Demo feedback

[Null Moon]

Neat little demo, I've enjoyed it a lot! Reminded me a little of Laika with the way sliding section played and how boss had a vertical arena to play in. (probably because it's the most recent 2d platformer i've played)

Here's a list of things that bugged me a little though.
- You teach how to play the game in little stylish moments but rip controls away in the last section where she jumps down. Not a big thing at all but felt a little jarring. Both times I played the demo I wanted run and jump myself but she does it on her own.

- You teach that slabs of bones need to be blown up to take souls out, but later on you need to roll into one to get them. I'll chalk it up to that section being later in the game, but on the first playthrough it confused me since my first thought was to use dynamite.

- Transition to grey screen-purple attacks phase of the boss feels a little disjointed and out of nowhere. Also on my second try I've managed to kill the boss so fast he couldn't even play his lines. (Because I realized I could shoot him during coffin attacks phase)

- Revolver reload animation is BAD. It felt like it throws my aim off because when you aim there is a smooth transition from one side to another at 90 degree angle, but while you reload it snaps you back and forth instantly. It didn't felt as bad with rifle, probably because you expect it to happen every 2 shots.

- Small enemies felt weird. It felt hard to parse how many are coming at me when there is more than one at one side and sometimes it felt like they their spawns are teleporting around or right beneath me? Maybe that's just me thing though I can be very blind to those kinds of things.

[Zero]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I've been meaning to play Laika, it looks rad.

You've raised some really good points on the gameplay that I hadn't even considered.
I've been working on ways to reduce taking player controls away, without losing important plot points/cinematic scenes.
Some people really struggle with the boss, and some people like yourself kick his ass quickly. I'm fine with both :)
I'll have a think about the reload animation. I wanted a very clear distinction in the heat of battle for when you're out of ammo...
These are useful points to think about, thank you

[Null Moon]

Yeah I got your intention with little cutscene moments, it just to me progression felt natural learn to walk > learn to jump > walk and jump off the cliff yourself.
But it's a very minor thing, really. It works either way.
With reloading, one possible way is to make pistol spin during reload, so there is a visual indication and you're still able to track your target. Now that I sit here thinking about it, I do wonder why rifle reload didn't feel as bad as pistol to me. I guess it is because pistol invites more manic gameplay with fast shooting and shorter reload time, so anything that clashes with it stands out more to me. Gamefeel is a strange beast...