cbegny ohg gung arrqf 2 4f gb oevat onpx)
-guvf vf whfg n thrff, ohg qb v arrq gb hfr bar bs gur qvzrafvbaf gb fgber gur 4f? (naq v guvax gurer vf ab cbegny chfuvat urer)
-v guvax v znl or noyr gb chfu gur ahzore oybpxf ol sbezvat n 10 4 10... punva fb v qba'g unir gb fgrc ba gur pehzoyr oybpxf
it's definitely the hardest level so far
I only got to level 4 yet I loved it. Great puzzle game and I hope to be able to finish it someday
Thanks for playing!
As a puzzle design nerd and fan of witness-like games that don't tell you a goshdarn thing and let you microdose epiphanies, phenomenal. I felt smart, I felt dumb, I felt alive
glad you enjoyed it! :)
This is a really great puzzle game that hits all the right buttons. The mechanics and components are very simple, but you've managed to use them to create some really interesting and unique puzzles. Really great work!
Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it :)
I finally got 36, useless; probably my favorite! If not, it is one of the 16 I will eventually beat. The game is excellent, the way it puzzles you without any tricks!
Hey !
I'm creating a co-op bundle with the best tic-80 games. Revenue would be shared between developers. For now the bundle is composed of : the tic-80 console, Last In Space, 8bit panda, shadow over the twelves land and multiple puzzle.
Feel free to contact me on my twitter or by mail : darenn.gamedev[at]gmail.com if you're interested. Have a great day !
im so dumb that i dont know 3+6=9 lol
it's ok just think of them as abstract symbols and figure out addition solely by experimentation.
i already beat that, and 3+6=9 is important step, lol
Is level 37 even possible?
Yes, I can confirm that all the levels in the game are possible!
If you want a hint, let me know what you've figured out so far.
Nevermind, I got it. It really was impossible according to the rules of the game as I understood them. After I realized this, then I concluded that I must be mistaken about the rules in some way.
Very nice! Deducing that can be very difficult. You have to challenge your assumptions one-by-one.
Stuck on 17... I feel like there's something about the doublers that I'm not understanding!
Nevermind - I got it :)
very nice. that's a tricky one!
legendary puzzle game. Very fun and nice.
I have a small question- sorry for disturbing, how did you make the undos not jump two steps. It's something I've been struggling with on my own puzzle game because say if you press undo and you have to undo left then up, it skips to up instantly. It's something that has bothered me in tic for a while
Hey minidavid -- glad you enjoyed the game.
As for your question -- TIC-80 does not provide much structure as an "engine" so there is no "correct" way to implement undo. It very much depends on how you've implemented it in your game.
As a guess, perhaps you're undoing on button hold rather than button press so that it's triggering multiple times very fast?
Levels 35 and 36 have had me stuck for a couple days; hints appreciated! Awesome game!
Getting into tough levels there. Hard to hint without knowing what you've already figured out. Reveal them in order until you get an idea. I've kept the hints kind of high-level:
(rot13)
Hints for 35:
Hints for 36:
Any hints for 33? I've been stuck on that one for a while and have no idea what to do. I can't even unlock two of the doors on the right side, never mind all four of them.
Sure, reveal the hints in order until it gives you enough direction to continue.
Hints for level 33:
(rot13)
Answer to 7?
Plz help <3
Hints for level 7:
(rot13)
i stuck level 4
Hints for Level 4:
(use rot13to decode)
Hey I tried to hide your response but I accidentally deleted both your posts (I think because one was a parent of the other).
Try not to post direct solutions or hints within the comments. The rot13 is so that people can optionally interact with the hints. Some folks want to solve levels without hints and I don't want them to be scared to read the comments.
Thanks!
Any hints for 26 "In Series"? I can get a 2 and a diamond or a 2 and a heart, but for the life of me can't figure out how to get both a diamond and a heart. This is the Double Black Diamond of games, but it has totally gotten its hooks into this Blue Square intermediate player. I'm still hoping for the rest of the walkthru, as this isn't the only level that is haunting me...
I don't have great hints for this one, just some strategies to try. It's a rough one and it's hard to think about!
(use rot13 to decode)
Finally got it. Thanks!
OK, so nearly all of them seem impossible at first glance but 21 is killing me, particularly after I found 20 to be relatively easy.. and particularly as it doesn't seem to given anyone else any trouble!.. Hint please?..
Well surprising because 21 is quite "logical" in my opinion (and easier than 20...) - this is the beauty of this game : each player has its own way of playing it.
Hint : gur serr fdhner yrsg gb gur "9" vf * irel * hfrshy
Thanks A12r13 - easier than 20?! Gah.. your comment helped, though indirectly - somehow it triggered a breakthrough on how to get a 6 and myself into the right position to open the first lock. I'm now able to get to almost thru but with a 6 where I need a 9... EDIT: Ah, got it! Yup, so obvious and simple when you get there..
would you give me a clue for 20? I can get both 10s or both 4s, but that's it.
You're pretty close then! Hope these help:
OMG never mind, I finally figured it out!
Can someone please explain like I'm five: why is it that sometimes in the higher levels when you go through a portal it seems to undo the last few moves? I can't quite grasp the logic of that and it's making it impossible for me to advance.
Which levels specifically @megpea27? Are you sure it's undoing or are you being taken to a different place?
Like level 26 "in series" for example. I will have pushed one of the hearts into the heart block, then joined the line of items in between the two 1s and pushed up into the portal. When I come out the bottom, everything resets.
Ah yes, that's an infinite series of rooms -- entering the portal does not "reset" the room, it brings you to a new room with the same layout.
OHHHH... that makes a lot more sense. Thanks. I love this game, even though it makes me feel stupid. It's probably the most challenging and most rewarding game I've ever played. Still desperate for a walkthrough or some hints, though.
Awesome game, made me create the account here just to thank you. Took me 2 weeks to finish, but it was worth it. If I may ask, how do you create so difficult puzzles? I mean, when you design a hard level, I suppose you don't know immediately it's solvable, do you? Can you please shed some light on the process?
Yes, I like to say creating a puzzle is a lot like solving a puzzle :)
I always had a document open while making levels. Any time I saw a surprising edge-case or something unintuitive or cool happened, I would write that down in the document.
Each level started with me trying to force the player to do one of the cool things in the document. Sometimes, the conditions were specific enough that it was basically a full puzzle on its own. Sometimes it wasn't hard enough, so I then had to add complications and test to see if it was still possible.
The most important thing was iteration. Usually, my first draft of a level wasn't very good. Every time I worked on the game, I would go through a few levels I had already "finished" and made sure I still liked those levels. I tried to simplify each level to align with its core ideas. If I was unsatisfied with some part of the level, I would try to make small changes to improve it. If I thought the level was now overshadowed or just bad I would scrap it completely.
This iterative process slowly turned a lot of initially mediocre levels into interesting and challenging ones.
Thank you, I think you did a great job. Looking forward to your next game :)
Im having lots of fun but i cant do lvl 10
Here are the hints for level 10 I posted below:
Hints for level 10: (use rot13 to decode)
im stuck on level one, can someone help me ?
Hints for level 1:
(decode with rot13)
This is a very good puzzle game.
I want to finish this game, but the last level I'm stuck at is level 50.
What I figured out in rot13:
Lbh arrq gb chfu n cbegny pbagnvavat 3 urnegf va nabgure cbegny. Lbh pna'g chfu obgu n cbegny evtug naq n cbegny qbja, orpnhfr gura lbh pna'g ernpu gur ybpxf. V'z cerggl fher lbh unir gb chg n cbegny va cbegny va cbegny hagvy lbh pna unir rabhtu urnegf. Gur ceboyrz vf gung gur gbc yrsg 3 ol 3 nern vf gbb fznyy gb znarhire gur urnegf.
Thanks in advance.
You are on the right track and I think making good deductions so far! The devil's in the details with this one. Make sure you stay organized and use every space you can. Think about all the directions you can enter the portals from and what the geometry of the level means for sneaking more hearts in.
Thank you!
It turns out I was pretty close. Some conformation I was on the right track helped.
I was really enjoying this. The puzzles are actually pretty challenging and really satisfying to finally get them.
But I finally got completely stuck on level 36 - I couldn't find any way to move anything in a way to even get started. So I went to refresh my browser to see if anyone was talking about that level in the comments. Hit Ctrl+R.... and completely reset my progress instead of refreshing the page. Rough choice of shortcut key there. I notice that's not documented so maybe it's a default part of the engine being used? In any case, I don't know if I can be bothered going back through the first 35 levels again. But good game and enjoyable puzzles until that happened.
Interesting! Ctrl+R is indeed reset in TIC-80 but it shouldn't delete any save progress (e.g. when I try it right now the progress stays). Maybe some weird bug in in the engine or some setting your browser had coincidentally clear it?
I hacked together a save editor real quick. It's available here: https://gate.itch.io/ghost-save-editor?password=ghost-save-editor
To use it, just launch that page and check the puzzles you want completed in your save file. Exit that page, and when you reload the main game, the progress should be there.
Oh, cool thanks! Interesting that you couldn't reproduce. I tried it again - finished a couple levels and hit Ctrl+R again, and again lost my saves. I'll do a little more testing around in different browsers etc when I've got some time, see if I can narrow it down.
Edit - actually just tried again, and my progress stayed. Okay, I'm not sure what happened. If I see it again, I'll try to figure out the reproduce.
Now to figure out 36...
Soooo good !
Loving this! Having some trouble on 39 and 44 (40-43 were relatively quick!).
Taking your cue and using rot13 go describe what i've attempted:
39: cerggl trahvaryl fghpx, v'ir zrffrq nebhaq jvgu fgnpxvat obkrf, svthevat bhg qvssrerag jnlf gb cbfvgvba gurz fb gung gur yrsg snpvat obk raqf hc bhgfvqr ba gur yrsg snpvat fvqr, chfuvat obkrf hc ntnvafg gur terl jnyy vafvqr bs gur obk gb zbir nebhaq, ohg ubarfgyl whfg ab cebterff.
44: v'ir pyrnerq gur K naq urneg (gubhtu xvaq bs jbaqrevat vs v nz fhccbfrq gb qb fbzrguvat orsber gung), naq vg frrzf gur bayl ivnoyr fcbg gb ghea bss gur ubyr ol gur qvnzbaq vf oruvaq gur tngr, ohg v pna'g svther bhg ubj gb erfphr gur 'bss' obk sebz gurer. boivbhfyl v pna'g chfu vg onpx bhg. v'ir gevrq gb znavchyngr gur cbegny fb v pbhyq chfu vg bagb gur bss obk naq fjnyybj vg gb ab ninvy. unir nyfb gevrq gb fbyir ol zbivat gur cbegny ba gur svefg fperra gbjneq gur oyhr pvepyr tngr, ab qvpr. ohg v thrff gy;qe v'ir ng yrnfg svtherq bhg ubj gb pyrne bhg gur k naq urneg tngrf.
Great job getting so far already! This is not an easy game.
Yeah those are both very tricky puzzles. 39 because it's very cramped and requires some good Sokoban and spatial reasoning, and 44 because the lynchpin is tough.
It's hard to hint because they're both pretty involved, but:
Hints for 39:
Hints for 44:
Since you're a little farther in this one, I'll give some more direct hints:
thanks much! i'll dig into these soon, but that latter hint on 44 is def something i was wondering and glad to have the nudges in the right direction, and similarly on 39 super helpful to know what the basic strategy i'm looking for is ( and I had accomplished bullet 3 on 39 so glad to have figured that out :) )
edit: whfg tbg 44--shaavrfg guvat, v unq abg erfrg gung chmmyr bapr, v jnf fhecevfrq gb svaq gurer unq orra gjb K'f! gung cyhf lbhe uvag naq v ernpurq gur oernxguebhtu cerggl dhvpxyl. irel sha yvggyr chmmyr.
Nice game. Love it
13 is confusing
Couple hints for 13 (decode with rot13):
I am having a hard time with some of the levels that have a hole in the floor... like Backup (18) and Errata (20). Is there a trick to these holes I'm not getting?
Good question! I don't think there's a specific unintuitive trick around the holes. The walls that pop up work the same as the holes (the only difference being a wall is created rather than a hole) so if you can solve level 4 you basically know everything you need to know about holes.
Gah.. I can't even see how to start 18 without going over the hole, and even then I'd need to steer each 'key' symbol over that point to get them to their 'keyholes'.. EDIT: Ok, of course, I'm forgetting all that I've been learning!.. Still stuck with how to get all the pieces in the required end position though!..
Damn, the solutions are so devious but so obvious when you get them! This game is going to take me a year at this rate.. love it.. kinda reminds me of Riko
I am loving this game, but I could really use a walkthrough... this gets really challenging!
Yeah, it's tough! Maybe I could introduce an in-game hint system. Need to think about it a bit. I have a day job so I can't dedicate all my time to this game and it takes a while to write good hints.
In terms of getting stuck, if you've given it a good shot I would suggest skipping ahead. Maybe something in a later level will trigger some understand that will help you with the previous one.
One thing that would be kind of cool is being able to use the mouse to mark the ground with some pen/brush tool. It would really help dealing with recursive portals.
any hints on how to do level 10?
Hints for level 10:
(use rot13 to decode)
I am very impressed with your neat puzzle design. And the best part is the puzzle elements are quite simple but are capable of great level design. I liked the game very much!
Fun game! Any advice on how to do #22 (and maybe #23 as well)?
Ah yeah, tricky ones!
(use rot13 to decode the hints)
Hints for level 22:
Hints for level 23 (tough level!):
Thanks! I’ve been able to do #23, but I’m still kinda stumped on #22. Honestly, the game gets rather challenging around that point, I haven’t been able to solve most of the puzzles after #21.
Regardless, it’s an incredibly unique puzzle game. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a puzzle game use teleporters/recursion as adeptly as your game has. It makes to excited to keep playing on!
Also, would you mind giving me the hint for #34 “Hidden”, please? Thank you.
Tough to write hints for these! Basically no content is "locked" in this game, so playing through the levels or getting stuck is just part of the experience. I don't want to be too explicit because seeing the answer won't be nearly as satisfying as arriving there in some way.
That said, I do plan on recording a walkthrough video at some point and maybe I'll come up with hints for all the levels and have an optional in-game hint system. Not sure yet!
Hints for 34:
(use rot13 to decode)
Seems like I've reached the limit of my smarts/ingenuity/patience at around lvl. 20.. 22 has got me totally stuck too.. Read your hints and yeah, I can get the right and centre into the RH portal but can't see how to get the left 1 into the LH portal or the contents of the other out of the centre island.. ?!.. EDIT: and yet I just got lvl. 23 reasonably quickly (15 mins?) which you consider tougher (with the aid of your hints admittedly)..
I know this is old, but: have you been able to figure out 22? I just finally got it after leaving the portal in the middle island bridge instead of taking it all the way up to the 1
how did you find it solved on the level 23
Been playing today and absolutely love this game, so many cool ideas in it 😊👍❤️
oh my word level 15 😂 🧠📤📥
Ha ha, no kidding.. I'd been getting thru them ok then that one stumped me for days but opened it up this morning and got it first try..
One of the freshest little puzzle games I recently played :)
im stuck on level 3, but its a really good game so i dont mind