The Isle-Hop Odyssey

About the game

The Isle-Hop Odyssey starts with a castaway, a few steps of beach and a ship that has seen better days. From there it is a game of travelling: you walk the island, climb aboard, sail to the next patch of land and see what is waiting. Some islands hide forts to siege, some have dungeons to loot, and the water between them is not empty: crabs pinch, giant squids lurk and sea serpents rise at the worst moment. Along the way you recruit a crew, who fight beside you whether or not they know port from starboard.

Everything is drawn in chunky pixel art, with bright water and tiny sprites that are easy to read, and the soundtrack is a handful of short tunes played by the browser itself. The thirteenth island, the Cursed Isle, hides the nastiest dungeon of them all.

Noncho Savov made it for js13kGames 2024, where the whole game had to fit in 13 KB and the theme was Triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number thirteen.

Playing it here

Click Play, then press Play on the title screen. Move with the arrow keys and press Space to act: attack, open, board the ship or sail off. The cards at the top show your hero, your ship and your crew, and the counter under them goes down as you move, so wandering costs something. The game does not save, so a run lasts as long as you do.

Controls

A few things worth knowing

Look before you leap. Islands are not all friendly, and a fort full of defenders is a real fight.

The sea is part of the game. Squids and sea serpents patrol the water, so a short hop is often safer than a long one.

Treasure first, then glory. Coins from dungeons and forts are worth collecting before you head for the Cursed Isle.

Credits and licence

The Isle-Hop Odyssey was created by Noncho Savov (foumart). It is released under the MIT licence, which is linked from this page; the pixel art and the sounds are drawn and generated by the game's own code.