We played this early in the jam but didn't make it very far, as we had a lot of other projects to check out. Revisiting this was a priority, as we really wanted to give thoughtful feedback. This game is clearly a top contender in this jam - huge congrats to you guys for crushing it!
The bad stuff first:
- Maybe it's a personal qualm, but we really wanted to be able to skip the dialogue. Not because the story wasn't interesting - because it was - but because it felt like it locked you out of the gameplay for too long and sort of droned on. Our submission was admittedly weak in narrative, so again it could be more of a personal opinion.
- The cloud jump ability felt a little awkward to use. Aiming with the mouse made it so that using the keyboard to play was just a little more annoying than it could've been. A possible fix (at least for us) would be to make it 8-way directional, so that you could bounce from the orbs more quickly without having to use the mouse.
The good stuff:
- A huge map to explore! This is a Metroidvania jam after all, and it was refreshing to be able to explore at the breadth that this game has to offer.
- The art style is consistently satisfying to look at. The character, enemies, tiles, upgrades, etc all look like they belong in this world, and that really goes a long way.
- Enemy AI! It feels really good to battle with the enemies in this game. The way wolves back up when you approach them makes it just hard enough to run past, so engaging with them becomes an actual choice. The flying enemies that shoot bolts at you are really inspired as well.
- It's crazy how little we find attacks with directionality, even in games like these that are heavy in combat. Big thank you for having directional attacks, so you can combat stuff flying directly above you. On top of that the character feels great to control, so getting into encounters is way more fun than it is disengaging.
Take our complaints with a grain of salt - this was such an excellent entry, and one that we really wanted to revisit with legitimate feedback. It was an awesome experience - thank you so much for making a really fun game.