itch.io

🎯 First Impressions
Upon launching the game, I was immediately dropped into what looked like a "Try Again" screen, complete with a score already displayed—as if I had previously played (I hadn’t). It was a bit disorienting and made me question if the game had started correctly. That said, hovering over the options menu was a delightful surprise—the little character raising their hand on hover was a charming, personality-filled touch that instantly gave the game some heart.

Initially, however, the gameplay itself was confusing. After starting, intense music began (fantastic track choice!), and suddenly the Glorbo—your colorful orb-shaped pursuer—would teleport around the screen and end the game in seconds. I honestly thought I was doing something wrong.

Eventually, after trial and error, I discovered the game defaults to “Lunatic Mode.” Once I adjusted the difficulty in the options (after figuring out I had to click the flag to exit—unclear UI moment), the game became playable, and its mechanics much more understandable: avoid Glorbo, who chases your mouse cursor. Simple in concept, but effective once it's working properly.

🔥 Fun & Engagement
Getting into the actual gameplay was a bumpy ride due to initial difficulty settings and UI confusion, but after contacting the dev and reading the updated "read me" on the Itch page, things started clicking. The experience is minimalistic but has the skeleton of a fun time-waster or a future mobile game. The rapid difficulty curve made the learning experience more frustrating than fun at first. I’d highly recommend starting with a slower Glorbo and gradually increasing his speed to better onboard players. With that tweak, I could easily see this being an addictively simple game loop.

🎨 Theme Use
The theme was interpreted simply but effectively. A colorless world with one vibrant entity obsessed with catching you—check. It’s not deep or layered, but it fits the theme and communicates it visually.

👁 Visual Presentation
There were some great choices here, like Glorbo’s shifting expressions and the character animation in the menu. Those touches injected much-needed personality. However, during gameplay, it was difficult to tell what was happening visually. A more defined player character (maybe one that mirrors the mouse cursor) would help build a stronger connection and sense of control. As it stands, it’s unclear who you are on screen—which can break immersion.

🔊 Sound & Music
The music was fantastic—high energy and fitting, especially as it ramps up with the tension of gameplay. That said, there’s definitely room to add more “game juice” through sound effects. Glorbo making contact with the player could use an impactful sound cue, and even subtle effects for hover, chase, and fail moments would enhance the moment-to-moment experience.

🛠 Technical Execution
This category needs the most work—but it’s worth noting that the developer was transparent about the game being unfinished due to personal reasons. The issues with the game launching into an active state (complete with a leftover score) suggests that the game may not be initializing a fresh session per player, which could limit scalability and usability. The options menu also lacks clarity—players might easily get stuck or not even realize how to change settings. That said, once the difficulty was adjusted and the interface navigated, the core mechanic of Glorbo chasing your mouse functioned just fine. It’s a rough start, but the engine is there.

💡 Originality
A rapidly shape-shifting, face-changing orb of doom chasing my mouse? Yeah, I’ve never seen that before. Points for originality. The subtle option menu animation was also a creative flair that shows you’ve got a fun, whimsical approach to game feel—even in the menus.

✨ Polish
Understanding that the game is incomplete, there's still a lot of polish that needs to happen for it to become truly player-friendly. Key areas to focus on:

• Fixing the default “already in-progress” state at launch

• Improving the clarity and functionality of the options menu

• Scaling Glorbo’s speed to match player learning curves
  Each of these will go a long way toward making the game more approachable and enjoyable.

🧠 Final Thoughts
Colorless Ascent had a rocky beginning, and without developer contact or extra effort, I might have assumed it was broken. But beneath that confusion lies a unique little idea with the potential to grow into something quirky and fun. Glorbo is off-putting in the best way, and the game does create a weird tension that makes you want to keep dodging. There's still a lot of work needed, but I really wanted to highlight the elements I enjoyed—the animation personality, the music choice, and the core concept. With more development time, I think you’ve got the makings of a memorable little dodge-em-up here.