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Looking for feedback on my WIP puzzle game

A topic by Enjoy Tomorrow created 49 days ago Views: 110 Replies: 3
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(1 edit)

Hello,

I've recently released V0.5 of my puzzle game, CHAR.CHAR. It is incomplete (roughly 40% finished) however I would estimate it still has around two hours of gameplay at least, if someone were to play it blind. I obviously do not expect anyone to take the time to play through all of the content it has currently, but I have had a very hard time receiving much feedback with it. As a puzzle game, feedback is very important for me to understand what needs to be improved or made more easy/difficult. Any feedback that comes to mind could be helpful.

As for the description of the game itself, it has very surreal and solemn visuals, all done in a pixelated style. It is not a horror game and has no jump-scares, although it ended up having a bit of a creepy theme to it and some things can still cause people to jump, even if that was not the intention. The game does have a story, although it's only hinted at through specific details and is more meant to be left up to interpretation.

If it sounds like it could be worth a try, you can play a short browser demo or download the game here: CHAR.CHAR by Enjoy Tomorrow

(+1)

🧩 QA Report – CHAR.CHAR (v0.5)

Playtest & Feedback by ArcaTsu – Freelance Game QA Tester

🧑‍💼 About Me

Hi! I’m ArcaTsu, a freelance QA Tester currently working in the video game industry. I specialize in manual testing, UX feedback, and atmosphere/immersion review, especially for projects with strong narrative or visual identity. I played CHAR.CHAR (WebGL version) for ~30 minutes, focusing on the early gameplay and the Heaven map, and here is my structured feedback

🧪 General Impressions

- Excellent immersion from the very start – The intro strongly evokes the feeling of booting a mysterious machine or OS, which immediately builds atmosphere
- Visual and narrative tone is very effective – The surreal, oppressive feeling works well and creates a real sense of mystery and subtle discomfort, which seems intentional
- ZQSD / WASD adaptation works automatically, which is great for international players (tested on AZERTY)
- No game-breaking bugs encountered during my session. The build is stable overall, and the world transition system seems consistent

🖱️ Mouse Handling Issues

- Mouse is not centered or hidden – Upon entering the game (WebGL), the mouse remains visible and off-center
- However, once entering an actual level (e.g. Heaven), clicking inside recenters and hides the mouse, which works well
- On each new area load, the mouse loses focus – requires clicking again to center/hide the cursor
- After interacting with certain objects (that trigger a UI popup), the cursor reappears, until the player clicks again to re-engage the game window

Suggestion: Automate cursor recentering and hiding on each map transition and after UI events, without requiring a click

🌍 Level & Atmosphere Feedback

- I tested the beginning + Heaven map. I fully completed the left side of the map but was unable to solve or access the right side – possibly due to puzzle difficulty (not necessarily a bug)
- The sense of being lost, observed, or manipulated is strong and well-executed. The game clearly plays with the player’s perception, and it succeeds in doing so without resorting to cliché horror elements
- The atmosphere and tone are consistent and well-controlled, supported by solid visual design and pacing

🚨 Technical Stability

- The game runs stably in WebGL, with no crashes, freezes, or broken transitions
- I did not encounter major bugs during my test. Some edge cases may still exist deeper in the game, but the tested portions were clean

Strengths

- Great atmosphere, immersive intro
- Smart visual tone and storytelling
- Responsive controls (incl. layout auto-adapt)
- No major bugs
- Intriguing level design

🛠️ Suggestions for Improvement

- Automate cursor recentering/hiding at each map transition
- Fix cursor behavior after UI popups / object interaction
- Consider hiding the cursor at game start to maintain immersion

Let me know if you'd like a deeper QA pass or a full UX breakdown across all maps. Your project has great potential – I’d love to see it evolve further!

ArcaTsu Freelance QA – Available on Fiverr https://www.fiverr.com/arcatsu?public_mode=true

I was not expecting to receive such a detailed response, I greatly appreciate someone taking the time to provide such a response, especially when it's from someone with extensive experience as well! Thank you for playing CHAR.CHAR and thank you for the feedback, this has made my day.

(+1)

Thank you so much, that truly means a lot.

I really enjoyed the experience you’ve built in CHAR.CHAR. The atmosphere, pacing, and subtle narrative all come together beautifully. You clearly have a strong artistic vision, and I’m excited to see how it evolves !