It’s always challenging to critique someone’s first attempt without seeming discouraging, especially not knowing how they’ll take the feedback. That said, I want to be honest with you. While constructive criticism is often more beneficial than praise, making your first game is a huge achievement, even if the final product has areas for improvement.
The artwork is fantastic, though the animations could use some work. With time and practice, I’m sure you’ll get better at this.
As for the theme, I didn’t notice a clear connection to “Calm Before the Storm.”
Regarding game design, there are some notable issues. The WASD controls feel unnecessary. The weapon’s damage radius is quite large, and since the enemies automatically move toward you, there’s little need for movement. In one of my playthroughs, I stood still and simply spammed the attack button without taking any damage. To make the combat more rewarding, you could adjust the attack mechanics to only damage enemies on the side the character is facing.
When it comes to the enemies, they’re described as “dark” and fly towards the player, disappearing either when they intersect with the character or are hit, which dims the angel’s light. While the concept is solid, the execution needs work. It’s hard to tell whether enemies are disappearing because you attacked them or because they hit the angel. This ties into the earlier issues I mentioned, but you could address it with clearer animations, sounds, or by adding effects like a temporary stun when the player takes damage. Even something as simple as dimming a halo of light around the angel could improve feedback.
Lastly, I recommend incorporating brief moments of calm after all enemies in a level are defeated, giving the player a chance to regroup. Right now, the screen changes instantly after the last enemy is defeated, which can lead to accidental button clicks.