The game started nicely, you can definitely tell the author tried polishing the experience as much as he could. However, once the "real" gameplay starts, things start not fitting together anymore. Infinite monsters preventing you to explore in depth, dialogues being displayed whilst fighting, a grind mechanic that it almost feels like a chore (too many collectibles): after the first death I didn't feel encouraged to continue and see what was coming next, which is a pity.
Also, I don't understand what's the "unexpected" part ("unexpected" is the theme of the jam this game is competing in)
I basically agree with most criticisms expect for the "unexpected" part.
But yes, mobs are by far the least polished part of the game and you're right, it is indeed infinite spawning. Also, just way too many of them spawn.
My excuse is that I had poor planning and time management and "fixing mob balancing" was the last item on my TODO list. :-(
Basically I took a risk by attempting mob development and failed. Yeah, that's the thing with risks lol. ;-)
This game was meant as partly combat- partly exploring-style but it was NOT intended that mobs overwhelm you and annoy you all the time.
The idea was, once you defeated some mobs of an area, you are free to explore (at least for a while). Sadly, none of that managed to get in the game. Time constraints. :-(((
As for "too many collectibles": They are all optional tho and you don't even have to find all to get max. HP. Other people seemed to like the collectibles. I'm not sure what I should change here. You can complete the game and ignore all vases (although it's harder then). Maybe you're saying the game would have been better without any vases, or just with fewer? But then, most other players liked them. Difficult decision on what to do post-jam. :-/
I agree with the dialog problem, the appearance mid-combat feels a bit off, too. I'll see what I can do.
But to be honest, I'm a bit mad tho that you outright refuse to complete the game (just like with Glitch last year) after only 1 death. :-( I don't like this (even if I agree with most of your criticisms). I feel like you give up way too early on game jam games. I noticed this with your other game reviews, too.
Anyway, I think all these problems can be fixed. Most importantly, I'm planning to rework mobs completely post-jam.
The game started nicely, you can definitely tell the author tried polishing the experience as much as he could. However, once the "real" gameplay starts, things start not fitting together anymore. Infinite monsters preventing you to explore in depth, dialogues being displayed whilst fighting, a grind mechanic that it almost feels like a chore (too many collectibles): after the first death I didn't feel encouraged to continue and see what was coming next, which is a pity.
Also, I don't understand what's the "unexpected" part ("unexpected" is the theme of the jam this game is competing in)
There is a part in the game where the "unexpected" comes in, you just didn't reach that part yet.
(I'll post a more lengthy reply later.)
I basically agree with most criticisms expect for the "unexpected" part.
But yes, mobs are by far the least polished part of the game and you're right, it is indeed infinite spawning. Also, just way too many of them spawn. My excuse is that I had poor planning and time management and "fixing mob balancing" was the last item on my TODO list. :-( Basically I took a risk by attempting mob development and failed. Yeah, that's the thing with risks lol. ;-)
This game was meant as partly combat- partly exploring-style but it was NOT intended that mobs overwhelm you and annoy you all the time. The idea was, once you defeated some mobs of an area, you are free to explore (at least for a while). Sadly, none of that managed to get in the game. Time constraints. :-(((
As for "too many collectibles": They are all optional tho and you don't even have to find all to get max. HP. Other people seemed to like the collectibles. I'm not sure what I should change here. You can complete the game and ignore all vases (although it's harder then). Maybe you're saying the game would have been better without any vases, or just with fewer? But then, most other players liked them. Difficult decision on what to do post-jam. :-/
I agree with the dialog problem, the appearance mid-combat feels a bit off, too. I'll see what I can do.
But to be honest, I'm a bit mad tho that you outright refuse to complete the game (just like with Glitch last year) after only 1 death. :-( I don't like this (even if I agree with most of your criticisms). I feel like you give up way too early on game jam games. I noticed this with your other game reviews, too.
Anyway, I think all these problems can be fixed. Most importantly, I'm planning to rework mobs completely post-jam.
So, stay tuned for the post-jam version! :P