Hello, we're french game design students and for an exercise we've organized a playtest session with 3 players. We've taken note of their feedback and are sending it to you here. If you'd like the full notes on a Miro, please don't hesitate to contact us!

ACCESSIBILITY

Interface / UI

• Players did not immediately understand that it was possible to drop items 
• Items overlapping issues
• Written information is not necessarily read by the players
• A key reminder of the controls ingame would be appreciated

• Tutorial: too many informations, font not optimized or readable

Controls / Camera

• One of the player did not like the camera in front of the main door
• Players did not sprint because they didn’t know the mechanic exists
• Lost on game objectives
• Players didn’t use most of the mechanics (did not do the tutorial)
• Does not like that the same control is used to escape traps and drop objects
• They like the choice of top-down view and the vision zone system

ART

Visuals

• Feels oppressed by the lighting of the characters (their view)
• One of the player tried to hide in the furniture (which give code)
• Don’t like not knowing if drawers have already been searched

Sound Design

• AI: Reacts quickly to sound (which is good)

NARRATIVE

Objectives

• Didn't understand the usefulness of the key carried by the enemy
• Collects different objects but didn’t know what to do with them
• Easily and quickly understand the mechanic of escaping from the enemy
• Poor understanding of objectives (which are not explicit) : wonders what each collected item is for

Lore

• Finds that the lore is not explicit (used the game's description to understand the context)

GAMEPLAY

Difficulty

• Weak points: Enemy AI is too unpredictable
  • One of the player didn’t like the concept of hiding spots: prefers escaping
• Strengths: Feeling of infiltration
• Difficulty: Decent, possibility to learn by doing multiple runs (good point!)
• Weak points: Enemy AI is too fast and unpredictable
  • One of the player found the bear traps annoying
• Likes: The two other players liked the variety of content (bear traps, glass, etc.)
• Positive aspect: Random placement of clues in different search zones

AI

• AI: Didn't understand how the AI works, its behavior

Bugs

• Frustration: The enemy can spot the player through certain walls, which ruins the experience
• Feels like the character is heavier (in reality, the game lags)

FEELING

• Positive

• Feels the pressure
• Game speed is a bit fast (before sprinting)
• The game is fun
• Immersive and stressful
• Engaging atmosphere
• Positive points: The overall immersive atmosphere (feels adrenaline) and controls

• Negative

• Frustration from getting caught too many times
• Negative points: AI + key above the enemy's head (lack of understanding)

Some ideas that may helps: 

• Put differents colors to help recognize the place to hide and the place to look in
• Add some feedback when you get caught by a trap
• May forced to play the tutorial, or try to melt it in the first level
• Add some feedback when you find an object like an image of the object that you found in the middle of the screen for a few seconds, in order to be sure the player noticed it. 

It may seem like a lot, but remember we appreciate trying out your game, it was really interesting to test it in our exercise. Good luck with the next stages of your game's development - don't give up! :)