Great art, great dialogue, great music, great polish!
But the RNG in the fights is sooo brutal. I am using real hardware, so I don't get to use save states. I have attempted to beat this a few times now and every time I get completely beat down and run out of goo.
The combat system is really well thought out in nearly every respect - it feels nice watching the dice roll, and deciding how much goo to use in combat adds enough interest to an otherwise chance encounter. But the odds are stacked heavily against the player with the enemy handicaps to the point where I am just getting too upset at the unfairness of the encounters - and don't want to continue playing.
Please consider adjusting the balance by adjusting the handicaps (this most of all), giving more goo out on successful attack, reducing goo required to run or finding more buffs, more frequently.
It's a great game but it sucks when the player is failing because of chance all the time. The perception of fairness is big deal, some games even change the probabilities of battle outcomes when the player is close to death - just so the player feels the excitement of coming back from the brink of death! No reason why you cant change probalities behind the scenes when health = 1 or 2, for example.
The battles would benefit from a way to gather more goo during combat since running out of goo is a death sentance. Could you put a third option in on top of Fight and Run? What about 'Focus energy' or something to that effect, where the player takes a negative handicap on their dice roll for a turn so they can focus on gathering a set amount of goo for use in the fight?
There is also a situation where the player starts a battle and is asked how much goo they wish to use in order to tip the dice roll in their favour during combat. But on the first roll, the player hasn't seen the handicap yet and therefore doesnt have enough information to properly decide what to do. They are going into the battle with their eyes closed. Perhaps consider showing the handicap before the battle begins so the player has all the info they need before they commit to fighting.
Some things to think about. I really like the game. Maybe one day I'll be able to beat it without save states and/or grinding that mushroom enemy at the start over and over for his goo (that sounds gross out of context)!