itch.io

Yes, yes in many ways. Oh, I adore this entry. The level design feels clever and there is much to see. The reveal of the Park made me giddy up and I knew that I was in for a treat. The presentation makes me nostalgic and sets the tone right. Nails it, even. Controlling the marble feels just right. The areas feel distinct and have their own thematic puzzles, and the different combinations of elements surprised me in a good way. The little pointer on the checkpoints indicating points of interest is a helpful touch. Also, the music slaps! I want to praise it much more.

I sadly must admit that I got stuck after finding the Wood and Gyro marble one hour in, and then softlocked myself a few times. Luckily nothing major, just reloading the save got me back on track. The levels do feel spacy after rolling around much. I sadly am pressed for time and can't give it the proper review it deserves, but what I've seen definitely won me over!

What a ride. Heads up, the next lines are blunt.

This feels mismanaged and without a clear vision. I say this because of the comparatively large team listed here. Sure, everything is there, but what's there doesn't fit nor work well enough. The models are nice. The companion looks cute. The texturework is decent. But all pieces just clash when combined. The whole thing has a lovable clunkiness that screams passion over polish, and while I respect that, the game suffers for it. Paradoxically, less would have been more, and more in line with the theme. Neat idea, questionable execution. Taking a look at the devlog, I honestly prefer the prototype models shown there over the end product.

Also, quitting the game via Esc/Menu is diabolical.

Honestly, not for me. This is more of a Roguelite. Movement is stiff and clunky, level design gets boring, progression is a grind that actively punishes you for being bad. Which is a shame because the general idea is interesting! Having to gather resources to upgrade and explore further tied with risk and reward AND with directional combat sounds cool! But the execution is jarring. It is certainly a choice to tie combat to movement, and I don't think it works here. You're always moving, trying to avoid getting hit, but that directly influences where your sword will swing next. Locking the movement with Ctrl does not help because then you're vulnerable to attacks. Additionally, the gravity and jumps between battles are brutal, so it ended up feeling frustrating rather than rewarding. An alternative way of gathering resources, retrieving corpses and learning enemy patterns would have helped greatly, but does not solve the underlying issues. On the positive, the in-game HUD and menu are neat and there were no technical issues aside from the aforementioned gameplay.

I bested the first boss and upgrade. After dying in the subsequent battle, with no hopes on retrieving my gear, I lost motivation. Sorry for being harsh. After two hours of piling up robot corpses, I admit defeat.

Clean. Thoughtful level design. Open areas ripe for exploration. Differing environments while adhering to simplicity. And the little notes! Reminiscent of Sky and Journey, which worked wonderfully. Well done!

Damn solid. I especially loved the music, worldbuilding and last act. It has everything a metroidvania needs, with great relevance to the theme. Everything is built so solid that I only have nitpicks. The camera feels stiff and fights against the cursor, controller support would've been nice, plus the web version suffers from missing glyphs in the font.

A complete, bite-sized package! Love to see it!

Funny lil experience. Lack of a respawn after falling out of the world threw me off at first, but the game is small enough to compensate. I like the expressiveness of the attacks and the visual color pallette. The latter made it a bit hard to discern where I needed to go in close proximity. Dunno what else to say as it's not finished.

There are two wolves inside of me:

One half delights in the cathartic relief of a challenge mastered, entranced by the slickness of visuals and presentation, determined to reap what one has sown. The battle scars fuel their desire to carge toward a resolution most benign, overcoming the weight their actions carry;
The other weeps and winces at the botched execution, begging for mercy and salvation. They see the cracks behind the canvas of art, the grueling display of mechanics unpatched, bells of hope placed most cruel, an ending unsatisfactory, an antique world unfit for the task.

They look at each other, tucked in their corner. After a while, they smile.
In a warm embrace, they howl in unison: "Yeah this game fuckin rules."

I love games that are bold. I have no words left to describe what others have already pointed out before, especially in terms of grievances, but I need to point out that I adore the visual craft - the sounds hit just right, North looks badass, the 4:3 letterbox makes me nostalgic. I am in the firm belief that this has slick style, and serves as a template to something greater.

Please nourish your desire to create. I'd love to see more.

(And bonus points for cute furry with a big polearm solidarity, too!)

This slaps so good. Cool vibe, stellar execution in the sensory and enjoyment department... I had fun all around. Pulling this movement off must've been tricky, and I respect how frictionless it ended up! Love me some skatin' and stylin', it mixes up the 'vania aspect in a good way! If for whatever reason the water level had dropped to reveal another layer of platforming fun with the skills available at the end, my inner child would've jumped with joy. Some minor gripes were the controls, because a break and decoupling of the two joysticks would've been nice, and that the reset button can glitch you inside geometry. But, if the biggest bummer is the lack of more content, then that's a damn good achievement. Y'all can be proud of your work and I'd love to see more in the future!

Playing this felt like a bad acid trip. Every time your body tries to cope, it immediately injects another dose. Slipped from another plane of existence, it is our mission to comprehend. Trust the creative process, let the substance invade your veins - once it elevates you, you understand. It sure elevated me.

Honestly, you surprised me. This is a strong entry with great ambition and I enjoyed the available content. That said, I'm a bit sad that it isn't a contained experience. I like the mechanics, the boss battles, the chit chat... and the alluded story feels like it has substance, aside from the theme. Now, I do feel that the minimalist chunky pixel style chosen for the characters clashes with the very detailed levels, backgrounds and bosses. A unified, consistent style while keeping the light vs. dark theme would elevate this game a lot more for me. Furthermore, the levels are a bit too big because they aren't filled meaningfully. It's a slog to backtrack one entire area. Lastly, while the difficulty was fine for me, you get one entire health back per enemy, which, combined with the ample health already, made traversal inconsequential aside from the challenge courses.

This has potential. Good job!

Oh no, of course there had to be a bug right there...
It's patched now. Sorry for the inconvenience.