Nice clean graphics. Clear scope and objectives. Would like a more fluent movement, especially when facing the boss. When you try to put in inputs fast it does not respond correctly.

Overall Good game I liked it a lot!

I really liked the approach to art here, and especially the whole "hands holding a spell in front of you" conceit. I did not like that the enemies could shoot me at an angle no matter where I was :(

Lessons Learned & Postmortem of My First Game   (WARNING TEXT DUMP!)

Hey everyone, Im writing this post for though who might care to read, and to analyzes the design choices of my game and the insights Ive gained from feedback so far.

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Combat:

My goal was to encourage cautious exploration, with players strategically peeking corners and managing enemy projectiles. I think this approach resonated with players who where already familiar with this style of gamplay. However,  for newcomers, it might have felt frustrating due to:

Unclear Tutorials: The core gameplay loop of cautious exploration wasn't properly introduced, leaving some players confused.

Difficulty: The punishing death penalty (complete restart) and the lack of checkpoints. I think this game would of benifitted from checkpoints after every relic.

Missing Feedback: Lack of visual cues for off-screen attacks made the experience more unreactive than reactive/ strategic.

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In Hindsight:

Improved Tutorials: Prioritizing clear communication of the intended playstyle from the beginning.

Fair Challenge: Implementing checkpoints and difficulty options to cater to a broader audience.

Visual Feedback: Visual indicators for off-screen attacks would of  improved player awareness and decision-making.

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Movement:

This seems to be a controversial topic and a dealbreaker for many. Player preferences regarding movement controls (A/D for strafing vs. turning) seem divided. There's no single "right" or "wrong" approach, but offering options would have improved accessibility.

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In Hindsight:

Control Customization: Including options for different control layouts, or letting players set there own keybindings, to personalize their own prefered experience.

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Level Design:

The intention was to guide players visually towards the central pyramid, with each relic retrieval leading players back to a familiar location. While I still think the concept was sound, the execution needed refinement:

Limited Visual Cues: The environment lacked strong visual distinctions, making it difficult for players to recognize the pyramid as a central point and easily navigate back to it. Repetitive textures and unclear pathways between relics detracted from the intended visual flow.

Underdeveloped Theming: Enemy placement could have benefited from stronger thematic ties to each zone (maze-like, projectile counting/timing , ambush potential).

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In Hindsight:

Enhanced Landmark: Emphasize the pyramid's visual dominance to make it a clear landmark. This could involve using diffrent colors, unique textures, or changing its size.

Clearer Paths: Implement stronger visual cues, like diffrent textures for pathways leading to and from the pyramid to aid player navigation.

Enemy Encounters: Fleshing out more diverse enemy placement 'puzzles', aligned with zone themes (puzzles, timing challenges, surprises).

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Other Learnings:

The intro was too long. It should of been condensed down, and honestly could of been 'shown' not 'told'. Text to speech AI was not for everyone (fair enough). I had added it fairly last minite for though who might not want to read, but i think there where better ways to do/solve this.

Enviroment was too static. I think adding more dynamic details like animations that make enemies and health orbs float up and down could of helped make the game feel more dynamic (just as an exampe). And the lack of variery in wall textures, enemies, ect.

In Conclusion:

These are some key takeaways from  my development, and while there is more i could talk about (like boss design) ill skip past it for lack of time. I appreciate all the feedback received so far, and welcome further discussions. (ps if you acually read all of this thanks!)

It's a nice game and it looks and feels very polished.  

The only thing I did not like was having to start over after almost getting the boss. A save checkpoint would have been great!

PROS: Love the art, combat is readable and feels natural

CONS: 2D art contrasted heavily with 3d animation and models. Enemy placement felt too clustered or too open at times. Loss of progress at death or difficulty finding relics made progression feel slow.

I really liked it.  I died at the boss fight because my movement felt stuck, which was frustrating.  I could see myself playing this sort of game, the combat was tuned well, it just felt good and flowed.  I really liked the cooldown was represented with a fireball recharge animation.  Nice art too.

Cool art style.
The boss fight is very cool, the monster's combat is a bit redundant tho. The fireball is a bit too huge for the screen, it is too much bulky. Overall a nice game, good job!

Loved the graphics and style, its true that the combat is really repetitive, I could see this game becoming not a dungeon crawler but maybe a boomer shooter if you add a few new enemies. Nice work!

The combat felt very simple and repetitive, but I liked that the game was focused on ranged combat. That said, most encounters felt like hiding behind cover, waiting until the enemy was done shooting, then popping out to take a shot, but there were a few moments where enemy placement felt like a puzzle I had to figure out to avoid taking damage, and I wish there would be more of that.

Also, I think having VO in the intro dragged it for too long -- it would be much faster to read it and start playing.

Really cool, especially for your first ever game!  Controls feel tight and responsive and it's easy to play once you get to grips with dodging enemy attacks.  

I like that you put quite a bit of effort into the story as well! 

Really liked this, nice artwork and smooth controls and combat.  Would only suggest more variety in wall textures and monsters but pretty solid game jam game with some good potential.

I like the art style. It feels like a comic book.

Hand farts take up too much of the middle of the screen. Its a bit distracting.

Great Job, tho.

Good job! loved the atmosphere and your first game ? well done dude

Really well made, everything was smooth and the shooting mechanic worked well. I think I did not really get, how the boss fight worked, but I killed it anyway. Good entry!

Was surprisingly enjoyable! Nice tight mechanic with shooting and dodging. Maze was not too hard to navigate and the boss fight was enjoyable, quite a surprise in a usually static combat genre! Well done!

I love this hands :D

Solid controls (though I wish there was input queuing). Level was well designed and even had a boss fight at the end.

Loved the color scheme and art work.

Cool booms

Pros:

"This game is very cool! The concept is engaging, and it's impressive that it was developed in justone week. It's definitely enjoyable to play, providing great entertainment."

Cons:

"One thing I would suggest improving is to make it a bit livelier. Adding more dynamic elements or enhancing the visual and audio effects could enhance the overall experience."

Overall impression:

"Despite the minor suggestion for improvement, this game is a great achievement. It's fun and showcases impressive development skills. Looking forward to seeing future updates!" :)

- KRE15i

I loved this, especially the boss fight, which was a real highlight for me from an encounter design perspective.

The art is stunning, and it's so polished! I didn't spot a single issue or bug. For a first game, I think it's an outstanding achievement and you should be so proud of what you've achieved.

While I could try and pick out areas for improvement, I just don't see it as necessary. It held my attention and I finished the final fight with ~10% of my health left.