I think the core idea becomes interesting once you understand the relationship between the enemy intent and the sigils.
For me, the main point of confusion was this: even after I understood where the enemy’s next action was shown, I still didn’t immediately understand which sigil I should choose in response.
For example, once I understood that an incoming attack meant “build Ward with Bone,” the game started to make much more sense. But it took me a little while to reach that understanding.
So I think the issue is not the rules themselves, but how quickly the player can connect “enemy intent” with “what should I do now?”
After that clicked, the decision-making became much more enjoyable.
The text size in options is actually working in reverse?
I don't think you need explanations for those options - they're pretty much self-explanatory. Maybe keep the explanations for the ones you really thing deserve them (like 'reduced motion'). Otherwise it is clutter and wasting player time
Great effects, liked the sfx as well
I don't hear any music atm, I guess it will come later...
I'd prefer larger text in general. Hard to navigate and understand (it's obvious the primary target are mobile phones, but that's an even bigger reason to make it larger)
Other than that, it really needs gradual introduction of gameplay elements. Might want to split it for the first time played or similar.
Really great work! I'd work a bit more on having things clear, maybe some work on the art. Good luck :)
Played the browser build through the first chamber. Chained three Blood sigils, took the Choir Leech from 26 to 20, and the loop clicked straight away.
What works: the enemy intent line at the bottom is the best thing here. Knowing the next strike before I commit turns a match-3 into an actual decision, and the contextual hint changing from “drag three sigils” to “read the enemy intent, Bone grants Ward” after my first cast is a nice touch. Teaching one idea per turn instead of all at once.
Which is why the Field Manual before the first chamber feels like the wrong shape. It is a full screen of rules covering Vigor, Ward, Focus, four cast types, relics, shrines and curse marks, and I had forgotten most of it by the time I made my first move. Everything in it is good, it is just arriving before I have anything to attach it to. The in-game hints already do the job better. I would cut that screen to three lines and let the rest surface as it becomes relevant, with the manual kept behind the ? button for anyone who wants it.
One bug: on the bottom bar the ENEMY INTENT label, the curse text and the “Strikes for 4” number all overlap each other. On a 1080p desktop window it reads as three lines of text printed on top of one another. Looks like the tooltip and the intent bar share the same space.
Small thing: I played on desktop in a wide window because the page said to use a narrow one. Might be worth just letterboxing it yourself rather than asking the player to resize their browser, since most people will not.
The art direction is doing a lot of work. Good atmosphere.
This is amazing, thank you so much for your feedback!
You're right about the manual throwing too much upfront, and the overlap/resize issue is a great catch. I'm happy to hear the core loop landed, though!
I think at this point, I have enough feedback to implement 1.8.0, so stay tuned! Thank you again for your detailed feedback
Comments
I think the core idea becomes interesting once you understand the relationship between the enemy intent and the sigils.
For me, the main point of confusion was this: even after I understood where the enemy’s next action was shown, I still didn’t immediately understand which sigil I should choose in response.
For example, once I understood that an incoming attack meant “build Ward with Bone,” the game started to make much more sense. But it took me a little while to reach that understanding.
So I think the issue is not the rules themselves, but how quickly the player can connect “enemy intent” with “what should I do now?”
After that clicked, the decision-making became much more enjoyable.
Some notes:
Really great work! I'd work a bit more on having things clear, maybe some work on the art. Good luck :)
Played the browser build through the first chamber. Chained three Blood sigils, took the Choir Leech from 26 to 20, and the loop clicked straight away.
What works: the enemy intent line at the bottom is the best thing here. Knowing the next strike before I commit turns a match-3 into an actual decision, and the contextual hint changing from “drag three sigils” to “read the enemy intent, Bone grants Ward” after my first cast is a nice touch. Teaching one idea per turn instead of all at once.
Which is why the Field Manual before the first chamber feels like the wrong shape. It is a full screen of rules covering Vigor, Ward, Focus, four cast types, relics, shrines and curse marks, and I had forgotten most of it by the time I made my first move. Everything in it is good, it is just arriving before I have anything to attach it to. The in-game hints already do the job better. I would cut that screen to three lines and let the rest surface as it becomes relevant, with the manual kept behind the ? button for anyone who wants it.
One bug: on the bottom bar the ENEMY INTENT label, the curse text and the “Strikes for 4” number all overlap each other. On a 1080p desktop window it reads as three lines of text printed on top of one another. Looks like the tooltip and the intent bar share the same space.
Small thing: I played on desktop in a wide window because the page said to use a narrow one. Might be worth just letterboxing it yourself rather than asking the player to resize their browser, since most people will not.
The art direction is doing a lot of work. Good atmosphere.
This is amazing, thank you so much for your feedback!
You're right about the manual throwing too much upfront, and the overlap/resize issue is a great catch. I'm happy to hear the core loop landed, though!
I think at this point, I have enough feedback to implement 1.8.0, so stay tuned! Thank you again for your detailed feedback