I have written quite a lot based on my most recent play-through. I also recorded myself playing so you can watch through the video and see for yourself what I discuss here.
I played through with controller this time and must say that the movement and camera control did feel a lot better than when I previously played. Having the option to invert the X & Y really does make a difference. I did have a few issues with the camera sporadically moving on its own.
I really enjoy the transition from the menu screen into the game! Once in the game, I feel that the tutorial for slicing could be more relevant to the progression of the game. Puzzles later in the game require me to disable power supplies or slice objects to reveal keys. I feel that you should incorporate this into the tutorial at the beginning also as slicing two boxes for the sake of learning disconnects me from the world and doesn’t really make much sense to me. (I would maybe make the player slice a power supply to disable the lasers – I feel that just one slice would be enough for this, as the player is required to slice through the doorway anyways.)
I had an issue at the beginning where when I used the controller to pause the game and change my settings, then unpaused, the tutorial had gone, and I was unable to slice using the controller. It seemed to be resolved after I opened the menu with the keyboard and mouse and then closed it again.
I enjoy the elevators! They look cool; however, I did have a few issues with them. When trying to walk off the elevator it seems that the player gets a little stuck. The player is also unable to jump while on the elevator but I’m unsure if that was intentional. I’d like to be able to jump while on the elevator.
I also managed to get stuck in a few strange places (the platform that the first elevator brings you to, and the power supply that drops the first bridge – the first time that I got stuck I had to restart the game, the second time, which was on the power supply, I managed to move off of it after a few seconds.
Much like the elevators, the chains look cool! However, I’m unsure what their purpose is in the earlier areas. I’m not sure if I was supposed to be able to, but I managed to just walk right through them. I did like how they were used later in the game to hold up the block which blocks the fire, I feel like using them for more of this type of puzzle would be good.
I was able to slice the orb containing the green card whilst standing next to the key reader and without the orb itself even being visible. I myself knew what to do having played it once before, but if someone new were to do the same, they might get a little confused as to what just happened.
I really enjoyed the puzzle with the moving and rotating boxes! Solid puzzle that.
In the final room, I managed to get to the final orb without really being sure what I’d done. I think I might’ve cheesed it. For the final puzzle in the last room, using the slice mechanic to rotate the blocks doesn’t make sense to me. Up until now, I’ve been using the slicing mechanic to destroy things, and now I’m suddenly using it to rotate blocks. The puzzle itself is nice, however, I think that you should consider using another method to rotate the blocks (maybe by just having the player look at a selected block and pressing a button such as ‘A’)
I am a fan of the visual elements of the game, there are a lot of things that made me go "OoOoOh" or "AaAaaH". I do feel like there could be more that signifies that the environment that the player is in is that of a testing facility as it does read that, but it also slightly reminds me of the interior of a spacecraft or a futuristic warehouse (?) Maybe more screens with previous test results or running diagnostics etc. Not essential, but good for world building and improving the overall experience.
The game has come a long way since I last seen it, so well-done guys! I’m excited to see what else you produce, keep up the good work!