A late entry but a good one. This was one of my favourites in the jam.
The awkward HUD, low-rent textures, and ugly models made into poorly cut-out sprites are definitely so bad they're good. The big-boxes-hooked-together level design, too. The intro cutscene really seals the deal; it's just amazing. It's incredibly cheesy but it does a great job of setting the stage and the tone of the game right off the bat.
The movement is awkward, the enemy AI is buggy, and the weapons are quirky. None of that is really a bad thing for this jam; it was pretty common back in the day and I can live with it. But I really wish I could tell when I was actually hitting enemies. Visible bullets, hit puffs, or a pain animation would have helped here. It seems like a petty nitpick, but this is really what brings the gameplay down from "janky but decent" to "functional".
Duke Nukem and Strife? I can see it, and maybe some HacX too. To me it feels more like some of the indie shareware and freeware titles of the early 2000s than a true mid-90s commercial game, but whatever, it's still retro and cool.
I don't know if there ever will be an Episode 2, but if there is, I want to play it.