Requested feedback:
- I would be interested in a finished and polished version of the game
- More depth in some form, at it's core the game is great, and gameplay is great, see more in #3 and the additional critiques below
- I think the game is absolutely great and a ton of fun as a distillation of an idea, and is a solid starting point. As it stands however, it lacks in staying power and invitation. I have an interest in video games as art (visually, mechanically, performatively, theoretically, etc.), so it's enough for me for it to be in front of me and part of this jam to want to get into the game, try it out, see all it's bits and flaws.
For your average player though, you'll need to consider who your intended target audience is, what their genre conventions are, what their typical buy in is, and what their expected reward or return of investment is. It seems like you have an idea of what the first two are. For the buy in, this is the reason a player wants to play the game in the first place, and this can be adjusted in the game / store page by anchoring the player's expectations either visually or narratively with the trailers, screenshots, title screen, and prologue of the game. The reward a player expects can vary, but it will be related to their buy in. These are generally intrinsic rewards, and some games achieve this through story, narrative, character development, progression, and simply shiny lights.
Further smaller critiques:
- I really like the art design. The sprites and animations are really well done.
- Arrow keys don't light up on the tutorial like WASD or the Mouse keys
- With the attacks triggering from the mouse, it's odd to have the attacks be based on movement. My brain wants the attacks to go in the direction of the mouse instead of movement. This could be remedied by moving the attack buttons to the keyboard as well.
- The character appears above vertical walls
- The Juice bar overflows. I missed what it meant in the tutorial, but i saw it while reviewing the VOD.
- I'm not sure if one of the doors is bugged, but I couldn't get through it.
- The game crashed when attempting to quit
The link to the VOD is below, and will be available for 60 days. If needed for longer please reach out, and a highlight can be made.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2564275687?t=0h50m6s