I had a good time with this. The pixel art looked good, the audio worked well, and the whole game felt complete. I got through night one pretty comfortably, barely managed night two, and never quite beat night three.
I thought there was a good amount of depth in the movement for such a small set of controls. Dashing lets you gain a little ground, while hitting an enemy or obstacle costs you momentum, so I was paying attention to how much space I had to work with.
The enemy that runs up behind you faster than youâre moving was a particular highlight. Having to judge when it would catch up and time a jump so it could pass underneath was a really creative encounter for this kind of game. The different enemy behaviors gave me plenty to think about while running.
My biggest frustration was getting caught in the black area. Once I was far enough inside, I couldnât see my character or the obstacles well enough to work out how to recover. I ended up spamming dash while taking hits from things I couldnât see. It often felt like the run was already lost, but it took quite a while for my remaining health to drain so I could restart.
That was especially frustrating on night three, when I was already having a hard time keeping up. The pressure from the approaching shadow worked for me. The part Iâd revisit is how long an attempt continues once youâve fallen far behind and lost visibility.
An immediate failure point deeper inside the shadow could help. You could still have a chance to recover near the edge, while getting a fresh attempt sooner once youâve fallen too far back.