I really enjoyed the game, so here are my general comments.
- I enjoyed the character animation and the overall aesthetic of the game given what I saw in here. Excited for what's to come.
- The magnet really felt like the star of this game. I really had to think about not just the position of my character, but also how I would place the magnet as well.
- Puzzles were definitely on the easy side, but they still were fun to figure out. Almost all of them made me think of the 'obvious' solution first, before the game tells me that the 'obvious' solution is not enough, and I need to think outside the box.
This game has so much potential, so I want to point out the things it could improve:
- I played my very first run without knowing how to cancel the [Aiming]. If I didn't explore the options menu, I would have not known there was a [Cancel Aiming] button. Perhaps it could be presented at the tutorial, at the same time the [Aiming] action is taught.
- Actually, the [Aiming] itself didn't feel very intuitive for me, especially with [Toggle Aim mode] on. I find that the large part of this problem is having [Aim] be the same key as the [Carry] or [Drop] button.
- I played this using a keyboard, and I find that my cursor gets 'stuck' while [Aiming]. I'd have to jump first every time before I could start [Aiming] the magnet.
- The tutorial showed us that after getting the key, we need to throw the magnet to the pipes. However, every level ends after collecting the key. I suggest making the way the tutorial end be consistent with the rest of the game, either ending the tutorial once getting the key, or having the end of every level be throwing the magnet at the pipes.
- I liked the level hub system, but it needs to be improved. After finishing a level, we should be sent at the gate of the level instead of the very start. Also, I think it's better to have the level gates numbered or labeled with difficulty. As it is, I first thought that every level would be of equal difficulty since it is in one hub, and curiosity made me start the last level first. Having each level numbered or have its difficulty present could help the player plan for the ideal progression, while still presenting the ability to skip levels.
- To add on to the hub system, why is it there? I like it, yes, but I feel like it slows down the game a lot. If you still plan on implementing a hub system, I suggest it to have some sort of purpose, maybe it also has a shop or other characters. Otherwise, I suggest scrapping this idea and make it a level layout like in Baba is You.