Hi! Thanks for sharing the game link! I’ll start with the positives.
Positives:
- I liked the variety of enemies, each with its own mechanics. They’re all unique in their way and have individual animations, which is commendable!
- The difficulty ramps up gradually, which is nice. Often, developers avoid challenging players for fear of disrupting their “fragile emotional state,” but here the game isn’t afraid to throw down the gauntlet—and that’s great!
- I enjoyed the pixel art. The background parallax is well done, and the color palette is cohesive and unified throughout.
Negatives:
- I was often killed by the bird, whose attack collider seems misaligned. It looked like the bird had already flown past, but when I let go of the space bar, I would die. I think the issue is that damage is tied to the sprite itself rather than to the enemy’s specific attack. It would be better if each enemy attack had a clear VFX cue, so players can visually understand when an attack happens. For example, the hand coming out of the ground was the most frustrating. I never quite knew when it would deal damage, and it often killed me even after I thought I’d moved past it. Since there are a lot of enemies and movement is slowed as a result, I would often stop right behind the hand and die as soon as I moved forward again. It felt unfair.
- The game’s pacing felt too slow. While it’s fun to hide from enemies as they pass, I think the game would be more dynamic if players could constantly move forward with a mechanic to switch planes or dodge enemies while running rather than hiding. This would increase the game’s tempo. You could even have the pumpkin’s speed increase gradually, making dodging harder. Additionally, giving the pumpkin a few lives (instead of permadeath) would be helpful—maybe two lives to allow some margin for error rather than punishing players with instant death.
- The music sample became repetitive quickly, especially if you spend more than 2–3 minutes in the game. It would be great if each new enemy added a new layer or arrangement to the soundtrack, creating an evolving dynamic and giving each enemy a unique musical presence.
Conclusion: It’s a good little game with a cute visual style. Personally, I missed having an endearing protagonist inside the pumpkin to keep players engaged, but that’s just my personal preference. I also read other players’ comments mentioning that you created the game entirely with code, without an engine, which is impressive. I admire your skill. Thanks again for showing me your game!