I'm not done yet, I've gone through a couple of rooms off of what I assume is the central hub.
There is a lot to love about what's going on here. The presentation is great, there are so many little details here and there and it's obvious you took the time to really polish up the way the game looks. The little pieces of scrap flying towards you was a great touch and felt very satisfying, the expression changes on the B.O.Bs were great, and the juiciness of successfully hacking felt very good. You even have polish in your menu with it sliding in and out!
Here's some feedback which is focused more on the design side of things:
- I, in my infinite wisdom, misjudged the initial sign and thought that Upgrade Smasher meant I would do it later (Upgrade system and all that). I did hit E when I first saw the sign, but because I was too far from the Smasher nothing happened. I then walked into a pit of acid and couldn't get out because of no jump ability AND got murdered by the first BOB I met because I didn't have an attack ability. So the start was a bit rough for me personally...
- The link between things you could interact with and what they were affecting was almost never immediately clear. For example, there's a very early switch that's linked to a moving platform, but if you're not looking in the exact right direction when you hit the switch, you won't see that platform begin to move. Then there are switches that affect things in other rooms (I think the hacking terminals are the most egregious about this). It sort of got me into a situation where I'd see something I knew could be modified (a door that could open, a platform that could start moving) but I was never really sure if it was the thing I was supposed to be trying to unlock or not.
- Was there a way to hit B.O.Bs without being hit back? I got the armor upgrade, and maybe it stopped the bullets, but it didn't seem to do anything against the melee attacks.
- Succeeding in the mini-game felt good, but the minigame itself is brutal. The opening is so small and the ring moves so fast. I think the minigame with more than one ring would have benefited from starting from the outside in, it's a bit disorienting to judge the placement of the inner gap relative to the player. It also led to annoying situations where after placing the inner gap I could tell it wasn't lined up properly and I'd hit E twice quickly just so I could start the hack over.
Overall I'm super impressed with the amount of stuff in the game. Again, it looks great, and there are lots of little details. With all the writing on the walls, I can see the sort of Portal/mad laboratory angle you're going for, and I still haven't beaten the game just because of how big it is. I can see why you spent so much time futzing around with the light maps and stuff. Great job, a very fine submission!