I really liked the game premise and the bits of story we learn at the beginning! Gameplay was overall fun to play! I agree with most the other comments' feedback. If I could suggest something, a smaller player character could help improve the experience a lot. The rooms all feel pretty cramped since the player is so tall, and dodging enemy attacks become much more clunky, like with the Eagle boss and the horizontal beams. With a smaller character, the map would be easier to traverse, and enemy attacks will feel more forgiving. I think it's a really quick change you could make that would really help game feel!

Another thing for the future is that the upgrades like dash and double jump don't have too many clear use cases. For metroidvanias, I think it's a good idea to first show the lock (maybe a gap that's too far to jump across or tease an item that's out of reach), then have the player discover the key (like the dash or double jump) so that they can go back to the lock and progress. I think this makes metroidvanias more satisfying to play.

Otherwise, really like the artstyle and music, enemy designs, and overall concept! It was a fun experience!

The animation is really interesting and catchy. I also think the music is pretty good! All in all you have a solid submission here. Also, who doesn't love otters!

so is this a metroidvania or rougue like cause i think it is both also pls add jump buffer and coyote time 

AND FOR GOD SAKE ADD INPUT BUFFER also the attack animation plays in opposite  direction to attack and the flying enemies dont see the player if we are behind them and the concept is good but needs lots of fixing and polishing and to end things off the checkpoint thing is hard to know what it is 

Loved the art and vibe and the WORK IN PROGRESS signs :3

I love the art work! And I like the concept you've built with controlling the map generation, it was also a cool surprise when the eagle devoured one of the rooms lol. Unfortunately he wiped me out and then I didn't get to see him again. I kept building rooms but I got to the point where my only options were rooms with more enemies. I might have run into a glitch so I may try again later to see if I can get further in the game. The transition when going up through a doorway could also benefit with some initial horizontal movement when you enter so the character doesn't fall right back down to the room they came from.

Very fun concept with controlling the map generation! Would love to see you expand on it some more! Plus the art work is very soothing lol.

really good game!

Really digging the art style and soothing music! Feels like something from a children's book - despite the darker material. :P

And this game is hard! I was otterly defeated by those wasps - they are aggressive!

Not sure if I missed it, but for healing and the pebbles/ rocks that you pick up - I wasn't sure where to check how much I had to upgrade the sword.

Looking forward to seeing more content in the future!

Great work on making this jam game!

Really cool! Love the map selection mechanic. Cool boss fight too! Killed me the first time with the rectangles attack, but on my second attempt I realized that there’s quite a long time before the ‘red line barrage’ actually activates, and I was able to kill it pretty quickly.

I think the camera felt a bit disorienting since it locked onto the player without any smoothing or lerping. Outside of that, I had a very smooth experience. Love the ambient atmospheric sounds and music. Nice job!

very cute little game, love the music and art

Guys this was incredible! The sound design/music was sooo deep, and the art soo deep, and you guys really rocked. Great job I'm betting you guys will place. 
One bug though, pressing E in that first little escape podt kept "freezing" my game, so I had to reload the page and skip it.

Great art and execution of theme! The game was very fun to play. There was a bit of jank and some bugs, but I saw that it was already addressed in the description. I'd love to see it developed into a longer game! Also, loved the title!

Great job sticking to the theme! I would suggest making the mouse visible on screen so that choosing the next room is easier. I would also suggest adding coyote time because I found the platforming a bit clunky. That said, I really liked the art design and plotline. The little signs saying work in progress are great lol. And ofc the title pun is fantastic.