Was the game fun to play?

The core combat remains engaging, though I found the fun leans more towards the character's actions rather than the new pet mechanics. While having animals fighting alongside you in the arena is a fantastic concept, especially with the distinctive designs, the pets feel secondary to the action. I like that you can stab forwards, swing around and even use a blunderbuss to shoot bullets. I also like the non lethal takedowns and how your pet can follow you and change to an aggressive stance. But I think to ramp up the fun, focusing more on the pet training side of things could be beneficial. So there could be some mini games where you actually see yourself doing the training of the animal and it could make the bond with the animal feel more interactive.

Did the game include the core elements from the original?

Yes. There are 3 different pets and the type you get depends on how you play. I got a wolf the first time and then when I released it in the wild after 7 battles, I bought a new egg and got a lizard. It’s great that you can train the pet’s aggression, loyalty and discipline as well as adding elemental damage to the attacks.

Was there a clear path of progression?

Definitely. I got an egg from the beast vendor who gives clear instructions to go to the arena to hatch it. You then do battles in the arena with your pet and you can choose how you want to train your pet and there’s also a ghost mode which is great fun to see and I tried it out a couple times. Stats are displayed at the end of battles and show your progress.

How good was the audio and sound FX?

The music fits the medieval atmosphere perfectly and is quite pleasant. Having separate volume sliders for the music and SFX is great. The hit sounds are satisfying, though I’d love to hear more unique and distinct sounds for the different animals.

How well implemented was the UI?

The UI is very clean. I like that the pet can be renamed and the names of the characters are displayed in the arena in stand out colours. Having the UI in the top right corner for the status was a great placement whilst also being informative. It could just be my eyes but I think the red gun crosshairs blended in too much with the background and white might have been a better choice of colour. Lastly, I really liked the way the cooldown UI was shown. 

I'm a bit torn on how to score your game. It's very well done as always, and the creative take on what a pet to care for meant in your game is handled very well. At the same time, progression feels a bit forced, and other than having an in game pet, I'm not sure what tamagotchi elements you have. However, I want you to keep going in this direction. pets existed in gladiator battles, and I think this adds a fun additional mechanic to the gameplay.

I would say "having more ways to care for the pet would make progression feel more meaningful" and that is true, but I think that would take away too much from the incredible game you're already working on. This is one of those catch 22 situations where if you focus more on scoring well, your game would move in a weird direction, but if you continue to make your game what you want (which is the right choice imo) Then you might get low scores, but a better game.

TLDR I love this game, I love the direction you're going, even if you get eliminated, you're a champ in my book. Great job bro.

Gorgeous UI!

I haven't managed to master combat yet but I did get an insect and we took out several rounds. It was fun seeing him grow bigger but I accidentally released him to the wild lol. It impressive how much you have gotten into your game world now from round one - good job

Sadly renaming it does not work. But i got a cool wolf, with a lame name.

Definitely a different take on the tamagotchi, would have like a bit more focus on the pet and tending to it other then it just grows after battles. But it does what it is suppose to. 

This is my first time playing, but I love how the tamagotchi element was combined with the gladiator battles! The combat took some getting used to but is very fun now that I have the hang of it. Great job!

The pets are a fun addition to this game. Still a great game. Good work!