Game review
20461 Dioretsa
7.5 / 10
- Developer
- burntcustard (John)
- Publisher
- burntcustard
- Released
- 1 August 2019
- Platforms
- desktop
- Genre
- action
- Monetisation
- free
- Players
- true
The short version
A genuinely playable local-multiplayer Asteroids-like for js13k 2019, with an appealing time-rewind twist on the formula. Confirmed working end to end - joining two separate control schemes, readying both up, and flying both ships independently in the actual arena - after working out that the join/ready sequence needs deliberate, held key presses rather than instant taps. Correctly and honestly shipped desktop-only, since the developer built this exclusively for keyboard and gamepad with no touch path at all.
Biggest strengths
- Confirmed genuinely playable end to end, not just at the title screen - a full sequence was played through directly: joining a second player on a distinct control scheme (WASD/ZQSD) alongside the first (arrows), readying both up in the lobby, and independently thrusting each ship inside the actual asteroid-field arena, watching both react correctly to their own separate inputs
- A real local multiplayer implementation with per-scheme joining (arrows, WASD/ZQSD, or gamepad) and an option to fill empty slots with AI players, so it's playable solo as well as with a second person on the same keyboard
- Clean, appealing vector-line visual style with genuinely minimalist but readable ship, asteroid, and UI art
Biggest weaknesses
- The join-and-ready flow is genuinely fussy to operate: this game's input polling did not reliably register very brief, instantaneous key taps during testing - only real, deliberately-held key presses reliably joined a player or toggled ready state, which cost real time to work out and could frustrate a first-time player who expects a single tap to register
- No touch support of any kind, so it's simply unavailable to phone visitors by design
- A short, single-arena js13k jam entry rather than a game with levels or long-term progression
Who it's for: Fans of classic Asteroids who want a couch-multiplayer twist (or solo play against AI opponents) on a real keyboard.
Our recommendation: play
7.5 / 10
Opening
20461 Dioretsa (Asteroids spelled backwards, minus a letter to fit the js13k 2019 theme) is a local-multiplayer take on the arcade classic, adding a time-rewind ability to the usual thrust-turn-shoot loop. Up to several players can join on the same keyboard using distinct schemes, or fill empty seats with AI opponents.
Correctly desktop-only, and confirmed why
The developer describes this openly as a "desktop entry," and that holds up under inspection: the input code defines control schemes only for arrow keys, WASD/ZQSD, and gamepads, with no touch or pointer handling anywhere. It's correctly and accurately shipped here under the desktop-only tier rather than being forced onto a touch shelf it was never built for.
Getting into the game, and a real usability wrinkle
Reaching actual gameplay took real, careful testing rather than a glance at the title screen. The flow is: press a direction key to join as Player 1 on that scheme, press a WASD key to join Player 2, then each player presses their scheme's accept key to move from "selecting" to "ready" - once every joined player is ready, the match starts. That much is a legitimate, working local-multiplayer lobby design. The wrinkle worth flagging honestly: brief, instantaneous key taps did not reliably register with this game during testing - only genuine, deliberately-held key presses consistently joined a player or toggled their ready state. Once that was understood, the full sequence worked cleanly and repeatably.
Real gameplay, confirmed
With both players readied up, the match dropped into a proper asteroid-field arena: a large central asteroid, smaller drifting fragments, and two independently-controlled ships. Holding the thrust key for each player in turn produced clear, correct movement for that player's ship alone, with the other ship staying in place until its own controls were used - genuine, working per-player input separation, not a shared or confused control scheme.
Final Verdict
A well-made js13k entry with a real, functioning local-multiplayer Asteroids loop and a nice rewind twist, let down only by a lobby flow that takes a moment to figure out. Worth it once you know the trick, and honestly and correctly kept off the touch shelf where it could never have worked anyway.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Confirmed genuinely playable end to end, not just at the title screen - a full sequence was played through directly: joining a second player on a distinct control scheme (WASD/ZQSD) alongside the first (arrows), readying both up in the lobby, and independently thrusting each ship inside the actual asteroid-field arena, watching both react correctly to their own separate inputs
- A real local multiplayer implementation with per-scheme joining (arrows, WASD/ZQSD, or gamepad) and an option to fill empty slots with AI players, so it's playable solo as well as with a second person on the same keyboard
- Clean, appealing vector-line visual style with genuinely minimalist but readable ship, asteroid, and UI art
- Correctly and honestly shipped desktop-only - the developer describes this as a "desktop entry" and the input code confirms no touch handling exists anywhere, matching the shelf's desktop tier exactly as intended
- MIT licensed, no third-party analytics found in the built bundle
Cons
- The join-and-ready flow is genuinely fussy to operate: this game's input polling did not reliably register very brief, instantaneous key taps during testing - only real, deliberately-held key presses reliably joined a player or toggled ready state, which cost real time to work out and could frustrate a first-time player who expects a single tap to register
- No touch support of any kind, so it's simply unavailable to phone visitors by design
- A short, single-arena js13k jam entry rather than a game with levels or long-term progression