Thoughts recorded during my playthrough
+ = I liked it
- = I didn't like it
- There was a voiceover at the beginning, but it's muffled, so I have no idea what it was saying. Was that deliberate?
+ The 3D model of the ship is gorgeous!
- I tried pressing all of my normal interaction buttons, but nothing is working! What do I do to make it go?
+ I pressed some random keys and eventually stumbled upon this menu. A tooltip a la CoD for interactable elements would be helpful for people who don't play these kinds of games much (like me). I know I checked the options menu before I started but I don't remember seeing the "interact" key. Maybe I missed it?
+ I like how each character has their own personality.
+ I love how you included characters from your previous game jam game. I think other characters in this game are references as well?
+ First mission was quick and snappy. Delivers me right to the action, and the enemies are not too tough.
- First mission ended so abruptly that I thought the game had restarted.
+ You do a nice job of handwaving it, though. I suspect some sort of limitation (time, knowledge, etc.) prevented a smoother transition.
- It's kinda hard to aim the magical shots without a reticle.
+ Combat is simple and it doesn't take long to mow down the enemies. It's pretty easy to get damaged in close quarters, but health is generous enough that it isn't too much of an issue.
- Second mission was a little confusing since it wasn't clear where I needed to go.
+ Once I found where I needed to be it was a fun time. Sakura helped out, which was a nice touch.
- I'm finding a recurring problem with trying to determine where I'm supposed to go for each mission. There is a popup indicating where the enemies are at the start of each mission, but without some visual indicator (minimap, waypoint, etc.) it's pretty meaningless. Fortunately the map is small and is the same one every time so it's just a matter of process of elimination, but it could be a big problem if the missions were longer, more complicated, and/or on different maps.
- I don't know if this was just a limitation on your part (and I am dreadfully ignorant of Unity), but given that we're going back to the same place every time, I would have preferred the missions to be a string of encounters instead of going back to the ship each time.
+ BGM during the "Extremely Hostile Presence" part rocks!
+ Oh wow, voice acting!
+ The Discord-esque cutscene was cool
Summary
This is a definite improvement over your previous MGGJ entry. While it still has its flaws and room for improvement, the combat mechanics are interesting and fun. I hope you keep sharpening your skills and I look forward to your next project!