This was pretty fun. I'm afraid I got caught at the second to last level (having gone the North route) and couldn't reach the end, but it was an interesting concept. I admit I was a bit confused by two things at first:
1) The diamonds in the reward screen. I initially figured they meant the characters' lives, and if they didn't die I wouldn't have to spend diamonds on them. I only realized later that they were "use" counts, and would go down no matter what, so long as the unit was deployed.
2) The numbers next to each character in the battle screen. I initially figured they meant levels, and ended up focusing down enemies depending on their "level", but only realized later on that they indicated turn order.
And if I could offer more feedback:
1) Let players reposition units by dragging the unit around (before the battle starts). As is, I have to drag their portrait from the bottom each time I want to reposition them, even after I've already dragged them out. It would be nice if I could just drag the deployed sprite to a different spot instead.
2) A combat speed between 1x and 10x. 1x was too slow, and 10x was so fast it essentially skipped the battle, and any information that would have been learned from it. 5x or something near it would have the best of both worlds.
3) Perhaps this doesn't need to be said since the game is in pre-alpha, but certainly idle animations and sfx (for player and enemy characters) would go a long way.
4) This connects to 2 and 3, but way more feedback. I often have absolutely no idea what was going on from moment to moment. I've played other auto-battle games, and even when things are extremely hectic (as in Team Fight Tactics), I can still *see* who is hitting who, what status effects are being applied, and how characters are reacting to each other from visual and audio feedback. Right now, I don't even know which abilities characters are using. Someone acts, someone else's health goes up or down, repeat.
4.1) Since I can't tell what's going on mid-battle, the actual battle doesn't really matter, since little can be perceived or learned by watching it. Which - evidentially - means any tactical depth is erased, since I can't see how any of these units are interacting with each other (especially at 10x speed). In other words I can't learn from these battles and make better tactical decisions in the future. As is, the game comprises of positioning units, pressing play, and repeat until success - but it's missing the tactical layer of "learn what went right and wrong" - and that minimal experience may destroy this game if it doesn't improve. If auto-battlers like TFT, or even other games in other genres (like the Civilization series) can make auto-battles both interesting to *watch* and convey enough information to help players *understand* what going on during them (and use that knowledge for future battles), this game certainly can.
Otherwise, it's a very promising experience. The visuals are exceptionally impressive, even if they clash against the static pixel art, though adding idle animations and a lot more polish and feedback will certainly mend the issue. I look forward to this game improving and becoming something really exceptional.
itch.io is an open marketplace for independent game creators. It's completely free to upload your content. Read more about what we're trying to accomplish and the features we provide.