Edit: Minor skill issue on my part. See my reply to the dev below to see my updated thoughts after replaying the game, most complaints still stand but are not as harsh overall as they may seem from this comment.
Aaaaah, time to play some *checks notes* autumn themed games! Let's see what's in store today!
Jokes aside, I respect the vision for this one despite only barely fitting with the jam limitation, but the gameplay is a miss for me. I love me some movement shooters, but after beating all three levels, there are a bunch of issues that add up to make this a pretty rough experience:
- Only having one hit combined with very fast enemies and a directional combat system I never quite got the hang of and isn't explained in any depth (why should I have my sword in X position or move it in Y direction?) meant that I died seemingly out of nowhere quite often. Putting my sword on the side the enemies are on before strafing past them from the side seemed to have the most consistent results, but I'd like to know if I'm missing something in how to make the gameplay more smoothly - this wouldn't be the first time I've played a jam game had a brilliant combat system hidden under a lack of explanations.
- On that note, with how fast you are the block feels redundant when your normal movement works as a dodge, and I'm not sure if it's me or the game.
- This kind of game needs more interesting enemy design. As it stands, enemies either run towards you in a straight line or shoot projectiles at you - either way the solution is to just circlestrafe.
- The melee enemies in particular chase the player with perfect precision so if you dodge them to come back for an attack later, they're all bunched up in a massive crowd that you have to repeatedly poke to thin out.
- The wall run itself is fine, but chaining wall jumps is incredibly awkward. One wall is fine, but chaining them involves jumping into the wall you want to jump off of, turning around in midair towards the next wall, then jumping into that wall. I have never played a game with a wall run like this, where looking away from the wall to aim your jump immediately detaches you from the wall.
- The level design isn't bad, but combine the above issues with some little things (like the crossbow guys not going on cooldown once you're out of view, so you immediately get sniped if you walljump too fast past the first section of level 2) and they don't feel great.
- As well as some more minor things that aren't a dealbreaker but are noticeable.
- The game freezes the first time you attack an enemy. I know, I messed up my asset loading in Godot too this jam, but in an action game like this it's rough.
- The controls generally feel a little bloated. Why is drop/pickup weapon on separate keys if there's no reason you'd ever want to run around empty handed? Why is the slide there if it's used once in the tutorial and that's it? You are running 90% of the time, why is running a separate button to hold down?
- Having the tutorial text be small while also forcing you to move to keep your warmth up is... a choice.
Which is a shame because the concept alone of first-person parkour knight is right up my alley, but IMO it didn't quite make the landing.
