Gallant - mangomob

Final Score: 4/5 Stars

Before starting the game, it's clear that it was developed by a relatively large team, at least within the scope of Itch.io: two programmers and five artists. This will raise my expectations, especially regarding the visuals.

I read the jornal written by the team, and I noted the following:

• The jornal is well organized, both with meeting notes and general images.
• In the first meeting, it's possible to understand both ideas and objectives. This proves that goals were set.
• I see that the adrenaline premise has been maintained, and this is something I will evaluate during gameplay.
• The character development makes sense, but I felt that in the initial prototype, not much thought was given to the character's lore or any story element that would influence their appearance, which detracts a bit from the personality.
• The diagrams created throughout the document are well-structured, and it's possible to understand what each one is trying to convey.
• One thing I didn't understand was: The character has the bonus of being able to generate adrenaline, which essentially makes him better. But there's nothing that actually harms our player, since generating adrenaline doesn't have a downside, it only generates benefits without punishing at any point, at least that's what the jornal implies.
• The research on the architecture, besides being essential, becomes a very positive point for the team, as it shows concern for accuracy, without simply putting together a bunch of random models.
• Again, I feel that both the boss and the player character were thought out, but not thought out to be included in a lore or with something that gives them personality. Which leads them to become generic.
• The change in the State Machine chart of the Boss, I feel, is proof that the team always sought to improve what it already had as a base. Never clinging to the "We already have this, let's not waste any more time" mentality.

Upon opening the game, a minor error in the image size is noticeable, darkening the background. This is due to Canva not adjusting to screen size, something easily configured through Canva's inspector.

Controller compatibility is evident from the menu, as everything can be controlled with the controller without needing to use the mouse and keyboard. Therefore, this gameplay will be guided purely by the controller.

Opening the settings menu, I notice a simple menu with volume options, which isn't bad at all, considering that most indie games on the platform don't even have a simple menu. So I'm glad I can at least configure the sound.

The key mapping is currently in a .txt file, which works initially, but I think it would be better to adapt it in the future, either in the Settings menu or in an in-game tutorial. At least with messages on the ground, like in Dark Souls. CORRECTION: An in-game "tutorial" with key binds is implemented.

The animations are simple, but you can tell that all or most of them were done by the development team. Which honestly becomes a huge factor for me, as it shows the developers' care.

I missed at least one healing item during combat.

The art direction is interesting, because since most things were designed by the team, everything seems homogeneous and things work well together. It may not be the most realistic visuals in the universe, but it has its own identity.

I feel that the boss's motion-capture animations DON'T MATCH the simplicity of the game. The player itself doesn't have motion-capture animations, which makes the boss seem out of place.

The boss has very minimal health and a generally easy-to-dodge repertoire of attacks.

The absence of a sprint was noticeable, because sometimes when rolling, we distance ourselves too much from the boss and lose the timing of the attack. A simple sprint would solve this.

The death and victory screens are unappealing, with fonts that don't really match the game's style. This makes it seem like a simple mobile game.

I felt that the adrenaline-fueled mechanics were barely present during gameplay, and when they were, I didn't notice any difference.

Overall, I liked the presence of a development document, something very rare on the platform, but I feel that the game is a WIP that, if still under development, could become a solid project even if it's just Boss Rush. There are other Boss Rush games on the market that have managed to attract a certain audience, such as Eldest Souls with its nearly 3000 positive reviews on Steam.