I like the graphics and audio, and can appreciate how they are made from scratch, however I think this game suffers a lot from something I'll call "developer-is-the-only-player-itis", which can especially be problematic for game jam games. There are a lot of mechanics that were designed to make the game more difficult for its only player (the developer), but as a player it feels like I'm usually just circling enemies waiting for my gun to reload or my knife to recharge (which isn't that fun).
Here's some suggestions for things I think could make the game better (probably implementing all of them would be bad, but maybe adding a few could be good):
- Guns have infinite ammo and increased fire rate. The ammo counter seems like a waste (especially since you can reload after running out), and the fact I'm stuck waiting to chamber the next round for so long feels wrong. This doesn't necessarily need to be a buff either, if you weaken the individual bullets but increase the fire rate it will feel a lot more fun, even if the raw damage output is the same.
- Ability to shoot in all directions. While technically being able to shoot in one dimension is unique, what I've found is that it really hinders the gameplay because it forces a relatively simple loop. 1) move to side of screen. 2) shoot a bullet or two. 3) use the fact you move faster diagonally to kite around outside of screen to get to other side. 4) Repeat.
- Enemies get momentarily stunned when hit by bullets and will stop charging you. Would help with the faster enemies, and also adds depth to gameplay. Yeah you COULD shoot a weaker enemy off the map, but maybe it's better to stun the big dude to buy some time.
- Cover and smarter enemies. Adding cover blocks to hide behind could go well with shooting in multiple directions. Since this is a unity game, you can use unity's built-in pathfinding to keep enemies from running directly into walls. Some enemies should also flank the player and stuff like that to keep them from forming a giant blob in the center of the screen.
- Enemies that shoot. This may already be in the game, as I only got up to two enemy types, but introducing these enemies sooner could help spice up the gameplay and dodging, especially if the player is significantly faster than all but the charging enemies.
Also, I think grenades are broken in this build, I was only able to use one of them during my run, even though the HUD said I had another.
Best of luck to you and your game. Let me know if you decide to make a post-jam version!