itch.io

VOD:

The tower defense concept is brilliant. Devstudio protecting itself from UI bugs and visual bugs by adding modules and extra features is a great idea. However, implementation needs a lot of work. For Round 1, enemies have too much health, move too fast, or weapons don't deal enough damage from the start. Do enemies ramp up their stats every round or do all enemies have the same health throughout the entire game? I want more from this game and it feels like it's early in development so I'm cutting some slack on it. 

Controls/UI:

On PC, controls are straightforward, but I would like to see a tutorial or keybind layout in a settings menu. You need tooltips that further explain things. Every 10 kills increases modules by 1% but does that mean it increases weapon damage, weapon range, cooldown, or does it just mean the module that boosts range by 20%?

Art:

Enemies, animation, and visual effects are pixelated and stylized. I like the animations and enemy deletion the most. I would like to see more art in terms of the grid/hex and the area surrounding it. 

Sound/Music:

No music or audio. Suggest adding audio to every object that shows a visual change. Weapon attacks, enemy death animations, etc.

VOD: 

Overall Fun:

I love this game! I was very surprised at how in-depth you approached boot camp simulation. Training recruits, a loud drill sergeant, army chants, prestige unlocks, traits to lose/gain, postman delegation, feeding dogs, quests... And THEN you do the mission your recruits have been training so hard for and can add one of the recruits as an assistant afterward. Just beautiful game design all around!

Controls/UI:

Simple, effective, and streamlined. The only thing I was confused about was that I didn't realize until the third race competition that the bars under my recruit's names were their stamina bars and that would affect the race.

ART:

Great stylized pixel art. Every training had unique animations. Weather effects like rain were really fun. Your game was BREATHING (alive) and felt great. I do agree with graybard that the first training areas feel too similar with just a different stat being upgraded. More themed objects within each training would be fun.

Sound/Music:

No music played during training or mission combat is probably my only sad face. I'm playing late at night so no ambient music is rocking me to sleep. Not needed as much during training since you have a lot of ambient sounds every now and then... but I definitely suggest using some music during missions and racing competitions

VOD:

First half is decent. The knight of chaos boss was honestly a slog because the pattern is simple: jump over enemy and shoot. Knight turns too fast so it becomes a chore instead of fun. The second half of the game is really fun! The final boss fight is my favorite. Much more variety in gameplay and it felt fun utilizing all of my equipment for the battle. But kind of annoying that you can't skip the cutscenes/dialogue to skip to the fight.

Controls/UI:

Decent controls. Arrows keys to swap between normal and heavy arrows is a little tough to process in real time combat while moving, jumping, and shooting arrows all at the same time. Using an ability was supposed to be L but I'm not even sure what ability I had or what it was supposed to do. Suggestions: Tooltips explaining health potions. Tooltips explaining checkpoints. Tooltips explaining the signs before the end of the second level.

Art:

Main cutscenes are blurry to me. I'm not sure if it's the ultra resolution or upscaled ratio or if it's just the art. Actual gameplay art looks stylized for your universe. The second level in the cave gets really hard to see sometimes being so dark. Maybe add a small light source to the player so it illuminates just a little bit around player so it's not so hard to see. Brighten the whole background just a bit.

Sound/Music:

Good sound design. Good music quality. Not a fan of the grunt sound every single time I jump though. The music blends into the game, but I never thought about the sound effects. This can be good or bad. Since I don't remember the sound effects, that means I had no lasting impressions of it. Maybe think of a way to make certain actions/sounds more pleasing or addicting to listen to.

Jordan, indie game enthusiast, ready to play! 

https://twitch.tv/gamegushgamer 

It was the Eastern wall where you need F1LL to jump up to lower the gate. You can actually jump all the way over the wall and get stuck back there before you solve the puzzle

Yeah the bug happened during my stream on the VOD! I actually just ran into the AZERTY and QWERTY keyboards with another dev! I think one of the best ways to fix that is having players select their language at the start and the keyboard inputs will change depending on language. Also, bullets and skills don't go through Mark's bubble shield. I think allowing our projectiles to go through the shield would be nice so that our mortar skill didn't feel like a waste if it happened to hit the shield instead of the enemies.

My driver is up to date and GPU is recent, so I wonder why it doesn't support your version. Hmmm

Cypher Grid https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1822735755

Addicting AF! To be completely honest, I try to steer my content to be as family friendly as possible, so I was hesitant to try this game on stream. But it's actually not as fan servicey as I was expecting. You jumped right into the gameplay, explained the core mechanics, got down to business, and let us solve some fun puzzles. An absolute blast of an adventure! Everything came together so well and the only critique was maybe an animation on that clock. If you are reading this comment and love Sudoku or interesting puzzle games, you need to play this!

(PART 1) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1822735753 

(PART 2) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1822735754

Great idea to mix roguelite elements into an RPG by allowing players to keep 3 items from their previous run after death. This ultimately progresses the game forward over time and opens up a lot of replayability. You have a great game on your hands. It just needs a little polish! The first 30 minutes were tough to get through but the game definitely opens up to be SUPER fun once I learned how everything worked. A lot of people may not play through the first 30 minutes to give it that chance.

The only problem with giving players too many choices at the very start is that it can be very overwhelming, especially for players not familiar with RPGs. I would slowly streamline new players by having a tutorial island that has them fight one specific enemy as they learn the core game mechanics. Then introduce a second enemy and a third, both times revealing more features about your game. After that, you can throw them to the wolves because you have now equipped them with the knowledge they needed. Now the extra options won't feel so overwhelming in Area 1. This is just a suggestion though! Thank you.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1822735756

Gameplay and core combat mechanics feel good. The art style is the same theme throughout all your assets which is really great. Enemies have animation, death vfx, sounds. Really fun for a tower defense game with roguelite elements! 

Controls/UI needs a little work. It looks setup for an xbox controller but my input was for M&K. Controls said the first ability was A but it was actually Q on the keyboard. 

A pop hint on how to access the shop once it's purchased is recommended. 

May want to tone down robot voice just a little bit. Headphones users may get bad feedback from the bass/reverb coming from the voice. 

Encountered a bug that prevented camps from spawning or accessibility to the shop while during the cooldown period between each wave. Only happened once though and it didn't break the game. Could have been worse! =p

19.  Kritter https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1822735756

Gameplay and core combat mechanics feel good. The art style is the same theme throughout all your assets which is really great. Enemies have animation, death vfx, sounds. Really fun for a tower defense game with roguelite elements! Controls/UI needs a little work. It looks setup for an xbox controller but my input was for M&K. Controls said the first ability was A but it was actually Q on the keyboard. A pop hint on how to access the shop once it's purchased is recommended. May want to tone down robot voice just a little bit. Headphones users may get bad feedback from the bass/reverb coming from the voice. Encountered a bug that prevented camps from spawning or accessibility to the shop while during the cooldown period between each wave. Only happened once though and it didn't break the game. Could have been worse! =p

20. Cypher Grid https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1822735755

Addicting AF! To be completely honest, I try to steer my content to be as family friendly as possible, so I was hesitant to try this game on stream. But it's actually not as fan servicey as I was expecting. You jumped right into the gameplay, explained the core mechanics, got down to business, and let us solve some fun puzzles. An absolute blast of an adventure! Everything came together so well and the only critique was maybe an animation on that clock. If you are reading this comment and love Sudoku or interesting puzzle games, you need to play this!

21. Soul Survivors Trials of the Goddess (PART 1) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1822735753 (Part 2) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1822735754

Great idea to mix roguelite elements into an RPG by allowing players to keep 3 items from their previous run after death. This ultimately progresses the game forward over time and opens up a lot of replayability. You have a great game on your hands. It just needs a little polish! The first 30 minutes were tough to get through but the game definitely opens up to be SUPER fun once I learned how everything worked. A lot of people may not play through the first 30 minutes to give it that chance.

The only problem with giving players too many choices at the very start is that it can be very overwhelming, especially for players not familiar with RPGs. I would slowly streamline new players by having a tutorial island that has them fight one specific enemy as they learn the core game mechanics. Then introduce a second enemy and a third, both times revealing more features about your game. After that, you can throw them to the wolves because you have now equipped them with the knowledge they needed. Now the extra options won't feel so overwhelming in Area 1. This is just a suggestion though! Thank you.

Sliding Hero https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1821212505

Addicting puzzle adventure. Every room adds something new to keep it fresh and entertaining. A little confusion about how the spike traps work at the beginning. When I died for the first time on the spike, my brain told me that I can't go that way so I didn't try to do it again. It wasn't clear that weapons had durability and that the player takes damage when hitting skeleton enemies. I know we talked about the game breaking bug in the save room, but try to give more health pools throughout the map or an item that gives health if there is a room that requires full life. 

Overall, Sliding Hero is addicting, includes great puzzle rooms, controls work great, and that art style is to die for! One room also had a sick soundtrack. Great job

King of Deadlands https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1821178810

Very in-depth game! A lot was said in the VOD but ultimately the game is fleshed out and working very well. Just needs a few minor tutorials or seamless popup tips during gameplay to help players understand all of your features over time. More explanation on BUILD MODE. King of Deadlands adds a fresh spin on  an RPG with Tetris-style combat so this was really different and enjoyable.

Too Many Sheep https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1821178810

Sheep herding itself is good. Sheep AI seems to work as intended. I love the bark.

Suggestions to let the player control when to load the level and when to move to next message on the level. Some players will not read fast enough and not understand the objective as there is no way to view that information after it's gone.

Controls/UI: Game breaking bug that disables the car from moving once you touch the river on world map. You also saw the bug with the teleporting levels so I don't have to address that.

Audio: Add sound everywhere! For the most part, if you have a visual cue of a change being made, there should be an audio cue too. Soft ambient music on main menu will help the game feel alive right from the start.

Same feedback as before except to also make each word separated so we can drag aka to red instead of dragging the whole entire word "aka shi ngo uda" to red. This feedback is at 49:25 of the VOD https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1821155226

5/15/2023 STREAMER REPORT (editing feedback tomorrow)

8. So To Speak https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1821155226 (Replay)

Same feedback as before except to also make each word separated so we can drag aka to red instead of dragging the whole entire word "aka shi ngo uda" to red. This feedback is at 49:25 of the VOD

16. Too Many Sheep https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1821178810

Gameplay is good. Sheep AI seems to work as intended. Let the player control when to load the level and when to move to next message on the level. Some players will not read fast enough and not understand the objective as there is no way to view that information after it's gone. Add sounds everywhere! For the most part, if you have a visual cue of a change being made, there should be an audio cue too. Game breaking bug that disables the car from moving once you touch the river on world map.

17. King of Deadlands https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1821178810

Very in-depth game! A lot was said in the VOD but ultimately the game is fleshed out and working very well. Just needs a few minor tutorials or seamless popup tips during gameplay to help players understand all of your features over time. More explanation on BUILD MODE. King of Deadlands adds a fresh spin on RPGs with Tetris style combat so this was really different and enjoyable.

18. Sliding Hero https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1821212505

Addicting puzzle adventure right here. Every room adds something new to keep it fresh and entertaining. A little confusion about how the spike traps work at the beginning. When I died for the first time on the spike, my brain told me that I can't go that way so I didn't try to do it again. It wasn't clear that weapons had durability and that the player takes damage when hitting skeleton enemies. I know we talked about the game breaking bug in the save room, but try to give more health pools throughout the map or an item that gives health if there is a room that requires full life. Overall, Sliding Hero is addicting, includes great puzzle rooms, controls work great, and that art style is to die for! One room also had a sick soundtrack. Great job

Streaming 5/15/2023 at 11:00 PM CST

Games on lineup: So To Speak (Tech issues first time around so I'll hit this again with a much better stream), Too Many Sheep (FINALLY!), King of Deadlands, Sliding Hero, and Kritter!

Retro puzzle adventure hits the nostalgia chord. Sound design is phenomenal. Great world/lore building within your universe. Many small details like muddy feet or a little wave rippling in a puddle of water really brings this world to life. Lots of interactive moments and puzzles which spark curiosity and engagement. Only a few minor irritations such as the save points being widely apart from each other. Suggest to add a save point before any story moment that locks in the player for longer than 30-45 minutes. Blue button generator room just needs a short tutorial about buttons on the floor. Overall, outstanding development! Your team should be super proud

Cute and relaxing puzzle adventure game! Straightforward tutorials. Art and theme are complementary. I tried to break the game on purpose and I somehow got F1LL over the stone wall without solving the puzzle. This resulted in me getting stuck forever without a way to solve the puzzle to lower the wall. Due to this, I suggest implementing a reset button where B0 and F1LL respawn at a certain spot depending on the area you are in. This way players can't abuse this button to solve puzzles but also will be able to respawn in case of bugs/glitches where you lose a character. Overall, this was very cute and pleasing for a relaxing adventure.

Cute and relaxing puzzle adventure game! Straightforward tutorials. Art and theme are complementary. I tried to break the game on purpose and I somehow got F1LL over the stone wall without solving the puzzle. This resulted in me getting stuck forever without a way to solve the puzzle to lower the wall. Due to this, I suggest implementing a reset button where B0 and F1LL respawn at a certain spot depending on the area you are in. This way players can't abuse this button to solve puzzles but also will be able to respawn in case of bugs/glitches where you lose a character. Overall, this was very cute and pleasing for a relaxing adventure.

5/11/2023: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1817728712
13. Gulch Guardians

I love deckbuilders, and I had a fun time with this one! I love the grit system, turn-based combat, and class upgrades. What you have is a very solid game and you can definitely add more amazing things to this. Voiced dialogue and little quips when playing certain cards or being hit in combat would enhance the experience further. Overall, Gulch Guardians was super fun, and I am only sad because I beat the game.
ONLY SUGGESTIONS: add more passive effects (enemy using a lasso to pull someone from the back line to the front as this counters gunslinger playstyle. Instead of a medic which heals per turn, you could have a shieldmaiden or warrior that increases everyone's attack instead of dealing damage to enemy. For upgraded characters, one card from previous tier would stay in deck and then the player can choose 2 out of 4 new cards to add to the deck. I think this would spark more randomness and luck in the roguelike deckbuilder.

14. bio-Synthetica

Great world! Sound design is phenomenal. Retro puzzle adventure hits the nostalgia chord. Great world/lore building within your universe. Many small details like muddy feet or a little wave rippling in a puddle of water really brings this world to life. Lots of interactive moments and puzzles which spark curiosity and engagement. Only a few minor irritations such as the save points being widely apart from each other. Suggest to add a save point before any story moment that locks in the player for longer than 30-45 minutes. Blue button generator room just needs a minor tutorial about buttons on the floor. Overall, amazing game!

15. B0F1LL A Withering World

Cute and relaxing puzzle adventure game! Straightforward tutorials. Art and theme are complementary. I tried to break the game on purpose and I somehow got F1LL over the stone wall without solving the puzzle. This resulted in me getting stuck forever without a way to solve the puzzle to lower the wall. Due to this, I suggest implementing a reset button where B0 and F1LL respawn at a certain spot depending on the area you are in. This way players can't abuse this button to solve puzzles but also will be able to respawn in case of bugs/glitches where you lose a character. Overall, this was very cute and pleasing for a relaxing adventure.

Ah if I missed an attack, then a visual cue that shows us that we missed would be awesome! That would explain why we didn't hear anything. You could also make quest markers an accessibility thing. Let it be on for people who want it on but have an option to toggle off for people who want to be more immersive.

Stream Schedule Tonight! Starts around 11:00 PM CST (05:00 AM UTC).

Games on the lineup: Too Many Sheep; Gulch Guardians; bio-Synthetica; BoF1LL A Withering World; King of Deadlands

https://www.twitch.tv/gamegushgamer

Fully voiced dialogue is always nice. Health works. Mana works. Potions need a sound effect when used as there is no audio cue to confirm I pressed the right button. Also showing how many more potions I have in the slot would be helpful. Combat is good for an RPG. Only critique is the flinched hits as it is almost impossible to attack back when surrounded by 4 or more enemies. I recommend adding option to click and drag skill from the skill UI into the Hotkey box as that is more natural for gamers than selecting the hotkey boxes first. 

Exhilarating and addictive! Twitch integration is fantastic. Everything worked as intended. Controls/UI feel good. Love the extra character options and accessibility options for changing gameplay. Small critique to change sound of airstrike as the sub-booms don't sound pleasant to the ear over the repetition of the game.  This game would benefit from extra flair on enemy attacks to slow down or to cripple the player to spark more intensity. More game modes like random spawned enemies would also be fun!

Great attention to detail in this thriller adventure game. Switching from first person to third person by using the camera is brilliant. I love the thrill sensation instead of the game just trying to scare me with jump scares. Mysterious storyline to peak interest. Very excited to see where this is heading! Voiced dialogue is not necessary, but I think it would enhance the experience even further.

Super cute art style! How do you not love the looks of these crabs? Would benefit from popup tutorial on how to play after starting new game and tooltips describing what each icon means when selecting another map. Controlling the crabs separately plays into the game's strength of using strategy, but on the other hand, not being able to control them all as a singular group plays into a weakness. This is even more apparent during the boss fights. Overall, it's an addicting and fun game with great art and cute UI elements :)

Your overall theme is great! I love learning Japanese and this was a very fun learner. From a gameplay perspective, it was a bit difficult understanding how to put the words together at certain areas. I recommend a popup tutorial visually showing each way the player can use the words to solve a problem. Since this is an educational game, it is more about learning rather than having mindless fun. Art and sound mix well with your theme! I agree with Altabestudio that adding some sprite animations that don't pertain to the problems in the background would help the world feel more alive while learning :)

5/9/2023 VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1815242484

I'll provide my feedback from the stream tomorrow! 

8. So to Speak (Technical issues when I played this one. I'm so sorry, I am not sure exactly what happened).

Your overall theme is great! I love learning Japanese and this was a very fun learner. From a gameplay perspective, it was a bit difficult understanding how to put the words together at certain areas. I recommend a popup tutorial visually showing each way the player can use the words. Since this is an educational game, it is more about learning rather than having mindless fun. Art and sound mix well with your theme!

9. Feisty Fauna

Exhilarating and addictive! Twitch integration is fantastic. Everything worked as intended. Controls/UI feel good. Love the extra characters and accessibility options for changing gameplay. Small critique to change sound of airstrike as the sub-booms don't sound pleasant to the ear over the repetition of the game.  This game would benefit from extra flair on enemy attacks to slow down or to cripple the player to spark more intensity. More game modes like random spawned enemies would also be fun!

10. We Are Not Alone

Great attention to detail in this thriller adventure game. Switching from first person to third person by using the camera is brilliant. I love the thrill sensation instead of the game just trying to scare me with jump scares. Mysterious storyline to peak interest. Very excited to see where this is heading! Voiced dialogue is not necessary, but I think it would enhance the experience even further.

11. Treacherous Journeys

Fully voiced dialogue is always nice. Health works. Mana works. Potions need a sound effect when used as there is no audio cue to confirm I pressed the right button. Also showing how many more potions I have in the slot would be helpful. Combat is good for an RPG. Only critique is the flinched hits as it is almost impossible to attack back when surrounded by 4 or more enemies. I recommend adding option to click and drag skill from the skill UI into the Hotkey box as that is more natural for gamers than selecting the hotkey boxes first. 

12. Crab Raid Tactics

Super cute art style! How do you not love the looks of these crabs? Would benefit from popup tutorial on how to play after starting new game and tooltips describing what each icon means when selecting another map. Controlling the crabs separately plays into the game's strength of using strategy, but on the other hand, not being able to control them all as a singular group plays into a weakness. This is even more apparent during the boss fights. Overall, it's an addicting and fun game with great art and cute UI elements :)

Stream Schedule: Starts tonight around 11:00 PM CST (05:00 AM UTC). About 2 hours long.

Games on the lineup: So to Speak, Feisty Fauna, We Are Not Alone, Treacherous Journeys, Crab Raid Tactics

https://www.twitch.tv/gamegushgamer

Creepy and spooky! Not exactly scary but sound design is on point! Very fun thriller. Gameplay is way too difficult for a beginner player. Controls are explained in the beginning with a sidebar but specific items are needed to move the story forward. Once items are received, it requires an advanced button prompt to make an object in inventory to interact with another world object so this causes some confusion with the player. Flashlight is a little too bright which makes the objects that you need to find almost invisible in the light source. Recommend to add a soft outline or glow to key objects within a certain range of the player and textures/colors for better player experience. Good stuff here. Keep it up!

Vacuum is a relaxing vibe with simple controls and simple concept. And that's why this game works so well. Straightforward, easy to understand, and calming. I love the explosion when you win the game and then do a rebirth. Absolutely beautiful. Only critique is possibly change color of the comets or add a soft glow so we have a more appropriate alert for danger. When you get bigger, the comets become really hard to see compared to the planets/moons orbiting around. Really fun!