Carry on (DEMO) — my review

Where I'm standing: Following the initial build issues under supernatural-the-road-so-far, I came back to this updated re-submission (Carry on (DEMO)) hoping the dev-side patches would bring the underlying game into focus. While it clears the game-breaking freeze wall of the initial upload, take my notes as coming from someone who values structural polish and smooth narrative pacing.  

Theme — 2.5/5

Selected Theme: Road Trip / Investigation

The Supernatural-inspired premise of a hunter's road investigation fits the thematic spirit on paper, but in practice, the road trip element acts more as background framing than a mechanical or narrative spine. The page leaves much of its exact jam placement implied rather than boldly declared.  

Gameplay — 2/5

The shift into a top-down action RPG format is ambitious, but key systems suffer from noticeable mechanical friction. Combat logic feels inconsistent—player HP can hit 0 without triggering a defeat state, allowing you to fight indefinitely. Sprite movement leaves visual trailing artifacts across the map canvas, and collision/sorting layers cause player sprites to render awkwardly over roofs rather than clipping properly behind structures.  

Story — 2.5/5

The lore-heavy hunting premise retains a solid classic-urban-fantasy core. However, narrative execution leans heavily on linear, non-skippable text dumps between scenes. As a interactive piece, it currently offers minimal agency to influence or shape the investigation.  

Presentation — 2/5

While the updated build is finally playable in HTML5, the overall presentation remains in a rough prototype stage. Long, unskippable transition pauses between dialogue sequences disrupt the pacing, and environmental depth sorting needs significant cleanup.  

Creativity — 2.5/5

Translating a hunter/investigation narrative into a top-down RPG format is a welcome change from standard first-person walking sims. However, without tighter mechanics or a fresh narrative spin, it struggles to break out of basic genre tropes.

Horror — 2/5

Horror relies heavily on the implied monster-hunting premise rather than active in-game atmosphere, tension building, or psychological dread. The technical glitches and immortal combat states tend to undermine whatever eerie mood the narrative attempts to build.  

Overall — 2.2/5

It is commendable that the developer addressed the critical load freezes to get a functioning HTML5 build uploaded for voters. However, Carry on (DEMO) remains an early, bug-heavy prototype that needs substantial mechanical tuning, UI polish, and narrative streamlining before its hunting premise can truly land.