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(1 edit) (+1)

I put about 20 minutes into this, so the criticism is maybe a bit surface level. I'm not a fan of the genre, but I've enjoyed Cookier Clicker and Insaniquarium, so I can get into it if the conditions are right. This one isn't really clicking with me though. Like it's doing the thing correctly by "unfolding" all these mechanics incrementally and giving me more to do and think about, but at the same time nothing really changes. I can only derive so much interest out of upgrading my ability to click on the screen less. The upgrade tree I found confusing, like it's presented as an optimization problem where I should figure out what upgrades are most worthwhile, but they all feel like they basically do the same thing, because there's really only one metric that matters: dps.

I'm aware that criticism can apply to literally any incremental game, as someone with limited experience in the genre it's really difficult for me to frame why this feels mindless and pointless but cookie clicker does not feel mindless and pointless (even though it is). Perhaps it's because it's missing that exponential growth dopamine that hacks your brain into thinking you're making so much progress that it stops caring that you're not really doing anything. Or maybe it's missing the aspect where I save my currency now so I can get a super great upgrade later vs spending it now for a less good upgrade; that aspect is important because it gives you something to look forward to in the long term driving you to stay with the game longer while also continually awarding you for engagement in the short term with small dopamine hits too.

I normally like to give specific actionable feedback, but I'm a bit at a loss here. I can't really envision myself enjoying this without some significant changes that'd turn it into something it's not. Insaniquarium has conflict and tension in it which keep the gameplay loop engaging because you can actually make wrong choices, loose progress, and fail entirely. Although I'd prefer if your game had that, it seems you're deliberately not going for that kind of design, so I'm probably just not the target audience.

edit: oh, forgot to mention, I am not a fan of the title screen music at all, it feels like it belongs in a completely different game.