The  Fight For The Castle delivers an exciting and dynamic gameplay experience. The variety of attacks (fast, medium, and heavy) paired with the shield mechanic creates a strategic combat system that keeps players engaged. The ability to manage power-ups and health adds an extra layer of depth, encouraging players to plan their moves carefully. The wave-based structure increases tension with each round, but introducing more variety in enemy patterns or wave design could enhance the replay ability.  The theme of defending the castle is well-executed, with the game’s mechanics and enemy variety reflecting the desperation and strategy needed to protect it. Each enemy type feels like a unique challenge, reinforcing the theme. 

The inclusion of multiple attack options, a shield mechanic, and the power-up meter demonstrates a commitment to creating a layered and rewarding combat experience. The ability to store and use health strategically is a nice touch that distinguishes the game. 

The environment serves its purpose well, providing a functional backdrop for the combat. 

The narrative is effective in setting up the premise of defending the castle.

The controls are responsive, with each attack type feeling distinct and impactful. The shield mechanic adds an enjoyable layer of strategy, and the power-up system provides a thrilling sense of empowerment when activated. The sound effects and visuals during combat reinforce the intensity and make actions feel weighty.

The game successfully creates a sense of urgency and excitement, especially during later waves when enemies swarm the player. The combination of music, combat, and power-up effects amplifies the tension and triumph. 

Strengths: Engaging and strategic combat system with diverse attack options. Well-balanced enemy variety and wave progression. Smooth controls and responsive mechanics that feel satisfying. Thoughtful additions like power-ups, health storage, and shield mechanics. 

 I did not personally encounter any bugs. Overall, Fight For The Castle is a highly engaging beat-'em-up game with well-thought-out mechanics and a satisfying gameplay loop. Excellent work!

Man, what a game! There's a lot to say about this one, but I'll do my best to keep things concise. I think that there is plenty to love here: crunchy sound effects, funky music, complementary art styles, and an overall retro kinda vibe that makes me feel like I'm playing one of the beat-em-up classics. All these things (and more) definitely hit the mark when it comes to the "2D Beat-Em-Up" game jam theme, and I think that's realistically one of the most important things to nail. I'll admit I got a bit lost in the gameplay a few different times with this game, I appreciate the rather challenging mechanics as they highly incentivize experimenting with different strategies at various points throughout the game. Wrap all of these things in an easy-to-follow plot with a clear goal, and you've got a superb game on your hands.

Despite all the things this game gets right, it would be a crime not to mention some of the things this game missed the mark on (in the name of self improvement of course):

• Ending/Final Stage: This game was pleasantly challenging, it took me multiple attempts to get the hang of combat, hitboxes, enemy ranges, health management(really hard actually), etc. So to overcome all of this, claw my way to the final stage, then find myself kiting enemies too closely to the right side of the screen aaaaand... main menu. Now imagine this, like, 5 times in a row. Let's just say it was rough, especially when all I wanted was to see that final boss! Which brings me to the next point...
• The Bossfight: The final battle. The whole reason we overcame wave after wave of enemies. Visually, he looks great. But gameplay-wise, he might have withstood around the same (if not less) damage as the skeleton brutes. I think he took one single swing at me, smoke filling my screen, but when I check my health bar I received... zero damage? Could be a bug, could be an extremely forgiving hitbox, but after all the other unforgiving design choices (why do hearts totally disappear as I walk over them when I'm about to die just because I'm already holding too many!) it felt, in a word, underwhelming.
• Bullet Point Three: That's really it. There are some minor bugs, like if I'm at the final stage and walk to the right my health bar/heart count doesn't reset if I choose play again (unless this is intended.) I also notice an almost identical issue when I do the tutorial: I'll fight the tutorial enemies, take some damage, walk to the right to go to the main menu, and when I press play game my health is still weakened from the tutorial enemies (which I hope is not intended!)
• Bullet Point Four: My actual last thing, which almost isn't worth mentioning but I digress, I think the game would've been even more immersive if the player/enemies were smaller while standing towards the top of the screen and grew (ever so slightly) as they walked towards the bottom of the screen. Not something this game needs, but it would've been a nice touch to better visualize walking into and out of the background, giving the game that extra bit of 3rd dimension that's already being utilized. Definitely something that would've helped on the snow stage, but as soon as you get to the bridge/wall stages it becomes much less relevant (still would be cool though!)

Overall: EXCELLENT game. The actual epitome of 2D Beat-Em-Up in my eyes. A true feat considering the game had what, 3 enemy archetypes? Plus 1 final boss? The textbook example of how something relatively simple can still be so much more than just good. Great job!

This was a great game!

The design was very unique and engaging, and I particularly like how you have an introductory character who goes over the combat in the training mode and the plot in the main quest mode. Added a lot compared to simple text.

The combat is engaging and varied, I like the different levels of attack and then the defend, all of which are clearly communicated to me and feel nice to use. I found out that you could defend and then strong attack, which I don't know if was intentional but it was still fun!

The UI is great and communicates to me exactly what I need to know, I especially liked knowing how close I was to defeating an enemy.

Great job, I enjoyed it!

I enjoyed playing your game. Good Job!