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This is a very simple game at its core, but I found myself wanting to push further as the choices start to open up from level 2 onward. The concept works really well, and the game is enjoyable to play.

Nice work!

Small suggestion: maybe allowing players to equip multiple items of the same type (for example, two shields instead of one shield and one armor) could further reinforce the feeling of building your own setup.

It's a little difficult to grasp everything happening on screen at first, but that fades quickly. The game is really cool and interesting, with a special mention for the fantastic art style!

The game is really cool and well paced, nice job!

Thanks a lot for the detailed feedback, this is really helpful.

You're absolutely right that the current optimal strategy often seems to lean toward circling behind enemies, focusing on a single target, and prioritizing dodging over shooting. That’s something I’m starting to see in other feedback as well, and it’s not fully aligned with what I want the game to encourage.

My intention is for shooting to be meaningful and for positioning decisions to matter, not for passive survival to be the dominant strategy. 

I’m not sure yet about keeping waves on screen until everything is destroyed, but I do agree that I need to make shooting more essential. I’ll experiment with adjustments and see what improves the pacing without breaking the overall feel. 

Also really glad to hear the telegraphed attacks and the enemy design and variety worked well for you.

Thanks again for taking the time to write this!

Thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a detailed comment, I really appreciate it.

And thanks a lot for the kind words about the art, sound effects and visual feedback, I’m really happy that part comes across well.

Also good to know about the controller support, I had no clue it worked!

I'm glad that the deaths felt fair and that learning new enemies worked as intended; that’s exactly what I’m aiming for. The respawn “chapter” structure was meant to keep that learning loop engaging, so it’s great to hear it worked for you.

The downtime you mentioned when the last enemies move out of reach is a very good point. I’ve noticed similar situations and I agree it can break the pacing. I’ll think about how I can change this.

And yes, I do plan to publish on SPLORE! Once I have a more polished version of the gameplay.

Thanks again for the thoughtful feedback, it really helps!

Thank you for taking the time to try it and give feedback, it's very helpful.

What you're saying confirms one of my concerns : the feeling of repetition and the potential for boredom, especially in the early levels. I'll think about what I can implement to improve that.

Regarding the focus mode, it reduces the player's movement speed by half, while the rest of the environment keeps moving at normal speed. I'm also considering how to improve it, either through clearer visual effects or adjustments to the system itself.

Again, thank you for your feedback and your time.

Thank you for trying it, I'm glad you had fun!

I'm happy that the telegraphed attacks felt clear. I'm working on improving the animations and sounds for them.

Hello everyone,

I just released my very first game made with PICO-8 : FLESH NAVY.
It's a minimalist shmup that I tried to build with progressive difficulty based on observation and learning.

Even though it's just a small game, a prototype, I want to treat it like a full-fledged game and polish it as much as possible. 
It's currently in a 'playtest' phase and I'm trying to gather feedback to improve the overall feel :

- Are enemy attacks readable?
- Does death feel fair? 
- Are the first levels (kind of tutorial) too boring ?
- How's the overall pacing of waves and levels ?

You can play it here : https://vonhoppdev.itch.io/fleshnavy 

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to try it.

Hello everyone,

I just released my very first game made with PICO-8 : FLESH NAVY.
It's a minimalist shmup that I tried to build with progressive difficulty based on observation and learning.

Even though it's just a small game, a prototype, I want to treat it like a full-fledged game and polish it as much as possible.
It's currently in a 'playtest' phase and if some of you take the time to try it, I'd really appreciate your feedback.

You can play it here : https://vonhoppdev.itch.io/fleshnavy
Thanks to anyone who takes the time to try it.

thanks a lot