Is this by any chance inspired by the game Sanvein on PS1? It reminds me of the format of a top down shooter with short challenge rooms in a sort of "board game" style setup where you unlock more nodes as you go; but combined with more roguelike elements-- Which is an EXCELLENT idea but it has the exact same issue I had with Sanvein where despite the format being great (I love the worldbuilding and the way upgrades change your ship's look!!), the actual combat feels clunky, and it's also because you can only shoot where you're moving, meaning you have to awkwardly position yourself a lot to hit enemy hitboxes, especially super small enemies. It's frustrating!! You have an INCREDIBLE base for a game. I suggest you keep working on this and refine the hell out of the combat cuz' there's a lot of potential.
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yo that's actually mad you brought up Sanvein — I didn't know the name but I just looked it up and yeahhh I can totally see the resemblance now. That whole fast-paced challenge room thing definitely lives somewhere in my subconscious, so it probs crept in whether I meant it or not haha.
Totally fair on the shooting feedback too — you're spot on. I was going for that high-pressure movement-and-positioning vibe but yeah it ends up feeling janky sometimes, especially with small enemies. Definitely gonna tighten that up, I want it to feel way better without losing the chaos. Appreciate the kind words and the honesty, Also yeah — I think I accidentally made it extra hard 'cause I’m the worst at bullet hells in my friend group, so I was overcompensating. After hours of testing and playing the same rooms over and over, I guess I went a bit overboard without realising it haha. Definitely gonna dial it in a bit better for normal humans.seriously — I’m gonna keep hammering at this mess 'til it sings.