Hi there, thanks for joining the thatgamejam feedback pairing event. I'd like to share some feedback from an anonymous playtester! Hope it could be helpful!
Gameplay:
I played the game solo, but this worked quite well. The game is very short which is fine. I really like how both have there unique abilities to help each other.
Improvement Recommendations:
I use a European keyboard QWERTZ layout, which is not compatible with the one used for development (I guess US). And it is not linked to the physical keyboard (e.g /). I could only play it after installing US keyboard, which I only do for that game, but would have quit it at that time normally,
Give the animations of both players a offset. Currently they do the same animation at the same time which looks off,
The lights feel "wrong" because they don't really follow the pixel art look,
Intro images could be shown each like 1.5-2x longer,
Add normal maps to the pixel-art which interacts with lights,
Not having checkpoints and to restart the whole level is annoying after a while,
Time should re-fill after use slowly, not when depleted or make it like the gravity ability running until depleted,
Bugs I found:
Once Background Music is "OFF" and set back to like middle, there is no music until a restart,
UI Transitions are very slow. You can still click on things on fade out, which retriggers the fade out animations,
On tabbing out of the game sometimes the audio stops until a restart of the game,
In the second level you can complete it almost without solving any puzzles. The first one you can just jump over the barrier and the last part you can walk with the boy into the loading zone for the end cutscene,
Narrative / Theme:
I think the interpretation for coop is nice and fits very well. Narratively there is a short story and happy ending which makes it a small but enjoyable story.
Visual:
The pixel art is very nice. I really like the design of the characters. Unfortunately the pixel art is not consistent in size and the lights don't interact with the environment and don't follow the pixel art theme.
Audio:
The audio is nice, but sometimes does no longer loop. SFX are missing for walking, which would make it a little bit more atmospheric I think.
UI/UX:
The UI works well for me. It is simple and readable. Animations are for me personally way to slow and feels sometimes un-responsive, like doing nothing.
Game Feel:
The overall feeling is nice. The controls could need some polish, like make it more snappy. Also the start is harsh for learning the abilities, especially the time one where I thought to run with the boy and died a lot. I think the environment could need some particles and ambience. It feels very clean for what I think it should be.
Additional:
In my experience coop games don't work well for game jams, as a lot of players are playing solo. Else it was a very good game and has good pacing and length.