Alright, I need a reality check from the Itch.io community.
I'm the solo developer of 23:55 at Valgris, my 2D isometric time-loop mystery. I designed it to be a brutal, old-school puzzle game, but now I'm not sure if I've balanced the difficulty correctly, or if it's just plain impossible for a new player.
Here's the thing: I know the game is 100% beatable. It's not broken. I can personally 'speedrun' the perfect solution in under 20 minutes (using less than 4 loops), but that's because I know every single secret and don't stop to investigate.
The solution isn't just one single 'aha!' moment; it's a specific chain of many concrete steps that have to be done at the exact time, in the right order. There are clues in the game to point the way, but I'll be honest, they're subtle and you really have to be observant.
So, I need to know if that solution is actually discoverable by someone who isn't me.
This is my test: I'm offering €50 to the first player who can find that "golden path" and send me the video proof (rules are on the game page).
This is the best way I can think of to get feedback on the game's core puzzle balance.
(P.S. — It's still a beta, so if you'd rather just hunt for technical bugs, I'm also running a Bug Hunt. Report a critical bug and you'll get immortalized in the credits as a "Valgris Informer.")
You can play it in-browser and read the rules here: 👉 👉 https://weblanzarote.itch.io/2355-at-valgris
I'm genuinely curious to see if anyone can actually do it. Good luck.