So this is a fantastic concept and has a lot of potential. As others have stated, the controls are wonky but I don't think its because they are unfamiliar or outlandish, I think its because the is SO much to remember and its just thrown at the player. With something so different from anything else on the market (at least in my experience), I think you need to slowly introduce the player to it before unleashing them on the world, since the world you have is quite unforgiving. I do think you need to implement holding down the movement key, that was a bit irritating.
How I would modify the intro:
- Don't introduce the Tetris aspect in the first 1-3 combats. Let the player get used to the combat and understand how you implemented it.
- Then have a Tetris only puzzle, no combat. Do this 1-2 times
- Combine them in an easy battle.
- Let the player loose
What this would resolve:
- I approached it too fast, having the combat first would help players unfamiliar with the genre get adjusted to how to play these types of games. I think this is TungstenCore's disconnect, it feels like you need to move fast but in reality, you need to go slow and consider each movement.
- The player would feel much less overwhelmed with the encounters.
- More players would be interested in continuing and learning the game since they invest more time in figuring out how to play.
I hope this feedback helps, you got a real winner on your hands here. let me know if you have any questions or want me to clarify anything.
I also played on easy and couldn't clear the second combat, maybe tone easy down a bit.
-Elit3hoboguy