Project Evolve

No way the girl from Fraymakers workshop got her own game?! Project Evolve is a 2D speedrunning focused platformer with the addition of platform fighter mechanics and physics with Metroidvania styled upgrades. Gonna be honest while my review says positive in reality i'm mixed on it, the most I can say is this game's just alright and it also lacks a sense of direction/identity in terms of gameplay i'm mixed on it tbh. What I liked: - The art while sometimes can be mismatched does look nice especially with the VFX on the levels - In the right circumstances Azula can be fun to play especially when you unlock all her upgrades, she's essentially Melee Fox with a little bit of Samus and Bowser thrown in. - The items while basic are pretty fun to use, I liked the soda can and bowling ball! - Checkpoints are mostly frequent so you won't be going backtracking too much. What was mid: - The story certainly exists then again idc too much about story so i'll give it a pass - The OST is forgettable but were ok, none of them stuck out as being memorable and just existed. - What was the purpose of Azula's shine clone power-up thing??? What was terrible: - Those ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ orange armoured enemies are way too strong both in damage and fire rate I majority of my deaths were from them and were a big pain to deal with. - Because Azula is designed like Melee Fox this means platforming is pretty bad when it happens as you'll sink like a rock which is a slog. - Wall jumping is kinda bad like if you cling yourself to a wall then hold the stick in the opposite direction Azula will automatically jump which in my years of 2D platformer experience feels wrong it also doesn't help that some of the platforming segments eat up my inputs which causes me to loose my double jump and die. - Why does the specials use up the energy gauge? I get the supers but loosing access to your specials because your energy gauge is empty really makes the character feel worse to play especially since specials in most platform fighters are intended to be designed as extensions to the character's base moveset - I really wished the dev would've gone the full way with making a full plat fighter moveset for Azula like adding strongs, shields, grabs, dodge rolls and airdodges would've made her even better to play as. - The Ice level is awful way too much ball puzzles and annoying enemy/button placement, really needed more playtesting from a wider group of players. Overall I feel like this game doesn't know what it wants to be like in my opinion this would've been better off as a Metroidvania then a 2D speedrunning focused platformer with that you could've designed more interesting use cases for the upgrades while retaining the platform fighter styled movement and physics. As for the price i'm personally fine with it but I can see this being a bit too steep for other players based on how long it took me to beat plus the lack of side-content, there is a new game plus and the game is designed around speedrunning the game over and over again which is fine (literally my favourite indie game is speedrunning focused) but both Azula and the game design/feel of the level really don't hit a good sense of a flow state for me so hard pass. As this dev's first commercial game this is pretty alright but I do hope he takes what he learned from this and other people's critiques to make a better sequel or a new game entirely!

As much as I want to, I cannot recommend this game in good faith. It aims to control like a plat fighter, but I spent most of the time using singular attacks and positioning myself very meticulously. Unlike most plat fighters, it doesn't have as natural of movement, and is unforgiving with timing inputs. I'm desperately fighting for control to do basic things like an UpTilt > UpAir string, and it doesn't get any easier. The way your character moves is stiff, with immediate speed and halting as soon as you nudge and let go of the stick. This along with attacks having small hitboxes and lacking active frames make for a miserable experience just trying to do basic combos or even hitting the enemies sometimes. You have directional attacks, so if you stop moving forward, you'll likely miss your target. While they do give you the option to use the right stick to perform attacks too, it takes time to move your thumb off the face buttons to there. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for enemies being fast, spammy, and such a handful in groups. I swear, they have an easier time getting hits in than I do. A small set of limits to your movement feel unnecessary. You can only walljump from a wall once until you do so again from another. Your double jump and other moves also dont refresh upon walljump, so if you mess up, you'll just have to bite the dust and try again. Specials and supers both are limited by meter and yet are required to get through certain spots. While the limit never stopped me from using a move, having to smash crystals and collect drops is kind of a pace-killer. Lastly, shorthops are really hard due to how small the window is to let go of the button. I had to go through a lot of trial-and-error, the short music loops and repeating tedious tasks to open gates did not help make it less irritating. Even after all that, it's still a struggle to control. There's some cool ideas here, like the throwable items or the lil obstacle courses utilizing your mobility and attacks, but the latter doesn't get much time to shine or be expanded on. I can see the dev has had various playtesters, but I hope their next work seeks to loosen up with the execution it expects from players, as well as find a smoother flow. Bugs to report: - Item tosses default to the right even if you're facing left. - Menu select button switches from A to B, between the main menu and mid-gameplay respectively.

Very cool game, I love the platforming and controls feel good

Best speed running game EVER!!!

Fun Game and I hope the ball gets removed

An enjoyable, fast-paced game with many powerful and various abilities, with enemies you can tell immediately apart, and dealing with them is like a combat puzzle in the best way.

Really good first game, Im so glad i found a platformer the controls like a 2d fighter, also very fun to speedrun

Really fun. Feels great to combo enemies and you feel unstoppable when getting it down.

2d platformer that controls like a platform fighter. Very cool

Project Evolve is a fun action game with a cute story. Very easy to learn and pickup, while having a ton of control with the game. The stages were unique, and the music is fitting. Nothing I disliked really, easy for anyone to pick up and have fun