The game was a lot of fun once I got adjusted to the flow of it, which took a fair few tries.

Initially it looks like a rhythm game, but upon playing it, it feels more about timing than anything.

Some friends and I actually teamed up a couple years ago to make Beat Beet for the first NES jam, which similarly had you playing 'notes' as you dodged boss attacks.

The combat here is a lot more involved though, being the sole focus of the game. 

One thing that was apparent when making it was just how hard it could be trying to focus on two things at once, and we ended up having the notes play on the bottom, feeling like that made it easier compared to looking up. Perhaps a setup like that would feel better for the first two fights at least, where the boss is on the ground, so you could watch the playhead at the same time as the boss to keep an eye on which attack they're telegraphing.

Still, it's able to be overcame and it was pretty cool, there's a lot of character in the animations, which were lovely (though maybe a bit too fluid for the NES) Some more indication for bosses taking damage would be helpful though, especially with how much health they have. I was starting to wonder if the first boss only took damage by shooting while they were attacking or something, but I don't think that was the case. Maybe a bit too much hp to get through, for my liking at least. Speaking of HP, very much appreciate how the blue rounds restore health, I don't think I'd have pushed myself to the end of the game without them!

Mothman felt a bit awkward compared to the first two, I had trouble seeing if there was any tell to the fireballs that got sent across the screen, which was rough considering how his other attack tries to keep you on the side where they come out of. Thankfully they're consistent in that they always go bottom to top, so as long as you aren't on the bottom, (or at least are far enough away from the side to dodge) it's manageable enough. Retreating to the top corner and diving down and running right once he starts sending swarms that don't expire before reaching you seemed to be a good strategy. 

Hectic, but a good time!

The graphics were really well done but I found the game play really difficult while splitting focus between watching the guitar and the boss. I also wasn't sure if I was moving the arrow on the guitar or not. The game would definitely benefit from a small tutorial playthrough so players can learn the controls.

I Win!

I had a lot of fun! The game looks and sounds great, it controls well and the need to look at the top of the screen, and to find the safe moments to do it as you're not in a rush, is a fun twist. Each fight is at least a bit different from each other, the difficulty is perfect (the game is not easy, but then it's satisfying to eventually beat it).

The fights could probably be slightly shorter. Also I think there's no feedback when damaging a boss., which made me wonder if there could be an invincibility frame, or if hitting it with more than one bullet at once did anything. The hitbox of the fog of insects (or of the player character) might be bigger than the actual sprite (but maybe not ;) ).

Thanks for sharing!

Looks great, and the music is really good as well. I love your take on the game, I think is hard to tell if you're damaging the boss and that makes you cuestion if you're doing it right or not

Very hard

I like the rythm mechanics of this one! Art and music are great. I couldn't beat the first boss tho:(
Nailed the NES feel

Lots of fun! Great concept and execution. The difficulty curve is steep, but enjoyable. I love the graphics, especially how you abstracted the crowd to make the player and enemy pop. The music is also catchy. Well done :-) 

Gameplay is super fun once you get the hang of it. The visuals and animations are very appealing and the characters are expressive, which unfortunately also makes it feel a bit less NES. Outside the context of the jam however, it is pretty fantastic.