What an interesting game! I'm impressed with how polished this is for a solo project. Great job!
Praises:
- Answering questions by microphone was surprisingly doable. I was expecting the AI to have a much more difficult time deciphering what I was saying, but it only messed up once in my entire time playing the game. Additionally, it always seemed to understand what I meant, which is pretty impressive.
- I like the game's artwork; the cabin I play the game within is very cozy.
- I really like how the fire grows over time. It gives a good sense of progression and really ramps up the tension as the game goes on.
- This is a very polished game - perhaps even the most polished game I've played so far in this jam.
Criticisms:
- Sometimes I had to repeat correct answers multiple times for Charlie to give me a green button, even though Charlie told me I got the answer correct.
- Not every question had a corresponding escape room element; I had to guess some of them, which was a lot less fun than looking around for a clue.
- Charlie can be a bit overly verbose at times. I wish there was an option to skip listening to her repeat a question I've already heard.
- The game feels a bit too much like a school assignment to me. I can imagine this would be a really solid teaching tool in school, but I wouldn't play something like this for fun. If you were trying to make a teaching tool though, you nailed it.
- The calm music and Charlie's calm demeanor don't feel like they match what's going on outside. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to feel calm or worried.
- The game suddenly hard-crashed on the last question. :( I don't know if this is because the fire caught up to the cabin or if this was a bug.
Overall your game is very impressive! Great job.