get rid of how to play screen and add it to the main game somehow. (alternatively, make it mandatory to see when you press the play button. 90% of players will skip the how to play screen and stop playing your game when they dont understand it)
there's no reason to move at all in level 1 since the enemies walk into your line of fire.
switching realms is just tedious because the only reason to do it is to resolve an inconvenience (not being able to hurt enemies), instead of gaining new powers or to solve an interesting puzzle.
i didn't know what the goal of the game was until i lost the first time. i thought it was a linear platformer with an ending.
arrow keys + Z X C is the general standard side scrolling controls for keyboard to mimic the S/NES controller (2/3 buttons side to side) crouching to shoot an enemy was tedious
in level 5, there were enemies that you had to jump in order to shoot and time your shot perfectly, but there's a fixed delay in the shooting so it's also tedious.
i think you wanted more movement in the combat, which i agree with. adding tedium like jumping and crouching doesn't feel challening. the problem is that the enemies kind of all come to you, but when i played level 5 the game felt overwhelming
the art is pretty cool. reminds me of castlevania on nes. i think this could be a cool side scroller with a few additions to the AI and some level design
