Just excellent! In my top 3 Playdate games for sure! Atmosphere is amazing, the controls and gameplay are spot on and satisfying. This is a metroidvania I WANTED to explore every bit of.
Very minor nit picks:
- I wish the player character had a just a touch of flare or character... example Quote from Cave Story and Celeste from the original Celeste are pretty blank-slatey characters too, but their design had something that popped and make them less generic. White-kid-with-pompadour (who also has very little stated motivation).. just doesn't elevate the game.
- The ending isn't enough. Up to the VERY end all the dialog and story were charming and just the right balance of brevity vs. motivation.
- Really if those two things were fleshed out, even just a little - I'd be speaking of this game in the same breath as Cave Story and Celeste. Especially considering the limitations of the Playdate, it's just that damn good - well done.
- The "Brothers in combat" riddle is not satisfying. The word "Apathy" doesn't make sense in context of the answer. "Library" is a stretch as well. The other riddles were spot on!
- The second time challenge is a bit too unforgiving, given 1) the slow down in these section - especially with the sound on and 2) the imperfect alignment of sound and graphics.
- I'm at 97%.. I think the last thing I am missing is a final heart piece - but there's no way for me to find it without simply scouring the map. The dark sections and "top" sections of the map make it unclear what areas I may not have explored. Wanna DM me the locations of any hard to find heart pieces ;) ?
I only took the time to type out this feedback because of how really impressed I am with Echo: The Oracle's Scroll. If you own a Playdate this is a must play if you even kinda like platformers and metroidvanias.