Hello! Congrats on making a fully playable game! I played through your production demo and I definitely see some improvement here. Here's my thoughts on the game:
Praises:
- The map is a great quality of life addition. One of my biggest complaints about the production build was that I often felt lost, so it's really nice to see that problem addressed. (Quick note: bringing up the map on controller didn't work for me; it simply flashed on the screen for a split second and then disappeared every time I pressed the button.)
- Near-complete controller support is very much appreciated.
- Having a checklist of things to do is also a great QoL addition, and helps to feel like I always have an objective, instead of feeling like I'm aimlessly wandering around.
- I appreciate the walls becoming transparent when I'm near them so I can see myself. I do wish the buildings also did this, however.
- I like the post-bridge scene and the effort put into making the ending satisfying.
- The game's visual aesthetic is cohesive and interesting.
Criticisms:
- The game's writing still repeats a lot of information that can be easily visually discerned. When I pick up an item and the game displays a sprite of a newspaper article with a photograph, I don't need a whole sentence of the description to describe the contents of the photograph; I can already tell that from the sprite. I would have liked to have read more about things I can't visually discern, such as what's written in fine print on the poster, or how it feels or smells, or details too small for the sprite to display.
- The game's world still feels very large and empty. While I'm no longer getting lost the way that I used to, there's still not much to interact with in the world. Some puzzles or some more in-depth interactions with the security drones would have been nice.
- The game's sound and music still feel pretty undercooked. The music feels very empty and repetitive, and there's no sound for a lot of things I expected sound for, such as getting hit by a security drone or opening a door.
- A minor thing: there's no way to exit to the main menu or desktop once you beat the game.
Overall this team did a solid job. Good luck with your post-release development!