Okay this is a long one. First off I do like the game, I wouldn't have made this review if I didn't see any potential in it and that is what defines this game *Potential*. The game has a lot that *could* be going for it and that it does, yet a lot of the basic features of the game aren't explained and while I get wanting to keep the spirit of discovery alive but not telling us that 'Form' allows you to change party members rotation in combat, or that 'Provoke' is your basic attack and not a conversation/dialogue/debuff tool, and just the basic stuff like that, the systems of the game don't really get explained or if they do not all that well.
Audio/Music: While some of the songs (especially the 'Intro Tape' one) can be worse than god awful at times there is actually a lot of really good and atmospheric tracks within the game, the one's I like the most are the one that plays at the player's house and the jail theme when you get caught stealing.
Dialogue/VA: First as this is related both to this section and Audio/Music, as some of the voice acting is just so bad it makes the game suffer, some of the voice lines just need to be pulled out of the game fully imo. I despise Wizards voice, and all of Zekes voice lines I've heard so far, short as they may be, makes me want to strangle her. I hate it. Some of the voices are so good that I actively want to listen to the voice over of the dialogue for some characters, like my most beloved Pistol-F or Pistol Face. Anyway especially when your messing around in the game, or doing another run through it, having to sit through all of the dialogue again is just annoying, having a skip option for dialogue would be most helpful.
Stealing: This is probably the worst application of a theft mechanic especially in regards to how Gambling is handled within combat and the intended message it has with it's abysmal design. basically, coin flip, you succeed you get 1 Cheese (Currency), and if you fail you go to jail for 60 seconds. For one for a 50/50 chance that's a complete waste of time for 1 Cheese and the 60 seconds jail time is just not justified for that. I recommend to instead change it so that it's a quick action style where the player had to put an input as soon as it lands on the succeed option with it moving fast so it's difficult and pesky to do. Give at least 10 Cheese as well. Also give the two officers in the jail some random dialogue and use them for some worldbuilding, them repeating the same thing over and over again every time you go to jail is bland, if your going to use up a players time don't just waste it.
Gambling: This need a heavy rebalance, I get wanting to discourage it's use but making it so that it costs more Cheese to save after each failure is just too much. I recommend making it so that it instead costs SP instead of Cheese, which still keeps it punishing within the fight itself but doesn't potentially lock you out from saving do to making it to expensive. It's a combat feature so it should stay confined within there, unless it has some narrative use, but it doesn't.
Combat: Explaining that Provoke is your basic attack option would be optimal, actually a general explanation of the combat system overall is needed. Like Coax is never explained despite being in the Skills menu as a subset, you can't find them in the Skills combat menu. I think Coax has something to do with status effects, I know that status ailments are a main part of the combat system but that is never really communicated in game at all or at the very least so poorly it might as well just not be in the game. (I can't get past Markus, that little ♥♥♥♥.)
Economy: CHEESE. I like Cheese. I don't like not having Cheese. There isn't really a good way to get a lot of Cheese outside of grinding using Pickpocket from Zeek and Bethany (The Toilet party member, the most gorgeous girl made of ceramics), which isn't really that effective since it's a LUCK based mechanic and the only other ways to get Cheese are sacking EXP after defeating an enemy for it or stealing which as I stated before only nets you 1 Cheese. There are shops in the game (In 'ROOM') that you can buy skills from, but selling is locked, so you can't sell anything at the start of the game at least. I suggest, since there is already a lot of NPCs at the start of the game that don't really do anything, you give them like basic quests, like getting lint from the couch enemies for them and they grant you cheese or XP. Just something to make it easier to get Cheese.
Slaughtering: The most wasted mechanic imo so far in the game. There is another mechanic called 'OFFERING' that allows you to trade in a Corpse for XP. You think that using the Slaughter mechanic after defeating them would logically provide you with a Corpse, but no, it just removes an enemy forever from that location. You think that would be nice until you realize that at the start of the game the only way to get Cheese at a half-decent pace is by grinding on them using Pickpocket. Just feels like a wasted design choice.
Despawn: There is like a 3-5 second delay after you recruit a party member or slaughter/leave an enemy after defeating them in a fight, which you can't do anything during that time at all, not even open the menu. Is it like a engine limitation or something or was that intentional? It's a waste of the players time either way.
Form: Okay so it might have been more obvious that this is short for 'Party Formation' but with how strange the naming of the mechanics are of this game can you blame me for not realizing it until over an hour into the game? I mean I even tested if that was what it was for right after getting the bestlad Pistol-F, but I guess my party wasn't big enough? Speaking of the party the wizard guy is ass. I don't like him.
Bugs: There is also a bug that crashes the game when, after entering the TV, leaving the TV house, and going straight down after getting Bethany and going straight down into the next area after getting her, you have a chance to just crash and if you didn't save your progress before it is just fully ♥♥♥♥♥♥. It forced me into restarting the game, where it happened again as I not on purpose walked into that area. Only on my current and third playthrough of the game am I able to actually go that area without crashing, and I made sure to save this time. It's like a 3RD person perspective 2D dungeon crawler looking area, I don't know what it's meant to be for but it is cool. It's the only bug I actually found so far, which I'm kind of impressed for what I assume is a one person project.
Overall Thoughts/TLDR;
The game is in need of some work, but it does have the potential to become a cult classic, I think some design choices are holding it back and the voice acting might pull some people out of the experience, which is an fully unique and fresh feeling one, but not a very well executed design currently. Can you enjoy this? Yes, you can, with some effort it can very well be a good game to enjoy.
Message for the Dev(s?):
Is this your first project, or released tittle? Either way I think you should keep working on it until it's at it's best possible state, it would be shameful to see such a highly creative, interesting, and in ways enthralling idea sit catching dust with it's potential unfulfilled. I also thin you are very talented, and that learning from this game will make all of your other works much better and I hope to see those improvements whenever you decide to give it another shot. Anyway, signing off.
