We've just made the demo of Dania — First Encounter public, and before this only friends and family had played it, so we don't yet know how it lands with someone who owes us nothing.

https://dasotauniverse.itch.io/dania-first-encounter (browser or Windows, about 30 to 45 minutes; a few minutes is useful too)

What we'd most like to hear:

1. The first five minutes. There's an opening film and character creation before you move. Too long? Did you skip it?
2. Teaching. A sergeant explains the controls over the PA as you go. Did you ever not know what to do?
3. Feel. Running, jumping, the baton, the dash. Anything stiff or floaty?
4. The three bosses. Each volley has one right answer. Fair, or a guessing game?
5. The page itself. Would you have clicked on it?

Blunt is fine. We'll answer here and say what we changed.

I think the intro sequence is a little too long. Also it has this mysterious, spooky soundtrack, but the seconds you are in the game you are greeted with upbeat, 90's game music. A weird switch in atmosphere.

The game explanations were sufficient and I had no problems knowing what to do or how to use things. I just want to mentioned that during some of the first fights I saw little tutorial pop-up massages. I could only read half of them because I was distracted by enemies.

The game and especially the weapons feel good. I really liked the spear and it's moveset. Sometimes the combat feels a little clunky in close distance with enemies but I can't really tell why.

The bosses felt fair but a little too easy. They didn't had much health so I was able to kill them rather quickly without paying too much attention to their attacks.

Overall I really like the idea of the game. I'm a fan of the depth that action-rpg gear can bring. As long as the enemies and the environment force you to adapt your build/gear 

Also, after playing a few minutes with mouse and keyboard I switched to controller. Worked but I wasn't able to select anything in the escape menu anymore. Neither with mouse nor game pad. But after reloading the site it worked again. The safe also worked.

The Metroidvania + action-RPG gear combination sounds really interesting. I like that you’re asking specifically about the first few minutes because that can make or break a new player’s experience. Are you planning to shorten the opening based on the feedback you’ve received so far?