For disclosure, the developer made me into a character, just because I was a very sticky fan of his first game; it's a giant centipede, which I must say looks very lovely, my mom said I would never make it, but you proved her wrong. This is not a review copy, I purchased it for myself to support the dev.
I have to say the design of the world is just so adorable, I love all of the characters, and even the navigation in the menus is so fun, just really cool animation all around. Once again, you really showing your good taste in the soundtrack, not just finding some really good composers, but also editing the music in very creative ways. Just the personality that is coming from this game is so infectious to me, I love the little insults between the characters, narration over the gameplay, and your voice acting..Ummm..... "Resourcefulness. There is not much that feels out of place, even with all of the different themes, I think the game has a really good aesthetic direction.
Something about your games always feels different to me, it's the way you approach the game design, the small details, the way the characters move, there is something just so effortless about them. Now sure, the game crushes a lot, but when it works, it's a really good game. I always assumed you were making some cheap ping-pong, I didn't realize it would have a learning curve like a fighting game with different ways to hit a ball, meter building, ultimates, and unique character abilities. I guess Lethal League would be the closest relative, it's kind of like that, but with more verticality and layers I guess. Surprisingly, it's not a very easy game to just pick up, well you can, but even after completing the tutorial I had so many questions on the timing and the move priority. We only played a few PvP games, but even with some lag, it's actually very intense, assuming you have someone to play with. Just the moment-to-moment feel of this game is very satisfying.
As for the single-player, the game has some content like arcade mode and different features for quick games, similar to a fighting game, plus the shop with some unlocks. On that note, I want to thank you for including the arcade because originally you said it won't have a single player, and if it didn't I would not play it at all. I do think you will need to introduce some achievements and better rewards for completing the arcade, maybe those endings or bosses that you mentioned if the game can justify it.
[h1] Pros: [/h1]
(+) I think the character design and the game's limited world-building came out really well, it has so much personality, admittedly super cheese, but I love it, very memorable and unique, and nice job with the voice editing, totally not you. I remember giving you some crap about how the game looked, but not only you made it work, it might have the coolest game menus I have ever seen in a game.
(+) Once again you really show your dedication to the game mechanics, once you get some experience with the game it feels really good. I am surprised you managed to give all the characters ultimate moves and abilities that feel unique, I am not a dev, but it seems a little complicated. I would not say the game is limited in this current build, all things considered, even the modes you already have is more than most indie games can offer.
(+) Oh dude the soundtrack. Too bad you didn't do all of it yourself like the last time, but you still found some awesome composers, it's very much a highlight of the game, I ***** love some of these songs, and just sound manipulation in general.
[h1] Feedback: [/h1]
[u] BUGS [/u] - (other than myself) The game has a ton of bugs. I guess it's just a hard concept to execute, still a ton of random crushers. Dev mentioned adding a mid-game saves to help with that, so waiting for that.
[u] "Achievements" [/u] - I know we already talked about this, but I think you are really underestimating the need for players to find something to work toward. Skins and unlocks help, but you still need things like achievements for harder modes, and something like those character endings, with achievements for them too.
[u] Cutscenes/Music [/u] - I feel like at some point we will need a way to limit the zone break cutscenes and the frequency of volume jumps in the game, if possible. They are cool and all, but it's like you are only playing 50% of the time, it's a little too much. For the music volume going up and down for highlights, maybe if you did it only 1/4 of the time it would be better, I am trying to listen to the song.
[u] Keyboard/Mouse Support [/u] - you are the only developer that could say, it's a bad idea to add keyboard support, and I would believe you but, if we ever get to a point where it's possible, there has to be a way to do it with WASD+mouse right. It's Steam, not everyone has a controller.
[b] Early Access Review 8/3/2022 [/b]
At the time of this review, the game is pretty glitchy, with many crushers and all, but the game itself is awesome, I love just about everything about it. I would like to see more support for single-player unlocks like achievements and character endings, preferably sooner than later, I think that should be the first thing after fixing crushers. Awesome game Paris, the world does not seem to love you, but some random guy you never met does, and I hope it's something - you might have a few fans, but we see your hard work and we appreciate it.
[code]For more niche, obscure and underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]
