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(+1)

A decent start.

Overall the combat and combos feel good and is the strongest part of the game, though enemies could do with either more telegraphing on attacks or better hit box detection on the player's side. I kept dying to enemies walking into me and I couldn't hit them easily. Or maybe a defensive option such as a dash or block, just a suggestion.


While I know the game was likely designed for gamepad not keyboard, overall I found myself fighting with the controls more than anything. Which greatly lowered my enjoyment.

I would recommend combining actions into fewer buttons. Especially for movement where simpler is always better.

For example hold 'down' and press 'jump' to drop through a ledge. On thin ledges when you have the upgrade just hold 'down' to start hanging from it and then hold 'down' and press jump to drop from the ledge or press 'up' to climb back up. That sort of thing, also I'd recommend going with auto grabbing ledges and vines as you jump into them, or least if you are holding up. Basically I feel all the climbing stuff could be smoothed out a bit more if moved away from its own separate button and tied to regular movement and jumping controls.

I can understand having crouch be its own button especially for controller, but I'd recommend seeing how it feels by also having crouch on 'down'. For controller  you could try seeing how crawling feels if it works by tilting the stick diagonally downward.

All of this is just fuel for thought because right now the controls feel really bad on keyboard as I constantly have to shift my hand, but that may be a me problem.


I had a quick look at your dev log and noticed you were struggling with the exploration part of things as your game is more focused on combat. Personally I think your game would do well by doubling down on the combat side of things first, even if that makes it more of a fighter brawler with exploration elements as a side. 

Have you heard of the game Guacamelee!, that too is a metroidvania with a more combat oriented game flow and heavy focus on combos, might be worth looking into.

Anyway keep up with the good work.

(1 edit) (+1)

Thanks very much for the feedback!
A lot to think about.  Especially the controls, which seem to be a recurring issue (in this and my other Metroidvania).

I appreciate the suggestions on the controls, and they may be the way to go, though it would require overhauling the combat too, e.g. Grabbing and Stomping already use the Down button.

On the flip side, maybe I could consolidate some of the fighting controls to free up other buttons.

I'll check out your recommendation.  Maybe it'll help me rethink some stuff.

(+1)

There's nothing stopping you from using 'down' for both attacks like stomp and for dropping through ledges. Basically if you hold 'down' then press 'kick' you stomp, but if you instead press 'jump' and only if you are on a thin platform you drop down.

As for auto ledge grabbing, while that can be a problem you could always consider special 'ledge attacks' where the character quickly pulls themselves up into a rolling kick or some other attack. Or, if you hold 'down' whilst on the ledge then press 'attack' you could do a dive attack off the ledge. i.e. turn the weakness of automated ledge grabbing into a new tool for combos and moves. Fuel for thought.

As I said definitely look up guacamelee, that game does a lot of what you're trying to do and there's no shame in looking up what someone before you has done and taking what works.

I'd also look into how they handle movement and ledges in Super Smash Bros as while that's a pure fighting game, it balances solid combat with snappy yet simple platforming controls.

But of course that's not to say it wouldn't take a lot of work and thought in overhauling your control scheme. Rome wasn't built in a day. And you don't need to take in everything I've said. Pick and choose what suites your project best, I'm by no means an expert myself.

And finally here's a little rule that's always handy to keep in mind, "Keep it simple stupid".