Quick review:
Very promising and clearly full of a lot of passion and hard work. I think it is a very promising piece and displays a lot of competency in displaying the important pillars of game design.
More detailed:
Initial first impressions are very important, and I think the game has a decent start at that.
1 - The game is kinda performance heavy despite it's simplicity, my computer ran a little hot while playing, not a huge issue, but definitely something that could be improved upon.
2 - The main menu is professional and goofy at the same time. The sfx menu making sounds for the player to gauge volume on is a great idea I never considered. Bravo! The pause menu's flavor text as well is nice and helps add a cute layer of personality to the game in a small but appreciable way. And having the how to play always available, as well as listing the buttons on the screen for abilities is a very useful touch.
3 - The graphics are simple, but very striking. The game definitely makes intelligent and thoughtful use of what it puts in the level, and making it stand out or blend in depending on it's importance. The game world is very easy to read and navigate, which makes playing it a simple and fun task.
4 - The movement is a bit stuff but overall pretty good, there were very few times where I was somewhere I didn't want to be or didn't move fast enough. The movement responds well and quickly, even if it can be a bit crunchy at times.
Combat is the bread and butter of a hack and slash and I think the game does very well on that front.
1 - The moveset set is pretty good. A good sword combo, a simple ranged attack, and a few abilities to spice things up. The sword does good damage and the sound and animations are satisfying enough to lend it some weight. The shield is very nice for catching your breath in those moments where you get caught off gaurd. A very good addition even if it doesn't seem to do much. The ranged attack is kinda iffy, it is very difficult to see visually where the spear is as it tends to blend into the background and has some trouble hitting enemies reliably. The blue potions are nice to get through some tougher traps and for when you get stuck in a group of enemies. A little generously laid around the map but better too much than not enough. The fire spell is nice at dispatching and clearing away groups of enemies. Exactly as powerful as it should be, no complaints. The dash is at first not that useful seeming but it is great for escaping crowds and difficult situations. A very good addition.
2 - The enemies are simple but effective. They move and attack with good accuracy and without relent, ensuring that the player has to stay on their toes in combat or run the risk of being cornered or simply making a misstep and being hit. They are no too hard, but in numbers can pose a good challenge, demanding good movement and positioning. There could be a little more variety I feel, but what is there is good and works well.
3 - The traps add some nice spice up to the encounters. They are not very threatening on their own, but in a pinch, or when in large numbers they can easily ruin your day. I wish they were applied a little more liberally in certain encounters. The third level makes excellent use of them and makes the encounters still very engaging when the could otherwise become stale. They are very well realized where they are used, though it would be nice if they were used more.
The levels themselves are very well realized both in flavor and in function. The player is well communicate to and the path is always clear.
1 - As I said before, navigation is very well done and the level always has a clear path forward. I almost never felt lost and even then could easily find my way back to the intended path. The graphics, geometry, and overall flow of the level perfectly indicate progress and direction. This is easily the part the game does best, in my opinion and it should be something to be very proud of.
2 - The puzzles are very well realized and the mechanic involved in actually cycling them was genuinely impressive on a technical level, even if it is simple in interaction. I love the way that they have their answers spread across a section. They are perfectly contained to their own area where you know you have to find them so even if you don't know where to look at first you never feel like you're searching the wrong area. And they are just a nice way to spice up combat and are done very well and are paced perfectly in each level. The only thing I can say against them is that the door you open with them, the voice is kinda hard to make out at first, and some subtitles would be nice. It took a few times to figure out he was saying "x runes correct" and I never knew what he said when you finished the puzzle. Overall very good mechanic!
3 - The flavor of each level is awesome. I was worried at first that the game would follow the general aesthetic of the first level, with a simple and sort of generic forest (though don't get me wrong, the first level was very well made) but each level had a very distinct and interesting theme to it. Each one was very welcome and made the levels a treat to play through. And incorporating verticality into them in certain parts just made it so much more interesting and cool. Whoever did the art for the levels and designed them and their themes did an amazing job. And the addition of voice acting - amazing!
The boss level was ok, probably the weakest part overall
1 - Right off the bat, parts of the level were untextured zone, which is a bit of an eyesore, even if they matched the tone, the did clash with the better done purple stony temple part, which was very good.
2 - I did like having him stomp around before you get to him, it definitely upped the tension on the walk towards him, which I think overall was a good move and worked well.
3 - He had a very limited moveset that only came into play partway through the fight, and before then, it was a very dull sort of proccess where you hit him a few times, moved away, and then did it again. It did not play to the strengths of the rest of the combat I feel which was fun mostly due to the positioning and moving around in a dangerous environment while fighting, whereas he was just fought in an empty arena. The new moves he did were well done but still resulted in the same proccess of fighting, the way you fought him did not change as the fight went on, which is a shame.
Conclusion -
This game is very good and professionally made. I am very impressed and hope to see more of what the team can do in the future. Good luck guys, and sorry I took so long to review haha.
