I played your game, and you chose a pretty addictive core mechanic. However, there are a few things that could be improved. I'd suggest making the first sonar upgrade available from the very beginning. Seeing an empty sea with no visible trash is a bit confusing at first. It would also be nice to add a little more movement and feedback. For example, flipping the boat when moving left, keeping the sea's edge in subtle but constant motion, and adding a small effect when the player hooks some trash would make the game feel much more alive. These small changes could make a noticeable difference to the overall feel of the game.
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Thank you for the detailed and thorough feedback mate!
The insight with the sonar upgrade is really useful- it'll be one of the first things I add in the next build, thanks!
The x axis flip should be pretty easy to implement too, that's going on the list.
I wanted to go down the sprite sheet route for some nice idle/casting the hook animations, but ran out of time.
Having the sea move and/or having something in motion towards the surface is an excellent thought too.
Once again, thank you so much for taking the time!