i would say the sfx and the 2d art were the best parts of the game.
the concept is great, but in practice i find it very frustrating because of the camera weirdness.
the fact that i kept getting stun locked and half of the hits not registering was what ultimately led me to stop playing.
list of things i found that could be improved on:
1. when you cant see and need to use the bell, some walls are invisible and you can see through the world making it confusing to navigate.
2. swipes from the player character don't always land making combat inconsistent and frustrating.
3. getting stun locked by enemies is probably the most frustrating of all and was the #1 thing that made me stop playing.
4. there was no way to know i could jump up to a bell in the first level, it was only through getting stuck and running around in circles and thinking that was all the game offered, when i found a lower wall and tried to see if i had a jump function and tried to get up.
5. after the bell cut scene i died and had to watch the cut dialog again. i know writers want their work to be seen , but please add the ability to skip through dialog. i never read dialog and i know a lot of players don't.
6. camera sensitivity and controls are not consistent between normal and bell mode. causing the camera to jump around, it is very disorienting. i would suggest just having it as one button that preforms the action based on where the character is looking without going into a different mode. (this will make exploring more enjoyable)
7. the camera was constantly obstructed by the trees, making it so i couldn't see who i was fighting. please make trees and anything else that could block the camera semi transparent, or have an outline for the character and enemies so you can see what you are doing.
8. after the cut scene i was just teleported to some place, and didn't know where i was. i lost all of my orientation. before the cut scene i had seen where i thought i should go/wanted to go. but was thrown off completely after the cut scene.9. please add a settings button to the title screen, the game was so loud on start. the lack of settings button on the title screen led to to think that there were no settings at all. it wasn't until i paused much later that i saw there was infarct a settings button.
10. running animation is desynced enemies move too slow for the animation. which leads them to look like they are kinda floaty. (don't know if that is something you were going for intentionally)
11. some sound effects are missing. there is no swipe sound from the player character when there are no enemies. i don't remember there being a jumping sound either (but i could be wrong)
what i thought was good:
1. the art direction was great
2. concept was also good (things just need to be refined so it feels better and has less friction)
3. SFX were well done and didn't stand out of feel wrong
4. 2d art way very nice to look at and felt very professional
5. UI was non obstructive and looked great
6. title screen was chefs kiss
7. when it was easier i wanted to explore a lot (driving force to continue playing)
8. i think this game has the potential to be a very enjoyable game
i write all this because i think the game could be really good, it is in no way an attempt to make anyone feel bad. i am writing as a fellow game dev that cant help but playtest anything i get my hands on lol.
i hope this helps <3
-Lizabet