controlling the monkey's movement was definitely a struggle, and it felt like that was part of the point but i was so bad at it that it was getting in the way of experiencing more of the game. and the game looks brilliant, i love the pixel art and lively sprite animations and how you've got almost everything to look super cohesive together. i just really wanted to play more of the game and i sucked so bad at the controls that i couldn't :(
left and right being mapped to W and S was, too trippy. i don't think direction feels intuitive like that. i saw the controls had happy wheels inspiration but it seems that there W and S are accelerate and decelerate (doesn't turn the bike to face the other direction) and that it would've made more sense if you'd done it like that i think. i did also figure out on accident that the left and right keys were also binded and they also moved left and right, so i tried using those alongside the A and D to tilt. this was easier, but the tilt was still so hard to get a grasp on. i feel that the first few jumps in the jungle interior should have been made possible without the need for tilt, and then easing into the need for tilt a bit later. it was just so easy to quit the game too early when i really wanted to see more of it....
on top of that, even more key inputs with E to interact, shift to break and mouse click to attack? if i'm already double handing with the arrow keys then that extra mouse input is, not convenient. even if i wasn't already compromised though it'd just feel right to also have such an important mechanic available on the keyboard like the rest, since i can't be the only one who gets comfortable not touching the mouse for 2d movement games like this (this also applies to the ui) i also think there should be a little indicator for E to interact to appear over the first few chests when you go near them, that'll help remind the player as they get used to it i think. because i was just terrible at remembering all these keys.
i did play the tutorial and found the progression of mechanics a lot nicer there but maaaaybe the tutorial could stand out a bit more on the start menu by looking like a subtitle or something so i'd actually see it the first time, maybe. i guess that depends on how you'd like the players to experience that though. still never got the hang of break though.
oh yeah i couldn't get very far so this might've changed further in but the cycling theme seemed to start and end with the player character's movement. maybe it would've come through in some of the chest items? but from what i'd seen it did just kinda seem like, monkey jungle adventure but it's on a bike.
would have liked to play more of the game but i wasn't strong enough, it was just too frustrating to move. visual style looks fantastic, rogue-like card gameplay from what i'd seen looked interesting but again, could hardly get very far with the movement.