I really really enjoyed the bits that I've played of this. I'll definitely get back to it and update my thoughts but for now I found the implementation of the theme really cool, the level design was very creative and engaging and it always impresses me when people find the time to implement full fledged bosses in a game jam. I will say though, the segment of the game that contains the shop with the healing echo is in my opinion a brutal jump in difficulty considering the lack of saves for that entire section. I reached the end with the eyeball and echo soldier combo and when losing to that brought me to the start I did have to put it down for a bit. 

I was eventually able to get past all that and to the next save though, and in terms of design I thought it was all very well done and fair, but the pacing and escalation to me felt very off considering the intro section had an abundant amount of saves. But other than that  bit of balancing, for now I don't really have much else constructive to say this was just really well done! I'll definitely be getting back to this in the coming days to finish it up

Ok I just finished, and yeah, this was great.  Like I said in the previous comment, really impressed with what you created here, and it definitely feels like a demo of something I would pay money for. Unique concept, unique atmosphere, and engaging exploration gameplay all around.  I ended up finishing with 89%(not sure where I had missed stuff, but I assume I got everything but a couple hearts, or an ability I forgot to buy somewhere), but may go back to explore what I missed.  Here are some loose thoughts/feedback as I was playing:

• Being frozen after being hit felt weird.  I didn't notice it after the first couple screens, but it felt strangely unresponsive.
• The music was immediately incredible.  I'd love to know what VSTs/samples you're using! I'm honestly jealous of the production of the quality.  I feel that's my biggest weakness as a composer. The vertical layering was also done so well!
• The atmosphere as a whole is incredible.  The animations were so crisp! Loved the character and enemy designs as well.  They all felt very distinct.

• Very clever and nicely guided level design. The mini platforming puzzles and such felt intuitive and engaging to do. The sense of gated progression was executed so well.  In the Scavenger King biome, it was so satisfying to see all the platforms I couldn't reach and knowing assuming I would get a double jump or something, so the wall jump upgrade hot the perfect spot for that!
• Not sure the spark collecting ability works as intended?  I'd have to reread it, but it seemed like it was supposed to collect sparks killed by my echo automatically, but it never seemed to work.
• The mechanics feel really good to play, especially on a controller 
• I did kinda wish the vertical hit box of the melee attack was a tad bigger, and maybe a bit more standard length.  But the verticality was messing with me with the standard bats. Though that may have been intended for unique challenge.
• Amazing implementation of the theme.  Not only making the dash(a Metroidvania staple) a core mechanic but also the fact of how well it utilized the echo effect.  It was just a tad less useful in combat then it was in puzzles/traversal, but wasn't really bothered by that.
• The final boss was such a great use of all the core abilities. Felt appropriately challenging while also thematically correct.  The Scavenger King was definitely the hardest boss of all of them though.

Yeah, this was incredible. Easily my favorite jam project so far and maybe the best jam project I've played in each one I've participated on? Either way, excellent work here and you should both be proud. I can't wait to see what either of you make next.

Holy crap. I just beat the Scavenger King and have to put this down for now, but I absolutely love this game so far. It would take an immediate drop off for me to not rate this game incredibly high. As is, I would pay for this experience.  Mechanics, gameplay, level design, atmosphere(both art and music, my god) are done so well.  I'll give more detailed comments once I complete the game, but felt I had to say how damn good you two did so far.  Incredible work.

Whoo boy, this is a meaty game. I'm at the Scavenger King atm and will continue playing later, but want to get some thoughts down while they're fresh. The art is very good and there is a ton of enemy variety already - the sound effect the machine frogs make is top notch. There's just a lot of overall polish all around so far, which is really cool to see in a gamejam game. The echo transposition ability is very cool for puzzle solving mechanics, and from what I saw of the Scavenger King so far, its tells are very well implemented and the fight seems very balanced and fair.

Some initial thoughts:

- The echo as a combat mechanic doesn't feel super great right now, or possibly I'm using it wrong. It feels kind of strange to dash away from enemies to damage them. With the shield enemies in particular, I felt very passive and cowardly the first several times I fought them. In the challenge room I finally figured out I could down bounce off of them which felt better, but right now I just never feel sure that I'm using the echo correctly (in this regard I was very surprised to see a purchasable item that interacted with your echo damaging enemies because up to that point it had seemed quite hard to use on the current enemy set).

- I think the short attack range is okay for the feel you're going for, and I like that you can up its range as a sort of risk reward mechanic, but  it gets a bit troublesome when chasing down enemies paired with the character's fairly quick speed. I ended up making a lot of baby steps towards  enemies that are walking away from me for fear that I'd run into them while trying to attack otherwise. I don't really know how to address that, was just something that stuck out to me.

- The healing mechanic is interesting, but it's a lot of set up for a relatively small amount of healing. It feels odd to have to charge up while an enemy approaches you, dash away from that enemy to create an echo, and then run back towards that enemy to get your heal. I like that it ties into the theme and is definitely unique, but I'm wondering if there is a smoother implementation.

Anyway, I'm enjoying my time with the game so far and will come back to it later today. It seems quite massive, Is there a way to know how much progress I've made? 

Overall this is a pretty solid game. I feel like the mechanics were clearly interpreting the theme. If it wasn't listed on this page, I'd still know what theme you were going for, so thats really good. I always like purchasing upgrades, so thats a plus as well. Enemies were simple enough, but provided a level of challenge.

I think the my main criticism would have to be the difficulty level starting from the first upgrade station. I did have to run that several times before I adjusted enough. After that section you enter the closed room with the skeleton and wall eye on the left side and after a couple tries, I got the hang of that, but was blindsided by the spawning of another wave on the right side, plus an extra enemy. As a player,  I didn't expect that second round. After that, I feel like I had a decent idea of how to play the game. So i think the initial difficulty may be a little high, but i think after the room I mentioned it feels like how I would expect it to play.

The above is the only thing that I feel is worth pointing out. Other than that, very solid. Music and art meshed well together. None of the art, music, sfx stuck out or struck me as being an "odd choice". Congrats on a really solid entry!

Immediately enjoyed this.... I am afraid I am just too tired after fixing an annoying issue in my own game to finish playing tonight. I will 100% come back and play though this more...As of right now I rated mostly 4/5 stars...Can't wait to see how this progresses. The controller movement was great and it seems to be quick and punchy and fun!