Clean pixel work and some nice character to the presentation, but I couldn't finish from frustrations.

PROS:

• The player character feels powerful and capable from the beginning even before any powerups.
• The audio is nicely mixed and the transition to the major combat felt smooth with a nice escalation of intensity.
• Things like the screen shake, particle poofs on door exits, and smooth camera movements relative to my aim are nice touches.

CRITIQUE:

• I died several times, but I only ever died in ways that felt "cheap" as a player.
  • I got shot several times by a random ranged guy that was off-screen and I didn't know he was there.
  • I ran into a ground guy as the screen was transitioning and the camera movement for the transition was slow enough that it hadn't caught up to my player character yet.
  • I exited the major combat pit to the right and forgot that there was a spike pit gap right out of that exit. I fell into that gap and died before the slow transition camera caught up to my character.
• I acquired the double-jump upgrade, but didn't even realize that I'd acquired it until I thought I'd gotten stuck in a pit and just started hitting the jump button in hopes that something might happen. It would be nice if the game had given some extra moment of feedback that I had acquired double jump when that actually occurred.
• I saw that you were working with a limited palette for the art, but a lot of the decorative elements spread around the floor stood out enough that I thought they were important. That's something that the player can get used to and learn, but finding ways to make the objects more subtle so that they turn into "background" lets players recognize that they're there without worrying about interacting with them.

This game is super smooth and fun! I really like the camera movement/transitions! Feels very polished and professional.  Also, I like how the currency flies to the player so you don't have to go get it hehe. Great job!