This was amazing! I did not think there would be any game that would pull me in and make me play for long periods of time, but this one did it! imo it is very well balanced in terms of gameplay, and despite looking simple, it actually invited a lot of strategy. I learned to stockpile the red pills and green pills to have health and eliminations if things got dire. But then that added another layer of complexity, because by doing so, I created another obstacle, as I did not want to pick up those pills too early! I appreciate the color coding of the pills too, as they give a general idea of what the pill is, but I like that you are not told the pill's advantage until after you pick it up. This adds a little bit of uncertainty to the game if the player forgets the difference between two similar pills, like green and white vs white and green. It also rewards players for increasing their game knowledge, since the more the players know abt the pills, the better they can utilize them. The game also has a good risk vs reward system, where taking damage is sometimes necessary, but taking a damaging path can get you good pills to help with the rest of the run. I really enjoyed it! I think the music, despite its simplicity, fit the gameplay and art style really well, and the inclusion of the game guide and info & behavior are really nice touches. Only a few critiques:
- There is occasional drum sound in the music that sounds very similar to the sound of the player getting hurt. This can make things confusing sometimes.
- The ending screen where you learn about diseases by clicking on pills sends mixed messages. Why is the disease information stored in helpful medicine? It would make more sense if the information was stored in different icons, or if the wording was changed to make it cohesive with its icon.
- The red and red pill says it will protect you. I had no idea what that did until I died and had a full health bar, so I assume it acts as an extra life. My one concern with this is that it stacks, so a player can accumulate many lives, making the game too easy imo. If you ever revisit making this game, I would recommend changing the wording to make its ability more clear to players ("...gives you an extra life" or something like that). I would also recommend making it where you can only have 1 extra life at a time in order to prevent the player from becoming too OP.
Overall, amazing game! I loved it a lot, and I had to force myself to quit lol. Here is my final score after I ended the game.
