Hey everyone! We're thrilled to announce the first alpha release of Phantom of the Grove! This is our work-in-progress submission for Pirate Software Game Jam 16, where the theme is "You are the weapon."

In this game, you play as the vengeful spirit of an ancient woodland, defending the sacred Aya trees from relentless invaders. You don’t just wield weapons—you become the forest’s wrath: possessing loggers, activating deadly traps, and twisting the environment against those who seek to destroy it.

What’s in the Alpha?

• 🌲 Possession Mechanics – Take control of invading loggers and use their own tools against them.
• ⚔️ Combat & Traps – Strike fear into enemies with possessed attacks or lure them into nature’s wrath.
• 🌿 Environmental Manipulation – Shift the battlefield to your advantage and make the forest fight back.
• 👻 Spooky Forest Vibes – Haunt, hunt, and punish the trespassers in a rich, atmospheric setting.

How to Play

• Move: WASD + Mouse
• Ghost Mode: Click to possess / Space to unpossess
• Logger Mode: Left-click to fight / Right-click to throw weapons
• Regain Energy: Hover near a tree (as long as it's not dead!)
• Objective: Protect the forest at all costs!

We Need Your Feedback!

We’re focusing on making the gameplay feel great, and we'd love your thoughts. Try it out and let us know:

✔️ Does landing a strike feel impactful?

✔️ Do the controls feel smooth and intuitive?

✔️ Is the difficulty engaging and fun?

✔️ Are the enemy types varied enough to keep you interested?

✔️ Did you experiment with traps?

✔️ If you replayed, did you notice any strategic depth?

We’ll be posting more updates leading up to the full release on February 1, 2025, so stay tuned!

🔗 Play Phantom of the Grove on Itch.io!

Thanks for playing, and may the force forest's wrath be with you! 🌲🔥👻