itch.io

Oooh I like this one. The puzzles weren't unbeatable but still took a second to get used to - I think my one complaint would be that it's really easy to accidentally hit the end goal and the transition happens so fast that I didn't really clue in that I'd progressed to the next level, especially since the first obstacle looks the same. The player character is also VERY bouncy, which might be a feature or even a me thing - I'm really bad for holding space sometimes, and I absolutely bounced right off of several platforms by accident, which in a ragebait game might not be a bad thing.

I also ran into an issue in one of the levels where the platform moves forward ahead of the player... but with the jump velocity, the player still lands on it anyway (I think it's the third level towards the end?) 

I like the premise! I couldn't quite tell if enemies were firing at me or just doing damage when they hit the player character (though I suspect this one), because sometimes they could be right on top of the player sprite and there would be no change to the health and then all of a sudden I'm down 20HP and there's an explosion of sorts, without really having any change in where the enemies were in relation to the player. I also think it could have benefitted from some variety in the player's attacks, enemies after a certain point, or some variety in the level structure, as "shoot until you die" is not really my jam, so I did find myself getting a bit bored pretty quickly, even if that's my own personal bias coming in.

I like the idea, but it felt a little too unclear about who actually fit the requirements vs who didn't. It was also a little too easy to not realize I had lost and it wasn't just giving me the same profile twice in a row, so maybe making the loss state a little clearer could be beneficial, especially because I didn't even realize the "what you're looking for" section changed!

Also one thing: the itch page, cover image, and game's start menu all have different names, which is a bit confusing.

I do love the art style, but I definitely think the patterns need to be a bit clearer - to be honest I didn't even realize that they were there until I went into the to-do list and saw the note about them (and even then, I was confused about what smiley faces it was referring to ). I also don't really understand the email messages even when trying to use the patterns - no matter what combination I tried, I ended up feeling like it was complete RNG over whether it would be the correct combination or not. I kind of got the impression that the response should be catered to the type of email/sender, but it didn't seem to matter, and a few of the responses available didn't really make sense for the emails. At the end, I was just throwing random responses in and paying more attention to the calls over the emails.

I also think the little easter eggs are super fun and honestly so true to the corporate drone experience (sometimes you really do need a folder of dumb memes to boost your mood to stop yourself from handing in your two weeks), but it would have been nice to have more time to explore them, even if it's a 30 second "coffee break" or something between batches of incoming communications. Right now it kind of feels like there's a ton of extras thrown in but no real reason or incentive to explore them. 

I'll have you know boss that I was trying to take the printer maintenance call so that I could print your reports that you asked for, it WAS A VERY IMPORTANT PHONE CALL.

Jokes aside, 100% nailed the feel of being a corporate drone. All of my usual issues (too much going on, audio feedback being way too repetitive, not enough time to figure things out) don't really apply because while they were actually there, that's kind of the point I think. I guess if I had one thing it would be that there was maybe more time or a way to increase time so to give the player more space to explore the extra little pieces.

I love the art style and the concept, but I do think some of the rooms are a tad bit too dark to really see the anomalies between the doors. I also would have liked more feedback variety – I’m still not entirely sure if all the bad doors have a monster behind them, or if some bad doors take you backwards? It definitely felt like some of the rooms were repeating pretty quickly after I’d just been in them, which kind of resulted in me memorizing the correct door in that room vs actually looking for the changes. 

The visuals are awesome! I get the tie in to the theme but I think it may have come through a little clearer if the energy was generated by the hamsters on a wheel, but still, I liked it! One thing: I did lose a hamster by accidentally dropping it outside of the rooms - I had a baby hammy so it was okay and I didn't lock myself out of progressing, but I do think that could be something to watch for if it happened when the player only has the initial two hamsters =D

This is a neat concept! I I like the idea of a skateboard-esque mechanic and wall grinding through a factory could be really cool -though I do wish there were a bit more assets in the world to move around and have fun with. I personally would have preferred additional obstacles or things to jump and skate around instead of just the few platforms before the first real platforming section. I also think adding a secondary jump out of a wall grind would be a good addition, especially if the character ends up attached to the wall a bit earlier than intended, it would be nice to make a second jump to get to the platform instead of just skating under it!

I think my biggest thing though is the visual contrast. It's really hard to see anything inside the factory level since everything is of a similar shade and value, and I had to crank my laptop brightness all the way up just to make heads or tails of where I was going. I think just shifting the lighting a tiny bit in value could be a really nice option to keep the atmosphere but make it a bit more accessible.

I'm going to be honest... I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. I managed to figure out that I'm supposed to find the pattern, but I don't really understand why or for what purpose. I think it might be a bit clearer if instead of a complete sushi piece already being there, there was some sort of indicator up top to show what you're trying to make, and the ingredients on their own to choose in order. I love the art though, and I think it could be a cool idea (if I'm understanding the concept correctly), just needs a bit more clarity.

I like the idea of the mechanic, but I wish the sprite in the middle stood out a little more - I played against Yuki and didn't notice it right away until it's expression changed, so for a second I didn't realize hitting L was actually doing anything. I think adding a few animations of the player characters moving/casting and maybe some audio feedback would really help get that message across though!

I also don't really know if I understand what's happening in the art. At first I thought it was in a church, but also there's wizards and a prisoner and some sort of sprite demon, and it feels a little bit disjointed. I do think the spell books and the starburst effect make it really clear that you are meant to button mash, though, nicely done!

Okay, I think I've figured out my issue: I'm a chronic multi-tapper - if I don't get immediate response, I'll sit there clicking until the cows come home, which in a game about morse code is not the greatest lol. Basically, the spell feedback feels a little bit delayed, so I think I thought my keyboard wasn't working when actually, the game thinks I'm making a combo move of a bunch of little taps. I almost wonder if maybe there's a way to adjust the visual feedback or add a delay to the combos based on what spells have been unlocked - kind of teach the player to press in a rhythm instead of button mashing.

Otherwise though, I adore the concept and like the art style!

I didn't realize the player character rotates at first - I love the monochrome, but I think it might have worked a tiny bit better if the player character was the same family of blue but a lighter value, instead of being a similar value but slightly more purple. Also, it's very quiet lol.

I do love that the fish feel really well weighted in terms of difficulty to catch, and I think the feedback for the line breaking was really clear and easy to understand. 

The background music and baby sound effects definitely fed into the anxiety lol.  It feels a lot like the fishing mechanic in Stardew Valley, but I like this spin on it. I did find the baby's movement a little aggressive when it was close either side of the meter, I lost my rhythm a few times because my brain saw the baby freaking out and I overcorrected even though I was okay, so I personally would maybe like to see the baby's movement feel a little less jittery towards the sides, if that makes sense? I do also think maybe some on screen UI to show the mechanics might be nice, I did lose my first round because I forgot to check the description lol.

That being said, can confirm this is the kind of panic a very anxious parent with two broken arms might feel, babies are very wiggly haha