itch.io

I want this to be a review/comment with the intention to help you polish this game up. Let me start with the things I like. I enjoy the premise and the work you put in to building the atmosphere. It helps sell the immersion and build an identity for the game. The amount of work you were able to put in is something to be proud of. I think the wall running is a neat idea, with the only issue there being the adhesion to the wall feels a bit weak with the player slipping only a second or two after sticking. It doesn't feel like there's much time to use the wall for distance and pushed me to wall hop and gave me a frenetic pace. The amount of bots in Lvl 2 was challenging, but if I didn't have my complaints, I think they would've been a welcome challenge. The game play loop of collecting data and delivering them is simple and paves the way to have unique platforming challenges.

The one real complaint I have is born from my inability to really understand how to use the Wall Gun. It feels like it's supposed to be a way to make player borne walls to facilitate more fluid wall running, but I never could understand how. The wall spawning in front of my face feels more like an obstacle. If I wanted to position the wall in a more advantageous position, I'd have to be angling my view down or flick my camera to the right to platform jump or extend my wall run respectively. That didn't come naturally and felt like I was more likely to kill my momentum or put a wall above my head. So I tried to pivot my usage and started to attempt to wall plant/bounce between my player created walls, but that only ever resulted in minimal height or incorrect placement and plummeting into the void.  All that said, I want to offer some brain storm ideas for how you might take this wall gun idea and mold it (if you, of course, want to keep working on this project).

I think the best and easiest improvement would be to beef up the Wall Gun training room in the tutorial. Offer a small animation of a character using the wall gun properly, or change up the layout of that specific room in the tutorial. Something like a small gap, a bigger gap, and the biggest gap to the exit door. That style of room does offer immediate reinforcement with the player's mind with the trade off that it may be a sieve between players who understand the Wall Gun and a breaking point for those who don't. The animation may be the simplest and best fix. I'm not going to try and armchair dev you with ideas for how to replace the Wall Gun, but that can always be a last resort.

All my critique and feedback out of the way, I think you really should take away a feeling of pride from doing the game jam. I am amazed that you were able to do so much for this game in a game jam time frame, and even if I had my moments that spawned feedback notes, I was still excited to check this out. If you update this project in the future, I'll put it down on my list to have fun with down the line. Have fun and good luck!

I think this is an incredibly unique idea. I appreciate the aesthetic of everything. You don't often see arm-less skeletons side by side with masked up murder teddy bears. The momentum idea is a really unique idea and I think you have something genuinely unique with that in your game.
That said, I gotta offer up critique that the warped tower feels incredibly difficult to play. The tight platforming is not conducive to a good time when the distance I can jump feels like it fluctuates regularly. It's a good idea, tweak it up with a longer time in-between or an audio cue and I think it'll be easier to tell what's going on. The only other thing I think you should probably improve in future games is the readability of your signs. The plank aesthetic is a good idea, but each plank does not need a shadow. It made it personally hard to focus on the signs and take in the info you wanted me to. Those are the only things that really feel wrong with this game and anything else I could offer feedback on would be personal nitpicks.
Solid idea here and good job for putting hard work into this. Can't wait to see what you cook up next.

Admittedly, this game is not going to set the world on fire but, this might satisfy you if you're bored one afternoon with nothing to do. The game is simple by design but that doesn't hurt the experience much, if at all.

The downsides I could point out are that the environmental design can lead to some confusion late in the game as you try and remember where that one thing was you needed to cross to. The first three guns feel a bit hit or miss in terms of enjoyment but your fourth and fifth weapon do make for fun. Controlling the game is also a bit wonky but muscle memory after a few minutes should resolve that.

The last con I'd say is the replay value is hurt by the only player choice coming at the end of the game which may lead to some choosing not to return in order to not go back through everything.

The rest of the game is a good positive in my book. The graphics are fun and reminiscent of times gone by. Admittedly, the story is simple but it serves its purpose and I think pushes the player to continually progress in search of more details. I didn't pay too close attention to the audio design, music or otherwise, and simply put on my own music and vibed to that as I played. The game wasn't made harder and allowed me really to settle into a comfort zone with the game.

Lastly, is the game worth it's price? I saw one particular review claiming the price is too high for what's here. Citing length and overall substance of the game as the reasons behind that statement. Honestly, I'd say it is worth the price. It's not a diamond in the rough with oodles and poodles and noodles and more content behind it, but rather a solid piece of work from a developer that takes you for a decent and enjoyable time. As I stated above, if you need something to do and looking for some way that isn't going to waste your time, I'd pick up "And All Would Cry Beware".

7/10