itch.io

I love what you were aiming for with this game! The slow and methodical movement with the jump being so interesting is a really big shake up of the platforming formula in a way I can get behind. However, there are some design choices that I think make this formula super frustrating at times. As much as I enjoyed it, near the end I was having to take some quick breaks. 

1) Lets get it out of the way because everyone has said it, its the checkpoints. The slow and methodical game play is genuinely fun and interesting, but when you make us redo the same section from the start because I couldn't nail the unique jumps... well its an awful feeling. I'm sure it will be hard but you almost need to design a system that returns you to the last platform North was on when they jumped in order for this frustration to go away. And please don't reset us when we take damage from enemies. They have homing orbs! 

2) At the end of the jump there is a little slide: remove this pleaseeeeeeeee. Tons of problems will go away if North stops right where they land initially. 

3) While the slow walking speed is clearly deliberate there needs to be something to help speed things up. Especially for those sections where there isn't much to do except walk. Yes, I do know about the charge ability, but that's not what I mean. You could increase the speed just a little, add a small "dash" like thing to the attack, or you could make it so that there is a "sprint" where you power walk. There are tons of sections where I was just jumping around like a frog in order to get a move on. 

4) And lastly, while I enjoyed the abilities that are in the game I think you should experiment with some way of utilizing them together. Like if you attack while charging its a cool dash you could use to get across gaps. Or maybe attacking right as you land makes you do an additional jump attack for flair and style. Idk just something to make them feel less separated is all. 

These criticisms come from how much I enjoyed playing your game, not from a place of dislike. I think you chose a very difficult path to take with a game jam game and I appreciate that. With your talented art direction you could have done something very basic and boring and would have been praised for it. I can't wait to see how this game ends up if you decide to continue working on it!
 

Thank you so much! I already appreciate the feeback tons! I'll return the favor soon I promise! I'm suuuuuuuuuuuper looking forward to your game! 

Thank you so much on your feedback! I totally agree about the mortars, they need some work and that's a sign of my skill level. Fun fact, they actually deal more damage the longer they are in the air. With the idea being to attack from far away when you can and to use the platforms to get extra hang time when you have to be close. But that was hard to convey and while one of the bosses can be exploited with height (the lingering ancient) most people learn to strafe. In the end I decided that for the game jam all enemies would just pulverized by a few shots to avoid any frustration at figuring this feature out. 

I'd love to hear your extended thoughts on why the platforms felt jank? I'm trying to improve how they feel and emphasize that them going through walls is a design choice. 

Thank you! The slow pace is 100% on purpose, I personally like playing games slow. The final release will be a little faster though, I want others to have fun, not feel forced to play the way I do. 

I'm so glad you like the character and her mortars! It means a lot so thank you! And thank you for playing my game! 

Really enjoyed the game! I unfortunately got stuck at one point and had to restart but I tried to muscle through. My big problem with the game is the basic movement on the ground. When you stop moving the character continues to move as if they were sliding, and the turn rotation speed is too low so it can actually trick you into walking off a ledge if you try to move too quickly. If those are there on purpose then I'd recommend displaying that in the character design. Like if they had wheels for legs then of course their turn radius would be slower and they couldn't stop on a dime. Just as an example. 
I did really like the abilities and you best believe getting the hover ability was a blessing. You have a knack for details as well! The gears slowly spinning was such a nice touch! 

Hey sorry, would you mind explaining what about the movement felt sloppy or hard to control? The game is designed so that the platforms remove all precise platforming, or at least that was the intention, so I'm not sure where I may have messed up to make you feel that way. 

No there isn't any music, I have no sound experience and did this all myself learning as I went. So I ran out of time and had to plug what free assets I could find. 

Thank you for the great feedback! I'll look into these for sure. I'll admit that the aiming is kinda wonky on a controller, its easily the most difficult code in the game. As for the enemies yeahhhh I got too used to them myself I should have seen how annoying they are! 

Please! If you play the game make sure to use the Left Trigger to reset cooldowns! You do not have to wait the whole cooldown period! That's just there to prevent abuse!

I love your game and my criticisms are only because I like it so much! 1) I think your platforming is way too tight. It doesn't feel like there is any coyote time or room for forgiveness. A jump or two like that is fine but still. 2) The minimalism is there but there are times where I'm blinded by the light or the character blends in super hard to the environment. Maybe make the world a tad different? I don't want to say more grey but maybe less super bright white areas 3) The wall run is too powerful. I was able to skip all other abilities with it by corner jumping and just sprinting across rooms lol 4) And finally I have no idea how to end the game. I thought i was removing the infections but they kept popping back up in certain spots. 

I agree with Dron, The game reminds me a lot of Thomas was alone and that's a good thing! The lag was just making me sick at one point so I had to take breaks