1. Does the hectic aspect seem more balanced than before? And if not, what aspects aren't? For example, enemies being too quick/slow, etc.
I was extremely pleased with how balanced the game feels! I was so confident that I would be able to outsmart the game, just sitting there literally forever, upgrading each tower to its fullest, but there was a point where I would become overwhelmed by the enemy. I like that the game reached a point that it was able to do so, because it keeps me excited by the challenge. I actually had a lot of fun testing how balanced the levels were, including seeing what wave I could get to before losing all of my life points.
2. Are towers (now with variety) more balanced together, or are certain towers over/underpowered?
I felt like they were balanced, and I saw the value in having a variety of tower types. I felt like I was limited in space along the path (in a good way), so I had to strategically place my towers where they would be most effective, both to make the space efficient and to maximize the effect of the towers. The variety of towers makes the game very fun, and seems to exponentially increase the amount of strategies the player can take to victory.
3. Does the elemental aspect of towers to enemies feel smooth/intuitive to understand?
I actually did not initially grasp, or remember, that the elemental aspects of the tower are used against certain enemies. I couldn't figure out, during my initial playthrough, why there two different types of tier upgrades, but now it makes sense. My strategy did seem somewhat effective though, which was to have a diverse range of towers along the path, striving to have one of every tower type. I was able to understand the tiered upgrades on blind playthrough, but I did not connect that types of tiered upgrades were elemental-focused.
4. Does the flow of the game feel moderately smooth(er), and in what ways if not?
The game does feel smooth, especially in regards to the flow of enemies. There are no jitters or dysfunctionalities with the player character or the enemies. It took me a little while to become comfortable with the keys, but I think part of the challenge is also having discipline with key clicks, so as to not accidentally toss something away when spamming. I also feel that the currency falling off of the map was a great touch, it definitely evokes emotion to see the high-tier currency you were waiting for get knocked off by my own hasty steps.
5. Is the UI intuitive and understandable? Any comments on adding/removing/clarifying anything to it?
I think that the UI, and the instructions for the game in general, are intuititive and easy to understand. I think that the UI on the bottom and sides is fitting for the size of the playspace, and the large buttons fit the toonish-style of the game. I didn't understand the difference between the different tower tier upgrades, as I had forgot that some enemies only respond to elemental towers. I think it would be cool to have some sort of instruction that ties into the story somehow, like showing how a certain type of tower is used to defeat a certain type of enemy because this is how it would be in the lore. (I hope that made a bit of sense at least) A legend may also be helpful, even if toggleable, for reference about which towers are effective against which enemies.
6. Did you find any interesting strategies during your gameplay? If so, please let us know what you found, and if not, tell us how we can give you more opportunity to strategize.
I was actually not too focused on completing the levels, rather I was interested in seeing how long I could hold out for, by just building and not putting the pieces into the black hole. My strategy revolved around utilizing the various towers for their strengths (ie. ranged, contact damage, etc...), and placing them around the playspace in a way that maximizes their efficiency. I did not understand about the elemental effect of the towers at first, but this will augment my current strategy, by having a diverse array of towers.
7. What do you think about the multi-tiered currency? Does a currency dedicated to the blackhole give more incentive to complete it than before?
I think this was a great addition! Unfortunately, a currency dedicated to the blackhold was not the most robust incentive for me to complete the game, as I just found myself tossing them off the side or out of the way, so that I could obtain tower currency to finish my 104th wave. I do like having some higher value currency because of the emotion it evokes, both in the excitement when one appears, as well as the despair when you accidentally knock one off the side of the map.
8. Is the wormhole tower (if used) sufficiently helpful with collecting currency?
Upon blind playthrough, I actually didn't know what the wormhole tower was for. I think one of the reasons was because I was more focused on using my resources towards combat-related towers. Now that I know about it though, I will make sure to use it in future playtests. I think it might be cool to have a chart or legend of the different tower and elemental types for reference, so that these mechanics may be a bit more apparant to new players.
I very much enjoyed playing your game, and will admit I was addicted to fighting "just one more wave" during my time playing. Your game has a very fun core gameplay loop, and I look forward to playing the final release of it!