The game has a strong visual style and definitely looks cool at first glance. That said, the experience felt confusing because it wasn’t clear how I was supposed to reach the elves or progress toward that goal, so I often felt unsure of what I should be doing. The controls also felt very difficult to handle, which made it harder to explore and experiment, and turned that confusion into frustration instead of curiosity.
Viewing post in HaluSeeNations jam comments
Hi,
You gave me a similar review. This isn’t my game so I can be more objective. This is an easy game. After reading the relatively short instructions, it was pretty straightforward.
People put effort and hard work into making their games.
If you wanna review them fairly, which I hope you do, I may have some advice.
Testing games might require a bit of effort at first, to figure out how to play and experience them more fully. Even many professional games require some patience at first.
Doing that allows a critic or playtester to provide relevant criticism that is constructive and builds a person up.
We are beginner game developers and perhaps an experimental game made by a beginner is frustrating. Especially when a game dev gets their hands dirty with game mechanics that are a bit brave and unfamiliar to players.
Your reviews are honest and you don’t want to sugarcoat things which is good!
You put in effort to review many games!
I feel that making a game puts a game dev in a vulnerable position.
Yes, fellow game devs should definitely be critical, especially with people who want to become professionals.
However, I feel that there’s a balance.
Considering how simple this game is, is it possible that wanting to help and provide feedback to as many people as possible can encourage quicker reviews? These can be less forgiving to experimental game mechanics. At some point it shifts the focus from whether a game works towards expecting games to provide a smooth learning curve right away.
Do you think beginner experimental games should prioritize a smooth learning curve, or is it okay if they’re a bit rough at first?
Thanks,
tHoG
it is meant to be a bit confusing. the theme is don't trust your eyes, and if you can't trust one of your senses it would be a bit confusing at first. if you just don't know what to do read the info I put in the comments and the discrib. if it's not clear for you how to reach the elfs I acchived what I wanted to. this is a simple puzzle game where instead of solving stuff with your wits, you need to experiment with the tools you have. Thanks for playing my game and thanks for the feed back, hope this helped!