I like the rhythm based combat idea. I think your game pulls it off really well. I used a similar idea in my game and in my opinion your rhythm input system feels much better than the one I was able to make... 😅
However, I did find that ultimately the combat system was hard to work with.
I think the primary reason for that is because attack direction is tied to movement direction. This means that if I am running from an enemy, I have to rather awkwardly turn around in order to attack it. The attack animation also freezes the player in place, which makes it even harder to attack and still be able to avoid the enemies.
I do think that tying the attack direction to movement direction is not necessarily a problem. I think more generally, the combination of all these factors:
- Attack direction tied to movement direction
- Slow moving player
- Attack animation freezes player
- Short range of attack
- Large number of enemies
- Enemies move quickly
Causes the combat to be particularly difficult. I would recommend tweaking some of these factors in order to make the combat easier.
That said, there is an aspect of the combat I really like: it seems appropriate for a furnace to move slowly and somewhat awkwardly. Playing this game, it really feels like I'm playing as a furnace lumbering around a house. I think that it just needs room to breathe a little.