Hello again!! Finally got the chance to try out the new demo and got 100% level completion. Absolutely loved it!!!!
The direction you're taking the game is very promising! Honestly, I could ramble for a long time about how great it is. Definitely going to spread the word that Nytro is a must-play for anyone looking to get ahold of a new 3D platformer :)
Now while I could totally spend forever talking about the things you are doing perfectly, that wouldn't be the most helpful, so instead I'm going to throw some constructive criticism your way. So I don't want you to get discouraged by any means, know that you're doing most things wonderfully!
On to my analysis of the current demo's gameplay:
-Being able to change the camera settings is very helpful, though I don't think you've nailed the camera movements quite yet. I know that in the dev log you mentioned probable camera choppiness, which did occur during my playthrough, but that's okay because I know you're looking to fix that. I think my biggest issue is with the camera movement and seemingly loose controls. I'm not really a camera expert or anything, so I can't really tell you how I would fix it. but I do know that it's just not quite there yet. There were times with the active camera, which, generally speaking, should be behind me, where I would turn and the camera would just sit there much more like a passive camera. This led to one particularly frustrating bit of platforming where I expected the camera to follow behind me when I went to go make a jump but it didn't. That threw me off and I missed the platform and fell all the way back down. It's definitely been improved, but I still think there's work to be done :) Wish I could be more helpful and actually help you fix the camera, but alas I can do nothing but tell you it's not done :(
-On to the controls. I love the controls layout, on the controller at least, as I haven't played with keyboard and mouse. So I'm not talking about the actual button layouts, but rather how Nytro controls in the world. One thing I did notice is that the controls seemed too loose. Now, this feels great when charging, but I feel like I should have more control when simply walking. It took me a while to even walk a straight line without wobbling left and right (which contributed to a bit of queasiness from the camera swaying back and forth). I think I may have found the main problem I have with this though. While completely stationary, try to barely budge Nytro left or right. You'll notice that he turns very sharply, making it difficult to have precise turning and it's not very smooth. Again, I think the sharp turning works wonders while charging, but I feel differently about walking or at least barely moving. I'm thinking back to Spyro, I don't think that I ever had a problem with being precise with my turning, because Spyro wouldn't jump to a new position nearly as much as Nytro does.
-The hover seems just a little too pathetic. Just like a 50% or even 25% height increase from what it currently is could make all the difference and be a lot more forgiving to newer players. Again, I'll point to Spyro's hover. I could be wrong, but the hover just seemed to be more forgiving in that game because it would launch Spyro just a tad higher than it does in your game. I would highly recommend improving this because you don't want hover to feel useless. I can't count the number of times that I tried to hover either for fun or to save myself from a bad glide and it actually screwed me up more or just didn't help at all. Oh and if the triangle button (Y on xbox) isn't being used, please let me hover with it like how you can alternatively charge and shock with L1 and R1 as well as the face buttons. My brain is trained by Spyro to hover with triangle haha
-Damn, the snail is hard to catch! Fun! But really tough! Hahaha maybe if this is the starting area, make him just a teeny tiny tad bit easier? I love a challenge, but maybe a snail that tough or tougher can be found later in the game? Idk, I'd honestly be fine with it if you kept the snail as is. But I know for a fact that my girlfriend would probably just give up in frustration haha but it's up to you! (I really love the speedy snail idea btw!)
-Also how can I wipe my save data for the demo? I want to show people, but I want them to be able to collect stuff too, not just run around in an empty world, which is much less entertaining :( So please either have a wipe data option or please let me know how to manually erase the save file
-I think swimming feels better, but I honestly don't know as I didn't have a problem with the swimming, but my girlfriend did.
AND NOW ON TO SOME PRAISE :)
-Collecting things is fantastic and super satisfying!!! Congrats! That can be hard to get right
-I love those cute little robo-rabbits!
-Crystal cave was, while disorienting at first, absolutely beautiful!
-Had fun searching for the key and trying to find a way to get to the crystal ledge. Made me feel like how I did when I first played Spyro for 120% completion, a sense of discovery and exploration.
-The environment in general is really awesome, love the grass, flowers, windmill and whatnot!
-Nice snowman (stoneman?) haha though I think I had to kill myself to get back haha
-Oh and fantastic sounds and music!
-Will there be a headbutt equivalent ability? And will there be a first person mode like in Spyro, where you hold triangle to look around?
I think that just about wraps up my little makeshift review. Anyways, I'm definitely invested in this project and I can't wait to see more! Hope this is successful for you!