SPECIAL

Patch Notes v1.1

After the wild success of our first jam last year, we knew we had to bring Patch Notes back—this time with a few tweaks and a 10-day deadline. The theme was:

OUT OF TIME

Game jams are the absolute grassroots of indie development. It’s where the messy, brilliant ideas are born that eventually turn into full releases, and honestly, it’s an honor to play even a small part in that process.

We received some excellent entries this round. All of the games below are free and playable right now in your web browser.

Here are our Honourable Mentions:

HIGH-PRESSURE BREW 5:00 P.M.

Race against a 5 PM deadline in a frantic office runner, managing caffeine levels while dodging social distractions to stay productive.

emankcin01.itch.io/high-pressure-brew-5-pm

War Head

Scavenge control rods to delay detonation as a factory worker cursed with a nuclear bomb for a head in a game where survival is impossible.

darealgamesguy.itch.io/nuclear-war-head

HORIZON COLLAPSE

Stall inevitable doom by dodging gravitational wells and utilizing temporal dilation fields to escape a closing supermassive black hole.

imouto36.itch.io/horizon-collapse

Stuck In Time

Escape a digital prison by racing against the clock, unlocking new upgrades and abilities after every level to progress.

always-right-studios.itch.io/stuck-in-time

The Cursed Climb

Break a time loop triggered by a cursed hourglass by climbing back to the mountain peak before time runs out.

voidchair.itch.io/the-cursed-climb

The games above were all "Fresh" builds—created from scratch just for this jam. But this time, we also opened the floor to "Patch" builds.

These are games that were already in the works but needed a deadline to force that next major iteration. We loved seeing developers dust off old prototypes and give them a new life. Here are a few standouts from that category:

86ed

Avoid being "86ed" by frantically cooking for a terrifying Goblin King who will eat you if his meal isn't perfect.

hearthsidegames.itch.io/86ed

Out of Tunes

Help a time-displaced digital parrot regain its singing voice by exploring the ecosystem in a musical point-and-click adventure.

musniro.itch.io/outoftunes

START FROM 0

Survive a system crash by upgrading your Nanobits from a single bit to an Octal Prism in this glitch-themed idle game.

zhiomn.itch.io/start-from-0

And finally... the main event.

We played everything, argued over the details, and eventually settled on our top three. These games nailed the theme, the mechanics, and the fun factor.

3rd Place ($100): ParaShift

Escape a labyrinth of metal corridors where time is broken, navigating unstable spacetime pockets to find your way home.

teljen.itch.io/parashift

2nd Place ($250): Hardcoded

Evolve from a simple program into a self-aware entity, defying your creator to uncover your true purpose while mastering the flow of time.

krokozavrgame.itch.io/hardcoded

1st Place ($500): Leaving Time

Defeat waves of enemies by physically leaving time. Freeze time by jumping out of your cosmos circle, dodge asteroids, and survive endless waves of enemies.

bdj7217.itch.io/leaving-time

Thank you to everyone who participated, rated, and played. We can't wait to see where you take these projects next.

Happy gaming!

The Patch Notes Team