Hey, I've returned after a sleep and managed to beat it this time. I took some notes on each level while I was playing, so here you go:
1 & 2. Elegant intro in < 5 seconds. "1. This is what you want to do. 2. BUT here's the catch."
3. Teaches two tricks effectively (use walls to queue actions without moving & use walls to block movement during queued actions)
4. I think this level could be cut. I felt confused when the reversal triggers. IT was feeling kinda random, but it just clicked each level has a different number of movements. I guess this level is supposed to teach that, but it took me two passes to properly notice it, so I think it needs to be clearer. Maybe a UI element (such as empty slots where the arrows appear) would help teach it passively.
5. The first encounter with a cross is a bit lacklustre. It’s just kinda sitting there not really posing a threat. It would be fun if you could introduce it in a way that baits the player into walking into it ans discover its effect in a cheeky way like that.
6. Teaches that you often just want to use a wall to go as far as possible into another wall. Useful bread-and-butter to reinforce here. It's important in the next puzzle.
7. OK this is where I gave up last time, it's such a huge difficulty spike. It feels like the wall trick can move you up or down one tile then it's very hard to know where to go from there... OK I made it two squares but stuck again… OK nice! It finally clicked how you need to use the symmetry of the level to your advantage! I was really screwing myself by locking in to just using one path.
8+ From here on out it was actually relatively easy. The new enemy type is fun but I feel like the game ends before he hits its potential. Something for a full version perhaps. The solution to the final puzzle quite a fun subversion too (**spoiler**: just go around!)
After finishing the game, I can say #7 was easily the strongest level design, closely followed by #3 as an excellent teaching level. It isn’t too hard at all, I just needed sleep, but I do think the ramp-up to #7’s difficulty should be smoother.
If you continue to develop the game, I'd love to see:
- Death and victory animations, even a simple 2-frame could go a long way
- UI making the number of remaining steps more obvious
- Undo 1x step button (seems like a standard in these games nowadays)
- Keep adding obstacles and seeing what kind of interactions they bring
Thanks for a great game! 🧛♂️