It is nice to see the aesthetic from the 1D-metroidvania fleshed out like this. Is this in the same universe?
The gun pile mechanic is unique and a non-trivial implementation. It's pretty good flavor, especially for these 2D run-and-gun games that usually don't do anything too out there.
Horizontal movement is a bit slow and the enemies are a bit too spongy. If you're trying to emphasize the gun I suppose that is reasonable, but it does feel a little bit strange how you end up with mobility that's better in the vertical axis than horizontal. The vertical level is pretty solid and I think these vertical climbs are the best setup the game has at the moment.
It doesn't seem like there is a penalty for spamming parries. Doing just that seems like it might be the only way to keep the style meter up on bosses. IDK if a time-based chain/style meter mechanic is optimal for how this seems to be more on the methodical side. I guess I'd have to get good to figure that out.
The presentation is insanely polished already in all places. Well done.
Thanks. The setting is completely separate, but they share some themes while branching out to do different things with them. I see them as the opposite of each other.
Does the horizontal on-ground recoil feel slow or did the tutorial fail? It's a bit gimmicky but it adds to shooting direction decision making and works around mech animation restrictions. There's also a variant of it with holding down direction, but that's not tutorialized yet.
Missing a parry can be really bad, though that's mostly the case when you are playing aggressively. I'll do some more testing with the bosses - optimally the snake boss gets constantly harassed, but the acrobatics involved are insane. Theoretically taunting could cover for that in two ways. Gameplay can actually be far from methodical, as high momentum and aggression is viable without any limits - this is why the style meter works this way.
I understand the gun can build up momentum over time, and I do think it would benefit from doing that faster overall, but what I mean is that the instantaneous control you have over the character is far greater in jumps/wall jumps than it is in deciding whether to move horizontally and which direction to go. Perhaps once you know the levels you can just bounce around and never have to readjust, but, for learning them, vertical sections are a lot more wieldy and give you more to work with immediately. If blasting through with momentum is the intended design, maybe you could have the gun equivalent of a spin dash?
Thank you for your interest! Maybe I'll have the demo done by next Demo Day.
Thanks for clarifying, that's true. I biased the system to make player fight mid air too instead of clinging to the ground to prevent that playstyle pitfall. It kind of worked as intended then, and now I'm being dumb because I started expecting to have it both ways.
I'll experiment with dashing while working on the flamethrower, but I doubt I'd like it as a main mechanic. Momentum acts as a reward for skill and confidence, so it's never expected but rather encouraged (outside of the practice stage).
I only played the prologue but I had fun. The idea of the bullets filling up the room is interesting, is there a limit to this or could I fill a room so full that I softlock? I tried for a bit but it seems like you've taken that into account. It seems that especially when aiming up I'm not actually shooting at the crosshair but rather slightly left/right of it, which is kinda odd. I also quite quickly figured out I can kick projectiles in air before the tutorial told me, which is a plus. The bossfight was ok, although for the most part jumpkicking the guy seemed like the best strategy, but I still felt kinda like I'm just randomly flailing about without much intend or thought behind it.
Thanks. Levels have hand placed casing absorbents to avoid blocking the path. I'll make a dedicated shield holding animation for the boss to make the vulnerability visible.
Comments
small nitpick, but i feel like the animation from sliding backwards is too static
Pretty neat, filling up the screen with the bullets is fun
It is nice to see the aesthetic from the 1D-metroidvania fleshed out like this. Is this in the same universe?
The gun pile mechanic is unique and a non-trivial implementation. It's pretty good flavor, especially for these 2D run-and-gun games that usually don't do anything too out there.
Horizontal movement is a bit slow and the enemies are a bit too spongy. If you're trying to emphasize the gun I suppose that is reasonable, but it does feel a little bit strange how you end up with mobility that's better in the vertical axis than horizontal. The vertical level is pretty solid and I think these vertical climbs are the best setup the game has at the moment.
It doesn't seem like there is a penalty for spamming parries. Doing just that seems like it might be the only way to keep the style meter up on bosses. IDK if a time-based chain/style meter mechanic is optimal for how this seems to be more on the methodical side. I guess I'd have to get good to figure that out.
The presentation is insanely polished already in all places. Well done.
Thanks. The setting is completely separate, but they share some themes while branching out to do different things with them. I see them as the opposite of each other.
Does the horizontal on-ground recoil feel slow or did the tutorial fail? It's a bit gimmicky but it adds to shooting direction decision making and works around mech animation restrictions. There's also a variant of it with holding down direction, but that's not tutorialized yet.
Missing a parry can be really bad, though that's mostly the case when you are playing aggressively. I'll do some more testing with the bosses - optimally the snake boss gets constantly harassed, but the acrobatics involved are insane. Theoretically taunting could cover for that in two ways. Gameplay can actually be far from methodical, as high momentum and aggression is viable without any limits - this is why the style meter works this way.
How's your demo btw? I hoped to see it this DD.
I understand the gun can build up momentum over time, and I do think it would benefit from doing that faster overall, but what I mean is that the instantaneous control you have over the character is far greater in jumps/wall jumps than it is in deciding whether to move horizontally and which direction to go. Perhaps once you know the levels you can just bounce around and never have to readjust, but, for learning them, vertical sections are a lot more wieldy and give you more to work with immediately. If blasting through with momentum is the intended design, maybe you could have the gun equivalent of a spin dash?
Thank you for your interest! Maybe I'll have the demo done by next Demo Day.
Thanks for clarifying, that's true. I biased the system to make player fight mid air too instead of clinging to the ground to prevent that playstyle pitfall. It kind of worked as intended then, and now I'm being dumb because I started expecting to have it both ways.
I'll experiment with dashing while working on the flamethrower, but I doubt I'd like it as a main mechanic. Momentum acts as a reward for skill and confidence, so it's never expected but rather encouraged (outside of the practice stage).
I only played the prologue but I had fun. The idea of the bullets filling up the room is interesting, is there a limit to this or could I fill a room so full that I softlock? I tried for a bit but it seems like you've taken that into account. It seems that especially when aiming up I'm not actually shooting at the crosshair but rather slightly left/right of it, which is kinda odd. I also quite quickly figured out I can kick projectiles in air before the tutorial told me, which is a plus. The bossfight was ok, although for the most part jumpkicking the guy seemed like the best strategy, but I still felt kinda like I'm just randomly flailing about without much intend or thought behind it.
Thanks. Levels have hand placed casing absorbents to avoid blocking the path. I'll make a dedicated shield holding animation for the boss to make the vulnerability visible.
First time playing it, and I liked it, though with some reservations.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2136374686
Thanks a lot for the video, it will be plenty useful. There are some subtle things to learn, like some ledge spots not being obvious.