Hello! Welcome to Feedback Quest 8! My name's Hythrain, a co-host and one of the streamers for this event! This feedback is being written live as I stream your game! If you're interested in seeing my live reaction, let me know and I can send you a link to the VOD once it's posted to YouTube!
So my normal approach for any game in these events is simple: I get the game, make sure it's not a virus, then play it with as little information on how to play as possible. This way, I can judge how intuitively someone can figure out the game. Only if it's obvious that I need to read more will I do so. I note this so you can get a sense where some of these feedback comes from. In addition, I want to note that feedback and rating are different; don't use this feedback to gauge what I'll rate, nor should you view my rating as entirely indicative of my feedback.
First, let's talk visuals. I love the chalkboard look, especially when you fall from a great height and land on the ground. The chalk dust really gives a sense of the environment playing into the experience. While the drawings are all rudimentary, this is something I'd expect from working with a chalkboard so it's a great way to keep simple graphics and offer a legitimate explanation for why they're so simple.
Next, I want to cover the controls. I'll admit, the default controls are really funky. Trying to play using A and D to move, then Q and E to do stuff feels a little awkward. I found out after I completed the demo that I could remap the controls, which I immediately set movement to the arrow keys. At that point, everything felt far easier to play. Personally, I think arrow keys (or at least using keys that would be more oriented to the right hand, since you're also using the left hand for other controls) as the default would be better. That said, I would 100% make a note in the tutorial that players can rebind controls for those who like to just jump into a game. There are some other things regarding controls that I want to bring up, but I'm going to save that for when I discuss gameplay.
Sound wise, this game is pretty basic. The only real sounds are when you hit a switch, land on the ground after a high fall, teleport and when you die. There's no music, but at this stage it doesn't really matter. I legit had a lofi playlist running that just felt like it fit with the game, so if you want to know the music I had running just let me know.
Okay, gameplay time! The puzzles in the demo didn't ever get too difficult. Most of the time I was delayed by my lack of remembering I can teleport. However, there were two things that really bothered me. The first was how the screen moved around. When the entire stage was limited to a single screen, there was no problem. However, the moment a stage went into multiple screens it resulted in some awkwardness. The screen will shift a little just before the entire screen shifts to the next. This feels really awkward, especially when you're in level 8 on those moving platforms that go through screen transitions. Not being able to see what's ahead until the big shift happens can be stressful in a not-fun way. Instead of this system, I would recommend having it that the camera always has the player centered on it... that is, until the camera hits an outer limit of the stage, at which point the camera will only move when they move away from the related border. That said, you CAN still do stages with the screen transition. However, I'd recommend removing the camera moving to follow the player a bit right before the transition and instead either just do the transition right away or use arrows to indicate where they are. This function should also be limited ONLY to left and right, as letting it go up and down can have some... unintended consequences.
The other thing that bothered me relates to the controls and how precise you need to be. Even with double jumps, some jumps felt far more challenging than others because trying to run to the edge and jump at the last second can often fail, instead causing the player to use their mid-air jump. Since this is also a platformer, things like this need can really make things not fun for players. I'd recommend trying to find a way to make it easier for players to make those last second jumps. Doing so would likely also fix another issue I had, which was how if you're on the edge enough you can just slide off it.
The last thing I want to cover relates to the mechanics related to losing limbs. First, I'd recommend having a tutorial level regarding this mechanic that explains how the icons in the top right work. Second, I'd recommend making the icons fit into the overall aesthetic more, looking like they're written with chalk and are also on the chalkboard but still move around on their own. Lastly, instead of making it that limbs just break off and remain, I'd say you should make them get erased with a cloud of dust to indicate it happening. This would fit the aesthetic better than limbs just being removed and falling off.
That's all I got! Overall, this game was cute and fun! I hope to see more of it!
P.S. Is there a way to get that upper flag on stage 8?