Thanks for playing! Sorry about the difficulty. I’m the type of player who enjoys punishing and challenging games like Dark Souls, Hollow Knight, and even some old-school NES titles, so it can be a bit tricky for me to gauge everyone’s difficulty preference. But I really appreciate you letting me know, I’ll consider adding checkpoints after the game jam ends and make some adjustments to ensure a fair challenge.
I think my comment sounds a little harsher than I intended. What I meant was that you have a lot of great ideas in the game, and I just think it's a shame that many players will probably drop out before they get to see much of it. I'd be surprised if more than 30% have even seen Roachmax. If you're going to use Hollow Knight as a comparison, when you look at the chase sequences in Silksong, if you make a mistake, you don't start right at the beginning, you lose a heart and respawn at a nearby point. This makes it much easier for players to learn from their mistakes and it doesn't feel quite as frustrating.
Oh, your comment isn’t harsh at all, don’t worry! It’s completely valid, and I really appreciate you taking the time to play the game. It is unfortunate that some players may have quit before reaching the full content. The game is definitely beatable with some effort, and thankfully there aren’t any game-breaking bugs.
I was aware of the checkpoint issue, but I ran out of time right after finishing the sound effects. Checkpoints were also one of my lower priorities because I was worried they could introduce bugs, so I decided to focus on completing the core game first.
When I mentioned Hollow Knight or Silksong, I didn’t mean them specifically. I was referring more to games known for punishing difficulty, like classic NES games such as Castlevania or Ninja Gaiden, where failure could mean restarting a level or even the entire game.
For Level 3, I honestly didn’t realize how unforgiving it was until I received the first round of feedback, since I was the only playtester.
Anyway, I definitely don’t take your comment negatively. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, and I’m glad you took the time to explain what you meant. Thanks again for playing all the way through!