itch.io

So I just played it all over again—dying more times this time than when I played it before, but also noticing new upgrades and one new weapon that I didn't notice before, more on that later—and there really was only one attack that seemed unpolished and that's the chain-saw wave from the first boss. It has three frames of animation, each of which comes far apart. I wouldn't guess it's the finished product!

There are a couple other things I'd like to mention:

1. I think the drawn portraits usually look worse than the pixel art. I know that a high bar has been set, but the portraits really should be on par with the rest of the artwork, especially in a game that is, by definition, highly focused on the visuals.

2. I find that the high-powered weapons, the ones that slow you down, are much worse than the weaker weapons. I don't find the laser is any more powerful than the default shot, plus the laser slows you down, AND it doesn't have pierce. The best weapon is probably either the wave shot or the multi-shot, both of which have good coverage, good damage, an don't slow you down.
The worst shot, the one that made me restart if I got it, is the "heavy" shot, which makes you extremely slow, has an odd trajectory and limited coverage. It's annoying to use to the point that even if it took every enemy out, including bosses, with one single hit, I probably still wouldn't use it.

3. I kind of wish you had more health, or you had lives so that you didn't have to go all the way back to the beginning when you die. Or, at least, that you didn't have to listen to the cut-scene every time! I know this is, in part, a skill issue. Speaking of which,

4. I felt like there is a problem with the hit-box. Sometimes the enemy projectiles felt too close together. Technically, I discovered, I could dodge between them, but it didn't LOOK like I could, and the bullets would even touch the character as they passed. I feel like this creates a break in the player's perception of what's happening versus the physical mechanics. I felt like I had less control and understanding over any situation, even if I won.

5. The voice actors are excellent, but it sounds like they didn't get perfect direction. When she says, "If you don't fight now you'll be tried for dereliction of duty" or whatever she says, I heard it a dozen times and can't recall the specifics words, she clearly was supposed to sound mad, or at least annoyed, but instead she just sounded clinically firm. When the other girl yells back at her, again, it sounds like the voice actor wasn't told to sound furious, or precisely at what she was supposed to be furious, so the inflection comes off odd.

These are all niggles related to polish, really, with the exception of the game-play mechanic aspects, which I think really should be locked down as tight as possible. Any other issues I had (U.I. being unfinished, et cetera) could likely be chalked up to the game being a demo.

All that said, I want to mention my favorite part: The girl comes out, upside-down, from the tree, and she has to shove her boobs out of the way to aim her shot. Lol! There's so much loving attention to details in this game that I'd ALMOST take a full version as it is. . . but alas, I think the game is too difficult to justify any lack of tightness in controls. For a game like this, every aspect of the difficult should be dead on. And I'm sure you'll make it so as you work on it.

Again, fantastic work, and you've made an excited gamer here. I'll be looking forward to its release in, oh. . . two or three years? :)