First impressions:
Example: The wing move could have easily been used as alternate jump moves: its flutter could be used if you pushed and held jump while in midair, while its high jump could be used if you jumped while pressing down.
As for attacks, I have not found a situation that required the shield move, and so I never touched it, instead opting for the fireball and slash attacks depending on what the situation demanded. Had there been a level or situation where the shield was useful, I wouldn't have minded it being part of your moveset. Its inclusion in the demo as far as I can tell is a wasted slot.
Level 1-4 and Thunder are jarring levels in how much of a sharp rise in difficulty they had compared to the rest of the demo, demanding precise movement and timing, being entirely focused on a specific move, and providing little margin for error. It feels like they were designed for an entirely different game. I did eventually complete them, though. These seem suited for bonus challenge levels rather than part of the main game, considering how overall pedestrian the rest of the level designs were.
Funny observation: Taking damage while the wall of death in 1-4 is near you lets you watch it pass you by, though it's not cheese. It stops at the end of the stage and it will still kill you if you touch it. If anything, I was expecting it to kill me regardless of if I was under post-hit invincibility or not. In fact, I'd suggest making it do so.
Overall, it's not necessarily a bad game by any means but it has some pretty glaring quirks that I think need looking at.
- Art style is cute and is incredibly obvious what influenced it
- The different attacks and moves are neat, albeit underutilized (save for one)
- Level 1-4 is a sharp jump in difficulty with its small margin for error
- You're able to let the wall of death pass you by if you take damage, though this doesn't let you cheese the stage completely
Example: The wing move could have easily been used as alternate jump moves: its flutter could be used if you pushed and held jump while in midair, while its high jump could be used if you jumped while pressing down.
As for attacks, I have not found a situation that required the shield move, and so I never touched it, instead opting for the fireball and slash attacks depending on what the situation demanded. Had there been a level or situation where the shield was useful, I wouldn't have minded it being part of your moveset. Its inclusion in the demo as far as I can tell is a wasted slot.
Level 1-4 and Thunder are jarring levels in how much of a sharp rise in difficulty they had compared to the rest of the demo, demanding precise movement and timing, being entirely focused on a specific move, and providing little margin for error. It feels like they were designed for an entirely different game. I did eventually complete them, though. These seem suited for bonus challenge levels rather than part of the main game, considering how overall pedestrian the rest of the level designs were.
Funny observation: Taking damage while the wall of death in 1-4 is near you lets you watch it pass you by, though it's not cheese. It stops at the end of the stage and it will still kill you if you touch it. If anything, I was expecting it to kill me regardless of if I was under post-hit invincibility or not. In fact, I'd suggest making it do so.
Overall, it's not necessarily a bad game by any means but it has some pretty glaring quirks that I think need looking at.
I've addressed some of these issues in a different comment so I hope you don't mind if I copy and paste
in the final game, you will only have the fireball ability at the very start, and earn a new ability at the start of each world. this is why it may feel clucky in the demo. I decided to have them all unlocked in the demo to give players the chance to experience all the abilities. the levels in the demo are actually from different worlds in the game, that's why there is such a difficulty spike in both 1-4 and 1-5. ill admit that the spike wall has been troublesome for many people, so that will be changed in an upcoming patch along with the other glitches you mentioned.
1-5 is actually an unlockable challenge stage so its difficulty reflects that, but I do admit that the tunnels could use some under-the-hood work to make the experience less frustrating, and ill do everything I can to do so!
character limit reached, part two in a second comment lol