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(12 edits) (+3)(-1)

I like every part of Masked Kid's design - from the mask & general look to the fact that Elizabeth just decides to call them "kid" and gender doesn't really factor into the game or your character at all to the adorable journal they keep that gives them a lot of character despite them not talking at all - A+ character design there.

I like the music & sound design. I like the level design, I like the puzzles, I like that the game is linear (I found backtracking to be very minimal & justified, filled more with suspense for whatever you're going back for than boredom).

I love the combat system - keysmashing combat is never fun for me, so I like that there's a level of strategy and space to think -  I didn't understand the description of 'turn-based combat... without the turns!' when I first read it, but it absolutely has the best parts of turn-based combat while also having the tension & urgency of non-turn-based combat. There are plenty of enemies, while still not being too much considering that you have to remember specific hints for each one of them. It was easy-going and unpunishing with nonviolent alternatives to most fights, while not being boring. Boss combat was always harder & more interesting than usual combat, but doable without too many frustrating failures + every time I failed, I felt like I knew what I did wrong and knew how to do better next time.

I love the design of the Moth Queen and Stitches. I wish all games were so creative with their bosses & characters in general.

I love the humor, I love the storyline, I LOVE the twist(s!). Games with good stories are always my favorite and the story here is amazingly done. I love that instead of getting pre-set status upgrades when you level up, you have to decide what's most important to you. I stuck with this game all the way through to the end (which I loved, even though the very last battle's controls didn't work well enough for me to complete the game... that being said, the controls in the entire proceeding game were stellar).

BUT...

The Monkan society... was bad. Monkeys, dressed in leaf loincloths & colorful masks, that are being 'kidnapped and enslaved' by El Sanserissimo... their chief talks in broken English that is reminiscent of racist stereotypes about Jamaican accents and AAVE... Elizabeth constantly calling them savages, remarking how 'surprisingly civilized' it is for them to not support child marriage... the bit where the chief says something about eating Masked Kid, then reassures Masked Kid & Elizabeth that he was only joking, and she says '... sure you were.'

I'm sure you weren't making them with racist intent (including this in the Racial Justice Bundle makes me guess that you care, at least to some degree, about racism), but in making this 'savage', 'uncivilized' monkey society you invoked a lot of racism (it's worth noting that 'savage,' 'civilized,' and 'uncivilized' are all inherently racist terms/concepts, & while not everything I listed above are racial stereotypes about Black people, they are all racialized in relation to savagery: the idea of 'savage' African & Native cultures participating in child marriage and/or cannibalism, espcially as a result/proof of their savagery/inferiority, is one with a very long, very racist history).

The rock enemies (can't remember their names - the ones on Pica Pica Island) reminded me of those "Mexican" halloween costumes. El Sanserissimo also felt like a stereotype to me.

As far as more nitpicky stuff goes...

The first Gray Kid fight was, to me, a lot harder than most of the game before and after it, which felt off - her attacks were timed in a way that made her really hard to parry.

The very final boss fight, while I appreciate that it flipped the game on its head in a way that was very exciting, was also extremely hard: I knew what to do, I was doing it, but it wasn't working - those controls were difficult to fight with in a way that wasn't fun.

Hopefully this feedback will be helpful to you in making any future games.

(Edit: to anyone thinking of getting this game, I do want to emphasize again that overall I really did love this game. I initially put off writing this whole comment because I didn't want to put anyone off the game, especially since indie games tend to take criticism harder than big companies and I definitely want to support Paper Castle in making such creative, unique games. The Monkan society was very jarring to me when I first played this game, but I hope you'll play this game because it's legitimately one of the best games I've played. I really, really do recommend it - every criticism I have made comes from a place of love. It's rare that I fall as deeply in love with a game as I did with this one. It's absolutely an "indie gem" and I think it's definitely worth your time.)

(+5)

Hey there! First of all thank you so much for playing the game and sharing your feedback.

Before addressing your points, we should probably clarify that we're developers from Venezuela, not the USA. This is not to say that we're beyond criticism because we're latinx, but that certain things that are seen as harmful in the US might have gone over our heads because we come from a different background. 

There are many references of Venezuelan culture hidden in the game that most players will probably not get, and Pica Pica tribe was one of them. The Pica Pica tribe was intended to be a reference to a group of Venezuelan indigenous people called the Yanomami. Even though Elizabeth says they're "uncivilized", the joke was supposed to be that they're actually just like the other minions (if you check their houses they actually have very good living conditions, with TVs, ACs, and big beds. And all of them speak perfect English except for the chief). Elizabeth is just very prejudiced against minions in general, and at that point in the story she's slowly overcoming it. 

Los Duros have two first hispanics names (which is common for us) and use mariachi hats to hide their weaknesses. El Salserissimo is a reference to Salsa music and to Hispanic characters in Hollywood movies that occasionally say words in broken Spanish, except this time el Salserissimo speaks correct and coherent Spanish between his English lines. 

That said, we understand that what we made can be considered in bad taste and even harmful, and we do regret it. These jokes and references came from a place of ignorance, never hate, and we're truly sorry if they caused any harm. 

Like you said, the reason we wanted to include the game in the bundle is because we care deeply about issues of racism. We grew up in a country of stark economical and social inequality, and it took us years to learn and break free of the awful beliefs we grew up with. It took us many years to make this game (almost 5 years), so much so that our ideals and beliefs have changed and continue to change to this day. 

We're still learning, and we'll definitely take this criticism into account when working on future games. Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

(1 edit) (+5)

I appreciate your response, and I can absolutely see where you're coming from. Los Duros & El Sanserissimo reminded me of stereotypes (especially as an American, we have - especially historically - a lot of shallow, stereotypical representation of Mexicans that roughly amounts to "sombrero + mustache +  maybe a poncho + spanish accent + spanish words randomly thrown in with english sentences = Mexican") but now that you've explained I entirely see the ways in which they were intended to & did undermine those stereotypes.

Thank you for being open to my criticism and responding thoughtfully. Underhero is otherwise a wonderful game and I'm looking forward to seeing future work of yours : )

(+2)

Thank you for understanding, we're glad you enjoyed the game overall (despite the hiccups you described).  We're looking forward to making better games for everyone to enjoy ^^