Overall great game, and I'm excited to see what the next build will bring. I think the animations are great, the level design and difficulty are really close to being incredible, and as in contra itself the power ups feel incredible even if I'd like for them to be available more often.
It might be a good idea to have a gangbang animation so that groups of enemies don't pause the game for a literal minute? And as mentioned by the people below, a way to skip animations would be nice.
In regards to being able to see the animations, getting coins is a lengthy process and I was only able to gain the funds for 2 despite having beaten the game and gone on the higher paths when available. I don't really think the coins are necessary at all tbh- the game has enough longevity as is due to multiple paths and difficulty, so this just feels a bit grindy instead of encouraging exploration and replaying.
Speaking of secrets, I think that the game should allow for backtracking in cases where the player isn't choosing between power ups. An example would be the third level- I spent a BUNCH of attempts (possibly a dozen?) trying to get past the red fliers on the pipes, since getting hit once would force me to restart the level if I wanted another try. And by the end, it wasn't even worth it since it ended at the same place the path below it did, with the path below THAT only missing out on two coin boxes and the very bottom path actually having a power up. Having the ability to just climb back up would have gone a long way towards making that area less frustrating.
Finally, while the final boss is pretty neat the first boss is bland. There's no apparent h animation, the tentacles aren't telegraphed so the main strat becomes strafing back and forth, and the boss takes and INCREDIBLY long time to kill. It's not a hard boss despite this, since there's a few seconds between attacks, but it does get a bit boring.
Thank you for your kind words and feedback as well as taking the time to leave a comment! I appreciate all of them greatly! You bring up a lot of excellent points about the game.
Gang bang animations are being worked on for exactly the reason you cited and the ability to break sex scenes is in the current subscriber build. I am planning a new public release very soon that would include it, a new power up and some updated gameplay animations very soon!
I am always balancing the costs for gallery however at the same time I am still implementing new ways to get coins in game that should help make the process quicker. There will always be more coins in the upcoming levels!
The issues with the boss you mentioned are being worked on, the good news about him though is I am making progress on his sex scene animation and it is the next one to go in game. I want to implement a better signal on the tentacle attacks that alerts the player sooner I just need to spend the time on it, but it is on the list!
Also a tip for that boss he dies if you kill any segment of him with 15 shots. He takes forever if you hit every segment with 14 shots but if you shoot him in the head 15 times he is dealt with pretty quick!
As for exploring levels I like that they are a bit one way and linear. At some point I am adding a stage select so that would serve as a quick way to play a specific level again. I am also still feeling out level design and have more stage elements to build that will enhance stage design!
Thank you for playing the game and leaving feedback! It is always a huge help!
I think a stage select would also work wonderfully.
Besides the classic contra machine gun and spreadshot, what other weapons do you have planned? Anything from metal gear or commando 2-4? And is a customizable loadout something that might be possible in the future, where the base weapon changes with some tradeoffs?
homing shot is in the current subscriber build and I really want to add a flamethrower as a power up. I have also been working on screen clear bombs to use.
A customizable loadout is a fun idea but since this is my first game I am going to need to keep the weapons simple and straightforward for now. Maybe when I am better at making games we'll see Goop Troopers Tactics!