Overview

The Withered Garden is an atmospheric dark-fantasy puzzle survival game made for the game jam. Set in a dying, corrupted world, it combines strategic match-3/collapse mechanics with survival resource management. Every step you take matters, as the infection never stops its advance.

The Story

An ancient, toxic Blight has breached the sacred borders of the Eternal Forest, threatening to suffocate its roots and wipe out all living things. The world is defiled, and only two guardians can stand against the spreading rot: a resilient Elven Druid and a dormant Stone Golem. Together, they must cleanse the corrupted layers of thorns, roots, and crystals before the forest completely collapses into darkness.

Gameplay Mechanics

• Static Tactical Phase: Unlike classic falling-block puzzles, the board remains perfectly static while you play. You must plan your moves carefully, targeting the lowest blocks in each column to methodically clear the corruption from the bottom up.
• The Relentless Advance (Step-by-Step Collapse): Every time the countdown timer hits zero, the Blight takes a step forward. The entire grid of blocks slides down toward the screen, and new corrupted layers spawn from the top, threatening to overwhelm your positions.
• Dynamic Resource Balancing: Survival depends on two vital elements: Sacred Dew (Water) and Life Spores (Oxygen). Clearing basic weeds drains your energy, forcing you to look for glowing resource blocks embedded within the grid.
• Character Evolution: You start the round as the Druid, clearing paths with your mystical scythe. By harvesting enough Sacred Dew and Life Spores, you will awaken and evolve the sleeping Stone Golem. Once active, the Golem can shatter heavy crystals and trigger massive chain reactions, wiping out entire layers of the Blight at once.
• Smart Grid Repair: If you manage to completely clear a column, the falling debris from the top will dynamically cascade down, settling in a natural, rocky steps-pattern based on the height of neighboring columns, preventing unnatural floating tiles.

Key Features

• 6 Challenging Levels:  Journey through different areas of the corrupted woods, from The Withered Gates to the chaotic Eternal Bloom.
• Escalating Difficulty: As you progress, the Blight advances faster, your resource consumption increases, and the spawn rates of helpful item blocks drop significantly.
• Pure Godot Power: Developed entirely from scratch using the Godot 4.2 Engine.
• Zero AI Assets: All sprites, layouts, and sound elements are made entirely by hand or sourced from legal, curated CC0 pixel-art assets.

Controls

• Left Mouse Click / Tap: Target and cleanse the lowest active block in any column.