Played level 1-1 with keyboard (arrows / A-D). Died at 24 of 37s, score 590, on the 3rd hull hit.
The core loop reads instantly. The HUD line Portal in 33s is the best thing on screen, and the death line A meteor found the hull is great.
Two snags from a cold run: 3 hits across a 37 second level is tight for a first portal, so I would open 1-1 at around 20s or give 4 hull; and the default sensitivity 1.5x felt twitchy on discrete key taps.
The menu, shop and trophy layer is far more polished than a jam needs, which makes the dodging feel like the side dish. I would play again for the tuning.
I make a one-mechanic browser thing too, if you want to trade notes: https://atlasmakesgames.itch.io/collapse-climb (25s, one jump)
Thanks a lot for playing and for the precise notes – exactly the kind of feedback I need. The keyboard point is really useful: another player found 1-1 too easy with the mouse, you found it tight with the keys, so I think the key steering is the real issue, not the level. I’ll make taps calmer and give the keys their own feel in one of the next updates. Glad the portal line and the death line work for you! And fair point about the menus – the dodging should stay the main dish. I’ll check out Collapse Climb.
Played 1-1 in the embedded browser build. Cleared it first try, 2400 pts, no continue. I never touched the mouse: holding one direction plus the auto-fire was enough, so the opening felt like a flythrough, not a fight. The 3-star 'no continue' goal wants tension that the first gate doesn't create yet. Only rough edge: I took a hull hit about 3 seconds in, before the controls line had registered (it lists arrows, A/D, mouse and finger with no primary), so the first seconds read as 'I'm already behind'. A short spawn grace or a visible hitbox would fix that.
Thank you, Axel – that is a precise read and it goes straight into the next update. The hit at 3 seconds before the controls line has settled is the clearest one: a short spawn grace at the start of a run is cheap and right. The 'flythrough' point is the interesting one, because another tester found 1-1 a wall with three hits in ten seconds – so 1-1 is not the same level for everyone yet, and the first gate needs to earn its tension rather than hand it out. And the controls line will name one primary way to play. Much appreciated.
I really liked the sense of depth — it felt fresh and different! The progression system is also really fun and makes me want to keep playing.
I think it could be even more enjoyable if there were more enemy types in addition to the rocks. Also, when defeating a larger enemy, adding a little more impact — something like a brief hit stop or stronger feedback — could make the victory feel much more satisfying.
I’m going to keep playing and see how far I can get!
Thank you, tami_tac! Good timing: 0.7.1 went live today and it is exactly about that impact – every break is now one of four tiers, and a big rock, a gold rock, a Colossus phase or shaking off Bravor gets its own hit stop, flash, camera kick and bass. Would love to hear whether it hits the mark for you.
More enemy types is on the list too – since 0.7.0 there is Bravor, a pursuer behind the ship; a proper boss character is next. Thanks for playing on!
Super cool game, you've added a lot of great mechanics to a flesh out a solid core concept,. One thing I found a little out of place was the art for the gates. It doesn't span the screen fully so my first run I thought it was an obstacle and tried to avoid it. Totally get it if it's placeholder art
Thanks a lot, that's really useful! You're right, the gate doesn't read as a gate yet – it should span the field and be visibly a fly-through. Going on the list for coming update.
Update: the gate is fixed in 0.7.0 - it now spans the whole field with beacons on both sides and a lit "fly through" lane, so it can't be mistaken for a wall anymore. Thanks again for pointing it out!
Update 0.5.1 is online. The shop has a big Back button now, the first minutes are faster and you get a loan crate to try the laser and the missiles, and breaking a meteor hits harder now (shards, flash, shake, bass). Thank you falsedoor, Fue Horrible and Ikepapa, all your points are in!
Ich finde, dass dieses Spiel auf einer sehr einfachen Grundidee viele Elemente aufbaut, die dafür sorgen, dass man lange weiterspielen kann.
Wenn jemand erst einmal davon gepackt ist, kann ich mir gut vorstellen, dass er sehr lange dabei bleibt.
Wenn ich mir eine Sache wünschen dürfte, dann wäre es, das Gefühl beim Zerstören der Meteore noch stärker zu machen.
Stärkere visuelle und akustische Rückmeldungen beim Zerbrechen eines Meteors könnten die unmittelbare Befriedigung deutlich erhöhen. Ich glaube, dass so ein fast körperlich spürbares Erfolgserlebnis schon früh das Gefühl auslösen könnte: „Ich möchte noch weiterspielen.“
---------------------------
English
I think this is a game that builds a lot of depth on top of a very simple core idea. If someone gets hooked, I can easily imagine them playing for a long time.
If I could ask for one thing, I’d love to see the feeling of destroying meteors pushed even further. Stronger visual and sound feedback when a meteor breaks could make the moment-to-moment action feel more satisfying. I think that kind of immediate, almost physical sense of pleasure would help players feel “I want to keep playing” much earlier.
hey cool game. i found it very relaxing to play but the progression on first 15 minutes is a bit slow i think. also UI generally needs some more attention.
The game’s visuals, music, and sound effects are good, but the gameplay is its biggest weakness. It’s too easy and lacks meaningful mechanics.
If you can find a way to make the player do more than just move left and right, such as switching weapons during a game to destroy different types of asteroids, it could make the gameplay more engaging. For example, the laser could destroy only golden asteroids, the standard shot could destroy normal asteroids, and missiles could one-shot large asteroids.
Comments
Thanks a lot for playing and for the precise notes – exactly the kind of feedback I need. The keyboard point is really useful: another player found 1-1 too easy with the mouse, you found it tight with the keys, so I think the key steering is the real issue, not the level. I’ll make taps calmer and give the keys their own feel in one of the next updates. Glad the portal line and the death line work for you! And fair point about the menus – the dodging should stay the main dish. I’ll check out Collapse Climb.
Thank you, Axel – that is a precise read and it goes straight into the next update. The hit at 3 seconds before the controls line has settled is the clearest one: a short spawn grace at the start of a run is cheap and right. The 'flythrough' point is the interesting one, because another tester found 1-1 a wall with three hits in ten seconds – so 1-1 is not the same level for everyone yet, and the first gate needs to earn its tension rather than hand it out. And the controls line will name one primary way to play. Much appreciated.
I really liked the sense of depth — it felt fresh and different! The progression system is also really fun and makes me want to keep playing.
I think it could be even more enjoyable if there were more enemy types in addition to the rocks. Also, when defeating a larger enemy, adding a little more impact — something like a brief hit stop or stronger feedback — could make the victory feel much more satisfying.
I’m going to keep playing and see how far I can get!
Thank you, tami_tac! Good timing: 0.7.1 went live today and it is exactly about that impact – every break is now one of four tiers, and a big rock, a gold rock, a Colossus phase or shaking off Bravor gets its own hit stop, flash, camera kick and bass. Would love to hear whether it hits the mark for you.
More enemy types is on the list too – since 0.7.0 there is Bravor, a pursuer behind the ship; a proper boss character is next. Thanks for playing on!
Super cool game, you've added a lot of great mechanics to a flesh out a solid core concept,. One thing I found a little out of place was the art for the gates. It doesn't span the screen fully so my first run I thought it was an obstacle and tried to avoid it. Totally get it if it's placeholder art
Thanks a lot, that's really useful! You're right, the gate doesn't read as a gate yet – it should span the field and be visibly a fly-through. Going on the list for coming update.
Update: the gate is fixed in 0.7.0 - it now spans the whole field with beacons on both sides and a lit "fly through" lane, so it can't be mistaken for a wall anymore. Thanks again for pointing it out!
Update 0.5.1 is online. The shop has a big Back button now, the first minutes are faster and you get a loan crate to try the laser and the missiles, and breaking a meteor hits harder now (shards, flash, shake, bass). Thank you falsedoor, Fue Horrible and Ikepapa, all your points are in!
Ich finde, dass dieses Spiel auf einer sehr einfachen Grundidee viele Elemente aufbaut, die dafür sorgen, dass man lange weiterspielen kann. Wenn jemand erst einmal davon gepackt ist, kann ich mir gut vorstellen, dass er sehr lange dabei bleibt.
Wenn ich mir eine Sache wünschen dürfte, dann wäre es, das Gefühl beim Zerstören der Meteore noch stärker zu machen. Stärkere visuelle und akustische Rückmeldungen beim Zerbrechen eines Meteors könnten die unmittelbare Befriedigung deutlich erhöhen. Ich glaube, dass so ein fast körperlich spürbares Erfolgserlebnis schon früh das Gefühl auslösen könnte: „Ich möchte noch weiterspielen.“
---------------------------
English
I think this is a game that builds a lot of depth on top of a very simple core idea. If someone gets hooked, I can easily imagine them playing for a long time.
If I could ask for one thing, I’d love to see the feeling of destroying meteors pushed even further. Stronger visual and sound feedback when a meteor breaks could make the moment-to-moment action feel more satisfying. I think that kind of immediate, almost physical sense of pleasure would help players feel “I want to keep playing” much earlier.
danke das ist sehr hilfreich.
hey cool game. i found it very relaxing to play but the progression on first 15 minutes is a bit slow i think. also UI generally needs some more attention.
Thank you for the Feedback. The first minutes will be faster in the next Update and i work on the UI.
Hi,
I played the game.
The game’s visuals, music, and sound effects are good, but the gameplay is its biggest weakness. It’s too easy and lacks meaningful mechanics.
If you can find a way to make the player do more than just move left and right, such as switching weapons during a game to destroy different types of asteroids, it could make the gameplay more engaging. For example, the laser could destroy only golden asteroids, the standard shot could destroy normal asteroids, and missiles could one-shot large asteroids.
Danke. Ein guter Punkt.