[Long Post]
Hopeful for this game, cool ideas!
I really want this game to be successful, so as a dev myself I wanna give my opinion with detailed reasoning after watching the trailer and playing through the demo. (Of course, that's only my opinion, also i have not worked on movement shooters yet!)
Pros:
- Most of the mechanics are relatively polished, I really liked kicking around and shooting up a bunch of paper dudes.
- Kicking exploding barrels and bombs are the best. Really captivates that dopamine kick when you do it nicely. (Is there a bit of help where the barrel lands? It so, it feels really natural and awesome, as for my experience playing the demo)
- The graphics and theme is really unique, fun, and manages to be a bit scary while also being goofy enough to enjoy.
- Only one actual dynamic music yet, but it is really complementing the bigger fight waves, giving you that Doom rush when you hear it :)
- I got interested in the stickman dude. What could they be up to...?
Cons: (more like, needs polishing)
- Quality of tutorials are inconsistent a bit. Some mechanics are explained perfectly, but for an example, there is a prompt [E] to close notes (as I remember), but it was not shown for sharpening the pencil, I was stuck there for a minute to get it the first time.
Two abilities were a bit hidden, 1: jumping higher from a crouch, i discovered it accidentally, 2: sliding below enemies to kick them up in the air (I only knew this from watching the trailer a second time after finishing the demo)
- The pencil's hacking needs to be more fun, i expected more doors and secret passages to draw instead of the security panel hacks. (Finding, erasing, then rewriting the panel is many steps for a single door, which is good for 1 puzzle, then becomes a hassle when faced more times, but hey, this is just the demo!)
Not really cons, but my other opinions: [SPOILERS]
- I actually had no problem with the long times between fights, The only thing i was bummed about is that the demo ended without a last big fight. (There was like a solid 5-10 minutes of not-shooting then game ended, me expecting a last fight at the huge room)
- The game's story was really the most interesting with it's enviromental storytelling, and events (glitches, stickman dude), not the notes thrown around. But hey, they are also just optional to read so that's nice :)
Hoping to have a nice release my dude, i want to see more cardboard dudes get blown up!