This was a really cool concept! I went in expecting more of a deckbuilder or card game, but instead I got a really neat little puzzle! They definitely got me thinking, though I wish there were a few more. Some other thoughts:
- I do feel like the audio balancing was pretty rough. Even a basic backing track would have gone a long way, especially since there was a lot of thinking time in silence, and the card selection noise was a bit loud and distracting.
- The visuals worked just fine, I think.
- I think everything was explained fairly well, though I don't see the point in the player having HP if every enemy attack is going to kill you anyways.
- I feel like some cards had more durability than they really needed. Cards like Patch Up only really seem valuable for their break effect, so the two attack before that felt a bit unnecessary to me. Perhaps more cards with effects beyond their break effect, or puzzles where you don't have Cascade as a major damage-dealer, could solve this?
- I think the difficulty progression was solid. The first puzzle in particular really stood out to me as a great way to get the player in the right headspace for the game as a whole.
I'm excited to see where this idea goes next! I'd definitely play a few more rounds.