ahoy
i'll make this quick since i've written essays for GResort before and i figure you know my general thoughts/views
so:
>UI is better with icons. still has some ways to go, but every step counts. go MORE visuals in every possible option. things like (Female) can be replaced with an icon (the simple circle + cross standard woman symbol works). put as many things in dropdown lists as possible. the UI should be tiny and clean when not interacted with (ie: when you first present it to a new player)
>difficult is stabilizing. did not encounter any bullshit rooms or composition in my early runs. slime pools perhaps still a bit too punishing, but things are much better than before. new (to me?) rooms are also good. did not have any "oh come on" moments. feels like i have more time to reach objectives.
>story (without visuals) is risky. people will get bored before getting the fun stuff. while I know things will have visuals later, i'm speaking about DDs. bored testers = testers who quit on the first failure. probably a good idea to either: add any possible visuals, no matter how bad (i've said this before i know, but i really feel strongly about this), or just scrap it al and start with the game, then reintroduce once visuals are ready.
>i didn't do the tutorial again, since i didn't notice anything new to me in the streams/ YT clips
>i mentioned this before, but i think time limits should be something that are introduce later, or something that you opt into for extra rewards. asking a player to remember layout + face on a time limit is stressful. i think it's worth it to pull a "darkest dungeon" move, where you have the intended difficulty, and the babymode difficulty which is clearly marked as such, but still available for players who just want to coom
>super minor issue: being super close to the heartmirror can show a low res face image. most people will faceplant the mirror, so i'd consider getting another, super high res image to use there. i assume this is WIP, though, but still thought i'd mention it.
otherwise you are clearly progressing and improving with each DD, keep up the good work
see you at DD50!