Hi! I really enjoyed playing your game. Here are some of my notes:
+ The overworld is aesthetically pleasing and nostalgic
+ The music doesn't feel repetitive and the transition between the overworld and battle version is cool
+ I LOVE the design of the shadows! Also, the background effects in the battles and the pause menu looks nice.
+ The simple-looking combat system is intuitive and at the same time allows for different strategies and combos.
+ The reagent system incentivizes the player to use a variety of different skills as opposed to just spamming one single skill if they want to capture the shadows.
- The Obelisk (pretty much everyone else has said it, I think it should be repurposed for a special mechanic or a less frequent action)
- Movement speed could be higher, both walking and sprinting.
- The automatic movement during the tutorials felt clunky. It may feel better if the enemy quickly jumped onto the player instead.
- The battle trigger hitbox sometimes felt clunky, especially with the dogs and the cat.
- The close button for skills book in battle blends with the background. I don't know if it was just me, but I had to look for it every time. Maybe adding an outline to the button could fix it.
Extra Notes:
* In my first run I assumed that the damage amount only matters for defeating the shadow not capturing it. This made me stuck on the dog battle and unable to progress. Although, I don't know if I missed the explanation of that in the tutorial.
Overall, it was a great experience! Also, dog jumpscare :D