How well thought out was the design of all characters involved?
Epic. The ancient battle robot god that Crunkle asks you to fight against is super duper cool, probably the best looking boss I’ve ever seen. I especially like how it rises up from the ground, crushes a house with its huge metal fist and then stays in a shoulder slumped position. I also like how it transitions to other phases too and is a great downtime moment between the action. Seeing the boss launch missiles from its back and then having it rain down is awesome to see and dodge and I like the inclusion of warnings and telegraphing for all the rockets, missiles and rocks he slams into the air. The main character is excellent too with an awesome ledge hang ability that fits well with the level design and it's always great to see Crunkle again.
How much fun was the Boss Fight to play?
It's a lot of fun when the boss is attacking. I think keeping the action flowing more would be really awesome. Seeing the boss in different phases is really fun too as it makes you wonder what is going to happen next and the excellent music and sound effects compliment the game’s atmosphere perfectly.
Rate the Technical Complexity & Execution.
The ledge hanging is technical and really well executed. I like the random locations for the multiple attacks and their corresponding warnings. I also like how the rocks roll and how the boss can destroy the command buttons later on. Everything seems really well made and professionally put together and I liked using my gamepad to play the game.
Did the game include 2 distinct game genres and how well did they mash together?
Definitely. Mixing a platformer with an RPG in the way you have done is not something I’d ever think of but it works extremely well. Being able to jump on top of and take cover under RPG command buttons is a neat concept and I like how entering them does different types of attack and heal. Running inside what I think is the robot’s arm or gun in a 3D perspective is really cool and it reminds me of early dungeon crawler RPG's. I would have loved to see this and the dart attacks expanded even further gameplay wise but what there is, is really good.
Was the game well polished?
Yes. Having a well designed title screen with sound options and an intro cutscene is good polish. There’s great looking impact effects when the rockets land. The heart beating especially when beating faster on low health is great and made my own heart beat faster. To lean into that immersion further, it would be awesome if the music tempo increased slightly on low health. I also think a freeze frame on the game over screen and muting the explosion sounds during the 3D sequence would be awesome. It’s clear when the character is taking damage due to the flash effect. The game over and game completed screen is well made too.
Viewing post in Crunkle's Gauntlet jam comments
Wow thanks for all the feedback and thanks for playing.
For the first bit, thank you, I like that you saw what I was going for.
I agree with the fighting part, there a few things I think I can do to make the fights tighter, reduce the turn timer, kick off the next turn right after the player does their attack... maybe a few more things.
I try to make the game pad always work with my games.
I agree, I wanted to build on the attacks as the phases went on, but had to cut a lot due to real life getting in the way.
I think your feedback in the last one is solid, I had similar feelings to most of that and think the others are good to find a solution for.
Thanks for playing!