Hey! I'm Irene, I think the previous comment here was by Asli, and I fully agree with everything she's said so far, but I felt I had to congratulate you personally on such a brilliant game!!
I've been playing quite a few games this jam and have seen some really cool ideas and mechanics, as well as nice visuals and audio. Your game does have all that, but it also has some things that are much more difficult to achieve: perfect execution, free of glitches and an amazing balance. From the progression in difficulty, to the way the game teaches you how to play it intuitively and how it allows you to learn and get better, this is a true gem. I also loved how fair it is, how you can rely on dashing towards an area that is not seen in the screen currently, without fear of getting trapped or having to make a sudden movement to avoid danger. I also loved the design of the puzzles, the hidden areas and even when it's a difficult game, i loved the difficulty!!
And then there's the timer when you find the key... I think it's the only thing that takes away from the overall experience. I actually find that it clashes a lot with the rest of the game which, while fast paced, allows you to plan and think your next moves. The best way i can describe how I played most of it was "measure twice, cut once". Take a bit of time while in a safe space to catch up your breath and plan the next few moves. Rushing to find the key makes that impossible, at least for me. It also adds a lot of unnecessary frustration. I don't necessarily think that checkpoints would be required (or needed; as I said, i like the difficulty). But maybe getting rid of the timer altogether or, perhaps, giving the player the possibility of "collecting time", i.e., have the time given be proportional to the gems / collectibles that we already have, which would, in turn, be a way to encourage to try and explore the whole place.
I'm still battling level 3, trying to get the key to the door, and definitely will continue trying. Definitely not willing or ready to let that cute little ghost trapped with the evil ones!
Read somewhere here that this is your first game? Wow!! Keep at it, you're a natural!! Kudos on a true gem!!!
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Wow, I can't descibre the feeling of reading that. It's a motivation boost hahaha, thank you so much! I tryed my best to make this a polished and clean experience.
I'm glad you felt that way, I worked a lot to make sure that you could predict the next moves/traps to avoid unfair deaths. Reading that makes me trully happy!
I'm thinking about letting the timer be an optional feature. I'm planning on presetting it to hard and beyond difficulties but always giving the option to toggle it off/on. What do you think about that? Making a feature of collecting time is a good way to do soften that, but some people did not like the timer so maybe just giving the toggle option would be better, I dont really know hahah.
HAHAH, loved that. Lets save that little ghost from the evil ones! \o/ Glad you kept with it, I'd love to know when you beat the game.
Yeah it's my first game haha, thanks a lot for the kind words. It's really encouraging! :DDDD