The build I played was missing some functionality as you stated upgrades weren't really implemented which was unfortunate. The game definitely needs some balancing, some runs feel really easy while other feel brutal and it depends on the boss ability and whether or not you were able to mitigate it. 

More info on what things do would be nice, like are boosts permanent or temporary when it comes to items. Actually seeing the change would be nice as well, being able to visualize upgrades helps the player understand whether or not certain decisions are worth it in future runs.

That said it does show promise, I can see it being a really fun strategy game and you talked about already changing a few things that will really improve the game. 

Thank you for popping into the stream!

Gameplay 06:28:52

This game is super neat!

It kind of has a plants vs zombies feel, but I think the upgrade cards give it a really unique identity. They kind of reminded me of balatro, in the way that the placement of them matters, and they can effect each other. I also really appreciated that once you're full, you HAVE to discard an upgrade card whenever you get a new one. I think that's a fun way to require the player to change things up.

I had a personal issue on stream with my mouse causing the page to reload -VERY embarrassing - so I didn't play it as long as I would have liked on stream. I played it more later, though, and the game stayed very satisfying throughout.

Feedback wise, I don't THINK i ran into any notable bugs while I played. I also really like the presentation. The game looks pretty slick! Good job! If I had to find a nitpick, I think it would be nice if there was a way to move buildings, since some of the buildings directly affect those around them, but I also kind of understand why that's NOT a feature - It requires the player to think more strategically. Maybe it would be exciting if there was an upgrade card that allowed you to move buildings. If this already exists, ermmmm OOPS! Ignore that!

I played the game a bit on stream here, around 2:44:32. Sorry I didn't play longer!

• Youtube Link / Twitch Link
• Graphics : Fine
• GUI : Mostly fine but everything feels rather scrunched , it'd be nice if the camera was slightly pulled back a bit.
• Performance : Fine
• Music / Sfx : 
  • Music : Fine but rather repetitive , could use a variety.
  • SFX : Mostly fine, sounds could use some balancing and I sounds from certain things stack.
    • e.g. losing half your buildings from the boss ability
• Gameplay : Mostly fine, it's rather similar to a few other games like '9 Kings' or 'There are no Orcs'.
  • It's a bit slow (until it isn't) , speed options would be nice, 2x and a 1/2 (or just a pause that lets you do things)
• Misc Issues : 
  • If you hit ESC and enter the menu and you're in the charm selection screen, it can still be partly interacted with while the ESC menu is up.
  • Positioning the mouse near an option (charms) can cause it to wig out.
• Notes : 
  • It's VERY hard to see if you have an empty spot sometimes
  • It'd be nice if we could replace buildings without needing to demolish.
  • Losing half of your buildings feels rather extreme for a boss ability and was the only reason I lost as I didn't have the time to rebuild by the time he got to my castle, not due to lack of resources but time.
• Final Thoughts : Overall as the game is atm, it's fine but feels rather slow and rather easy up until the game decides to just screw you over and you practically can do nothing about it.

Thanks for swinging by and asking to review the game!  I had some good fun on this!  Some general notes:

1. The zone / behavior of the cards as the player hovers over it needs a little tuning.  It feels a little short or doesn't adjust with the cards as they raise.
2. The player shouldn't be able to fully knock back an enemy indefinitely.  Consider giving other buffs such as slows or a cooldown on the knockbacks so they always have forward progress.
3. Some of the boss effects can feel arbitrarily punishing (ie. destroying relics or turrets).  The actual effect of this on the players build can be a little random in its effect based on how they've built / invested.  
4. The different kinds of cards could use an additional icon to explain more what kind of card it is.  This doubles the amount of information available to the player and also removes an issue if the player is colorblind.
5. The sway of the camera can possibly cause misclicks, maybe have a setting to disable it.
6. When upgrading a building it seems to upgrade only one of them (possibly the last one placed).  Efforts to upgrade one of the barracks always ended up upgrading the other.
7. A codex of what the different possible cards, turrets, and items would be very useful.  Some games make it so only seen items are visible, but a feature like this would reduce the knowledge burden on the player.

The VOD for the review is linked below, and will be available for 60 days from the date of broadcast:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2863008889?t=1h2m2s

Time flew by with this one! Im not sure how fitting the music is, but it was energetic and kept my attention. Sometimes it was hard to tell what spaces were filled and which tile I was selecting, so a less cramped view might be nice (and also allow for more art for the synergies + upgrades)

The goblin army was mostly pushed off the screen, but what I saw of them was fine

Better feedback on the “boss effect checker” would be nice, I never cared about them until suddenly I had to! I didn’t understand the little yellow pips until half my base was destroyed.

Most of my late game was spent collecting coins and rerolling trash, I needed a few specific buildings and I just couldn’t get them. I really would’ve liked more farms.

But overall I had fun, the PvZ inspiration was welcome and I could see how the card mechanic added some strategy and luck to spending money.

I liked the art a lot. The map and enemies are cute, and the overall look gave me a bit of nostalgia for old Warcraft II.

One thing I noticed is that the first monsters approach very slowly, so the beginning can feel a little too quiet.

When dragging a card, I think it would help if the building appeared as a semi-transparent preview on the map. Since the dragged object still looks mostly like the card itself, it was sometimes hard to immediately understand what kind of building I was about to place.

I also liked the interaction where you manually pick up gold during downtime. It gives you something small to do while waiting and helps keep the pacing from feeling completely passive.

Overall, I enjoyed the presentation and art style quite a bit.

A quite fun game for what it is at the moment. However there are some things to be addressed.

1. For one the volume does not work, at least for me. I tried to turn down the SFX, especially for the tower that rains down lightning strikes as that one is extremely loud.

2. Game needs some type of balancing without requiring the player to purposely nerf themselves, banks are far too strong, some upgrades are no brainers such as increased slots, and defense is essentially structures are neglectable.

3. More information or better explanations. Some things are not very intuitive or at the very least not impactful enough to be of great notice, such as leveling up towers, I could not tell for the life of me what that did.

However, I did in fact have fun, very much reminds me of old flash games which gave a bit of nostalgia and the art is pretty. The concept is quite intriguing but it needs some expanding upon for sure due to how many things are simply obsolete from the alternatives.  Overall, great start. 

Vod section from 03:30-44:00 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2866219017

https://youtu.be/KRefEBZr5M0 Skip to 3:09:30

The plants vs zombies inspiration is quite prevalent (not a bad thing!) Getting the different power ups each round was great, but for some of the rounds I liked the setup I had, so if there's a way to skip collecting a power-up between each round would be great. I did manage to survive all the way through. This game has great potential for the mobile market as well. Graphics and music are fine and fitting. 

Hi, I played your game, very fun, very cool art work, I liked everything about it except I wish there was a permanent speed up mechanic that let players move time faster.  you can find the VOD on my channel here; https://www.twitch.tv/twentysevenxl