Nice work, team! Here's my detailed review:
Design [2/5]: The concept behind the game is nice. It's cool that each character only has one minute to live, and I like that you're put under such a high-pressure situation. However, there are some drawbacks in the details that hindered the overall experience of the game for me. Here are some examples:
- The art is cute, but it can sometimes be difficult to tell what is and isn't safe to touch. For example, I actually thought the female snots were enemies for a bit. This example is particularly frustrating because there was some tutorial text at the beginning explaining that the goal of the game was to find female snots. I think this would have been a good opportunity to show us what the female snots look like.
- The movement mechanics and controls are not adequately explained to the player as they are needed. Because the first level is so open, sometimes a player will reach a spot where they need to use a certain mechanic (like speeding up time, using a double jump, or flying). For example, there are several spots on the first level where using the "speed up time" mechanic might be needed. However, the only place you can learn about it is by going down and right from the start position. It's possible that players will explore the entire level without coming across that explanation sign until the very end, which is frustrating. The other movement mechanics have similar frustrations. I had no idea I could double jump initially, and I was extremely frustrated when I found out that aging actually removes your ability to double jump. It's really cool that the player's abilities change as the snot grows older, but I don't think this is explained to the player in a straightforward manner at all. I had to die many times before I even fully understood the basic mechanics of the game, and I don't think that's a positive player experience. To summarize this criticism into a single sentence: the level design does not adequately teach players everything they need to know to solve the first level efficiently.
- I think the selling point of this game is that you have very little time to execute a plan. You have to look around you, analyze the level, and then plan out your path all within a minute. That's actually a really clever idea for a game. However, the level design makes it nearly impossible to make an accurate plan until you've already explored the level and died several times. Let's say I start the first level by exploring the left side of the map. I go over there, die, and have to restart the level. This time, I decide to explore the right half. For argument's sake, let's just say I discover that it would be most efficient for me to explore the right half of the map first. However, I had to die to find that out. I don't think that type of trial and error makes for a fun gaming experience. I think it would have been much better if the levels were smaller and you could see more of the map at once (more zoomed out camera). That way, players could analyze the situation and form an accurate plan without a bunch of trial and error. I died a lot on the first area before I came anywhere close to finding all the female snots, but it isn't because the platforming is challenging or difficult to execute. Rather, it's because I had no idea what 99% of the level looked like on my first playthrough, and the short time limit did not form a good partnership with that fact.
I don't think the short time limit was a poor decision at all. However, I think the game suffered from being exploration-based rather than being execution based. Showing all of the level at once isn't necessary, but I think more linear levels would have fit the mechanics better. If the levels were linear, I would have felt like my deaths were caused by my poor execution, which is a positive player experience because it would encourage me to get better at the game. When I died in the game as it is now, I felt like it was just because I hadn't seen everything yet, and that I just had to grind out a few more tries to see what the level actually looked like before I could start executing a plan. Overall, I think the decision to make this game exploration-based is probably the biggest flaw.
Adherence to the Theme [5/5]: Not much to say here. You only have a minute to live. Cool concept!
Originality [4/5]: I have seen platformers with extremely short time limits before. For example, most of the levels in New Super Luigi U have incredibly short time limits. However, those are straightforward platforming levels while this game is more about exploration, so that makes it a somewhat unique experience (ironically, I think this decision is also the game's biggest weakness).
I know I had a lot of harsh criticism for this game, but that's partially just because of how much potential there is here. The art style is cute, the music is nice, the game is generally well-put-together. I think that if the level design was more thought-out, the objective of the game was more focused to emphasize the strengths of the core concept, and the game did a better job of teaching the mechanics to the player through level design and tutorials, then this could be a really nice game. I know the developers put in some hard work here, and I appreciate all of that. Having said that, it wasn't a very enjoyable experience for me.