itch.io

This is a really great metroidvania game with graphics somewhat reminiscent of the Commodore 64 era and gameplay that functions a lot like a classic retro platformer from the early days of home consoles. I did quite enjoy playing Brathian, so I'd say it is definitely worth a try if that's what you're into. That said, I do have a few issues with it in its current state. The main issues I have involve the game's powerups and less-obvious controls (the ones that require holding a combination of the down key, attack key, and/or jump key either on the ground or in the air) not being explained to the player, and the fact that player constantly has to retrace their steps - not only to get to previously-inaccessible areas, but also because they went the wrong way. Someone totally new to the game will likely run into multiple instances where they went down a pathway that lasted multiple screens, only to be barred from continuing further by an impassible obstacle, forcing them to backtrack. I love metroidvania games, but the main character moves very slow, and the fact that I have to guess which path to take, with incorrect guesses completely wasting entire minutes of my time, is just really frustrating. I think that the easiest and best ways to fix these issues are to 1.) add pictographic indicators to the first few screens of the game and next to each powerup to let the player know the game's controls and the functions of each powerup, and 2.) allow the player to fast-travel to any of their previous checkpoints. There is no point to requiring the player to traverse the same screens multiple times, especially when it is no longer challenging to do so. There is already the option to fast travel to the most recent checkpoint at any time, so adding the option to fast-travel to places that the player has already been would greatly streamline the game and lead to a much more enjoyable experience.