Amazing job, such a fun and charming game you have here! I really love seeing student projects with this much personality.
I took some notes, since it's an early access, do you want me to share my feedback with you guys?
Good to hear! Of course this are just personal opinions, I'm no expert and I understand you have limited time, so do whatever you want with them :).
Disclaimer: I just saw that you updated the game, I played a previous version so some things I mention here may not be relevant anymore.
The platforming is quite dynamic and has a unique feel to it. The level is very interesting to play, it allows for a good amount of freedom, the different paths to reach the same goal made me replay the level (doesn't happen often). I loved seeing how there has been a lot of effort put into the level design, it really paid off. It also has a very nice length for this kind of project.
Good onboarding is something many of these kinds of projects lack, yours is not too bad but it's still nowhere near perfect. I can easily overcome the challenge with other moves that are not the intended ones, and just having the controller at the very beggining wasn't too helpful. The drawings on the wall are such a nice addition though (although I think some guide that tells you the separate steps of the action and its respective input would really help).
Even if I feel like some of the enemies don't add much, they contribute to make the game feel more interesting and fleshed out. I do have one issue with the basic(?) one: its behaviour just feels kind of awkward (one persistent thing I noticed is that when they hit you they go back to its default position and then get alerted again?, also they feel way too big for me to stomp on them, even if I actually can) which feels very weird considering how polished the rest of the AI is. I like the shielded variation since the regular ones barely have a chance to do anything because they're very easily killable. The platform and the vacuum ones are very fun, but the vacuum one barely gives the player any chance to interact with it, it's so fast and aggressive.
I really don't like the ragdoll when you get hit, it gives a very cheap look... it really feels completely out of place in this game. Also, you should add some invincibility time, since you can get hit by the smoke multiple times and again breaks the polished look.
The art look amazing!! I'm really looking forward to the final release. Love the colors, the textures and the overall feel, good job on that. The level is looking amazing, its impressive how good the buildings turned out (although I'm not a fan of the inside of the windows), and it's a big achievement that you were able to make a visually interesting level just with buildings and rooftops, especially with a level as big as this one. I particularly like how the enemies look and move, and how they contrast the rest of the elements while still fitting the style, loved their designs.
I would love to see more of the buildings with rounded corners like at the beggining, it really makes a difference. Also please try to get the aqueduct done if you have the time, it shouldn't be too complicated to make and it would be such a nice addition!!
The shader that hides buildings really needs a lot of work, I assume you are already aware of it, but as it is right now, it gives such an amateur feeling to the game, when most of the game doesn't. Not only because of how it interfere with buildings that are not blocking the view (which I think should be easy to solve), but mainly because the way the space "inside" the buildings is handled now doesn't work or look good, try to look up references for that!
Again, regarding shaders, it's so sad to see the water as it is right now surrounded by very polished and nicely textured stuff, but I assume it's a placeholder as it is now?
Some of the VFX are very good and well integrated, but others are lacking, specially the enemy alert one (its too big, doesn't fit too well, and the shape itself looks amateur) and the enemy's shield (it's too shiny, takes up so much space (why does it need two rings?), and doesn't fit in with the rest of the game either). Also the smoke one, it's not bad but some polishing could be nice.
All the UI looks so professional and slick, really. I was so impressed by the end screen, it is so satisfying, I loved it (the extra challenges that the game offers are a very cool addition too). The settings menu is also on another level for the standart for this kind of game, good job. The main menu as it is right now feels quite empty, but I assume the background is a placeholder.
I do have to say, it's such a shame that the game looks this good in-game, and then some of the 2D assets don't keep up with it (it's usually the opposite). I'm mainly talking about the logo, I wouldn't have a problem with it if the overall quality of the art wasn't so high, but it is, and that is not reflected in the logo at all, it looks like it's importance has been underestimated. I share this feeling with the pizza in the menus, the banner and the controller, although definitely not as strongly. I think that, if you have the time, it's worth investing some more time on a good logo, it is one of the first things that will be seen from your game, and it can make such a big difference.
That was all, hope at least something was helpful. I'm very excited to see the final release. You should be very proud of your work, good job guys!