Having played this twice now today, I'm happy to say that this has the potential to be a great game! The presentation is solid, the gameplay is intuitive, and the puzzle design is top notch. And considering this is early access, I'm impressed with how fleshed out the content is!
Few things that I think could be better; first, the movement is fine, but not the best that it could be. Jumping feels a bit flat, and walking around feels a bit weightless. Considering flinging yourself with the cyclones is a reoccurring element, I think it's important to get the weight of the player character just right to make the gameplay more satisfying. I also find grabbing objects a little iffy; I find the window of grabbing the object to be a bit too small compared to how Portal and Portal 2 are. On a side-note, I notice how far I fling the object, almost like it isn't that heavy. It's not good or bad, just interesting.
Visually, it looks very nice! Everything is clean, lovingly modeled, and very coherent. The sound design is also strong, every element having a fitting sound effect. Though I will say, something about the location feels empty. I dunno, while I like the warm color scheme of the environment, I do think it's a little too muted. The lighting is good, but it doesn't really "pop," for lack of a better term. I imagine that the visuals would get more refined later down the line, because I think there's hints of an isolating, haunting envionment, but it's not quite there yet. I'm also curious if this game will have a story; Portal and Portal 2 had good gameplay, but it was the narrative that really made the games more special. The gameplay is solid, but I don't have much engagement with the setting I'm in because I don't what to make of it. I'm hoping that this would be addressed in the future.
The Portal influence is no doubt obvious, but that ain't a bad thing. Quite frankly, there isn't enough games like Portal and Portal 2, and Cyclone is shaping up to fill that niche. I do have concerns in regards to how much is taken from the Portal games, mainly in how some puzzles are heavily inspired by those in the first game; the most notable example being one that's heavily reminiscent of Test Chamber 13 from the first Portal. I understand wanting to reference and pay respects to your inspirations, but considering how much of this game is already like said inspiration, I can't help but notice how distractedly derivative it is. Like I had fun with them, but I thought "that's just like Portal, and I dunno if I'm okay with that."
And I think that's one of my biggest concerns with the game; I love that it wears its influence on its sleeves, but it runs the risk of not having a unique identity. I'm not saying you should remove the Portal-esque elements; after all, that's one of the things that's appealing about the game. But I do think it's worth adjusting the presentation to be more distinct from Portal. For example, Cyclone's chambers use rectangular white panels like the Portal games. But the thing is, I thought those panels were rectangular to match the size of the portals; here, the cyclones fit in a square, so the rectangular panels doesn't really fit? I think they could be replaced with varying sizes of square panels instead, just like the black panels. It's a small thing, but it goes a long way of making the chambers looks less like Portal's. Basically, I'm not asking for a complete visual revamp, but more so I want you to look at the portal-esque elements of the game and figure out if they make sense in the context of your game.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed my time with this game! I've been aware of your Portal projects for years now, so to see you make this game is incredible! It's already checking off the boxes of a good puzzle game, and I could see it becoming really special down the line. Impressive stuff all around, I'm really looking forward to what comes next!
