Feedback on game

[kyle]

I like it. This is clever. I will purchase the game.

***

While the game plays well and has one of the best in-game power up systems I have seen, I feel like it's not on the level of the best post-Vampire Survivors games. The two things that I think are missing are more interaction and a more varied environment.

The best of the Survivors will give the player particular threats they have to deal with in a way other than just running away and dealing damage. They have usually added some combination of a dash (with i-frames), dual sticks, and some other power. A game doesn't need all or any of these, but it does allow the player to have some counter-play. If the game could find one more button somehow at this late point, whatever it is, that would add a lot.

Right now I feel like too much of the game is easy until the boss, where I need enough speed to walk out of the attacks.

Additionally the small square room layout means the player is even more limited in how they move. The player's primary motivation's in moving will be to keep enemies at range or escape and to get power-ups. When a boss is in play, they will be running from the boss. With the small areas, players will largely just go in circles picking up important power-ups on the way back.

On longer runs I found myself circling a room and then making moves into the tight gap between rooms (taking a little damage), making a giant track around the open rooms. But if I could get four rooms opened in a square, I could make a giant circle safely and only worry about the enemies in front of me.

***

I think it is interesting that the item system is different from the is strange that items synthesize into different types of item. It leaves you sticking with lower level items because you often can't toss the one that you need.

***

The skill tree items are good. The price is high enough that it feels less fun. The increasing rate of each point isn't terrible, but I should generally get enough points after 10 minutes to buy a least one low level power up. Instead I end up without about a single point, for half or one third of a power up.

The game gets by without much explanation, but some elements need more, like I'm not sure what the timer is counting down. I think it is my death if I don't do something? Or it is the round? It counts up and then down. When should I open the doors? Immediately? What happens when I do other than "different room, other enemies"

**

Critical Hit rant:

I don't think the critical hits add up, but then again they don't in half of these games, even very good ones.
I'm getting +physical or + magical critical damage bonuses, but I start with zero percent critical. So lets say I spend a slot or precious talent points on critical and get a +2% chance. Then I get +20% bonus.
If I assume the base critical damage bonus is 100%, every critical hit does a total of 120% damage. But at a 2% chance of hitting, this means that every hit, on average, does 2.4% more damage. And only physical or magical.
When you consider how much easier it is to increase raw damage, increasing critical seems like a fool's errand. Eventually with enough power ups the critical hit*bonus could be more than raw + damage, but you can also increase damage and rate of attack to get the same effect but more powerful.
It's even worse compared to increasing rate of attack when you consider that critical hit damage on smaller enemies will not overflow. In other words, if you deal a critical to an enemy and they would have died anyway, the damage is wasted, But if you shoot twice in the same amount of time then if enemy dies from the first shot, the second shot can hit an enemy behind.
When a game has effective criticals, the numbers usually have to start greater than zero (with or without talents), increase faster, and probably provide bonus effects on critical hits.
I feel like games have critical hits because they think they are supposed to have them.

[kyle]

Also, the boss timer is not just too short: THERE SHOULD NOT BE A TIMER TO BEAT THE BOSS. Total Buzz kill to know that you cannot possibly increase your rate of damage enough to kill the boss with a minute left.
I don't know of another game of this type that does it.