I went in with a totally open mind. I don't mind that the graphics are limited, that's not why I play games. I play games for fun gameplay and good underlying mechanics.
Rare is it to find a game made by a one-person studio where they explain the basic control scheme right off the bat. There's a few characters "in town" and they have some witty dialogue that actually made me laugh, and then a guy holding a sign who gives you a little tutorial. I was actually impressed with this aspect. It got me up and playing in under a minute, and I got a laugh out of the good humor.
Sadly my enthusiasm quickly dissipated as I entered the cave and started the main game. First, there is no apparent goal to the game, just keep proceeding through level after level of the cave. A glaring problem occurred immediately: I reached the "end" of the first level and walked through the exit. But I found myself right back at the start of the same level! So I proceeded through it again, and exited the cave. I found myself back at the start of the same level... AGAIN. WTF? I wasn't sure if there was a bug or something, so I carried on. That's when I realized that there are perhaps 5 or maybe 10 levels in total (can't say for sure) and they are selected at random. So in my playthrough I went through 20 levels, and I saw the same maps over and over and over and over again. Same monsters, same items, same placement of gems, everything identical.
I don't mind map recycling, it is a common practice. But the EXACT same layout 3 or more times in a row? Or you might have the same map twice, then a new layout, then RIGHT BACK to the map you just played two times. It sticks out like a sore thumb and makes you question if there's any actual content here.
The worst part of it all, is that there is no challenge whatsoever that I can see. All of the foes I encountered were the equivalent of Mario Goombas... just jump on them or walk past. Way too easy. Also, no incentive to gather resources in the maps, because as I said, they are all the same, no challenge, and it doesn't seem like anything changes one way or the other even if you do collect the gems and unlock items. Why even bother gathering items when you can literally walk from the start of a map to the end, with absolutely NOTHING presenting any kind of challenge or threat.
To the positive, I did find some cool items which I think were creatively done. A belt which saves you from falling, and when you do it send you flying back up! Portable springboards, heavy rocks you can throw which propel your character the other direction with inertia. Definitely some interesting concepts are in place to make navigating the levels a bit of a creative exercise. But again, since there is no apparent risk/reward/point to any of it, you can just walk/jump from the start right to the exit, and not bother with any of it. There is no REASON to use anything or explore the levels.
Really this game needs a TON of work. About a hundred additional maps would be a good start. More than two or three Goomba-type monsters. Some kind of reason to want to explore the maps. Lots of gameplay hasn't been put into place. Why have all kinds of cool items with powers when there's no compelling reason to even use them?
I'm sorry to say to the dev, who clearly put his heart and soul into it, that it needs A TON of work. This barely qualifies as a game as it stands, even though many of the items and powers are pretty cool. The core game hasn't been made yet though. What is my goal? What is the risk/reward for doing anything? None of that is in place yet.
I refunded after 17 minutes. I will keep watching this game and I hope the dev keeps working on it. I don't mind supporting smaller devs with cool ideas. But I need the gameplay to be worthwhile. Keep at it dev, you've done pretty good so far but keep going. This game isn't ready for the public, it is AT BEST a pre-alpha.
