Quick disclaimer: some of my points you are probably aware of or already have on your to-do list. I just give feedback based on what I’ve played in its current state
Things that could be improved:
- Slight pacing issues. I.e. the tutorial with the lever puzzle was way more complex than the following levels.
- Your rooms could use some form of landmarks or point of interest to make it easier for players to orientate themself and build a mental map of the space.
- It’s nice that south walls cover the player but I had it a few times that they obstructed my view on enemies.
- General player feedback could be improved. Things like particles for destroying pots and the like.
- You can very easily get stuck on an edge. Having a system that nudges the player slightly around the corner of a tile (like the coroner would be rounded) would help the game feel a lot (pretty sure Zela does something similar).
- I’m not a fan of invisible switches for secrets. It doesn’t make me feel clever for finding the secret. Instead I suggest you make subtle visual or auditory cues that hint that something is there for players to figure out.
- Pushing crates feels janky and wobbly. I suggest you snap the player to the crate and switch to a dedicated pushing animation. Of cause despite the snap the player has to be able to immediately do another action. Also I felt the crate pushing speed is way too slow.
- Some edges with the same visual are inconsistent regarding the ability to jump off.
- The player character could use an idle animation. In general I would say the player animations feel a bit stiff and could be improved, while the enemies are fine imo..
- The map isn’t too helpful. I really had to look very close as it doesn’t really show landmarks, a player indicator or points of interest.
- The red spider and green “spider blob” enemy feel practically identical. The bats and blue slimes are also very similar. As I player I approach all enemies in the game exactly the same.
- Sound effects sound very harsh. I’m not an audio expert so I can’t really describe it better, but maybe something you want to get additional feedback on. All I can say I found them very unpleasant.
- Camera sometimes zooms in too early / at inconvenient times. I especially recognized that in Level 3.
- Level 3 feels rushed or as if you got a bit lazy with the tile-set usage. The ground is uniformly green and none of the walls uses the nice variation with moss.
Positives:
- Despite the game utilising the mouse buttons I’m glad you use a 4-way attack combat system which feels pleasantly oldschool and is really rare these days.
- General directions of aesthetics look good.
- I really dig your room transitions.
- Having an elevated and a ground floor makes rooms more interesting to traverse and generally visually more appealing.
You have a solid foundation here and I’m looking forward to play a future version!
I hope my feedback helps.