Post by PencilTide Studio in Hey, drop your link—I’ll give you some genuine feedback from a player’s perspective. Let’s improve together!

Viewing post in Hey, drop your link—I’ll give you some genuine feedback from a player’s perspective. Let’s improve together!

Hi! Thanks for offering to help other indie developers!

I recently released THE LAST PLATFORM: The Vanishing Map, a free printable detective mystery.

It's a PDF-based investigation game rather than a traditional video game. Players examine security records, witness timelines, and station documents to solve a mystery.

The estimated playtime is 15–30 minutes, and it's available in both A4 and US Letter formats.

I'd especially appreciate your thoughts on:

Whether the clues are fair and understandable
Whether the investigation is enjoyable
Whether the ending feels satisfying

The project was created with generative AI assistance and is currently in playtesting.

https://penciltide.itch.io/the-last-platform

No worries if printable mysteries aren't your thing. Thanks for your time!

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Elysianx2 hours ago(+1)

hey, thanks for sharing this! i played case 00 solo from the a4 pdfs on screen, not printed, and started with the read-first file as instructed. i didn't use the hints, and i only opened the sealed exhibit after i had a locker, then the solution after i'd filled in the report.

i finished in well under the 15-30 minute estimate — clearly under 15 minutes — but that's mostly because i was on a screen and could jump between the ledger and the camera still instantly. on paper, with pages spread out, i think it would sit more comfortably in that window.

the investigation was really enjoyable. the best moment was lining up the dispatch monitor in the still with the departure ledger; once that clicked, the rest of the timeline locked into place, and it felt fair rather than tricky. the later documents have a satisfying "wait, this doesn't match" turn too, and i liked that the ending answers the immediate decision without pretending every loose thread is solved. i'd play another case.

a couple notes from a first-time playtest:

- the instructions for when to open each file were very clear. i never felt tempted to peek, and page 14 being its own file is the right call.

- the locker step was much easier than the camera/timeline puzzle. once you have the orientation key, it's a single straight path, no real chance to go wrong. if you want that beat to feel like the rest of the case, it could use a little more resistance.

- one small thing on the movement log: the "next" column is just a time, not a place. i could infer where that person needed to be from the route diagram, but naming the location would make the window even clearer.

clues felt fair, the ending landed, and the archival layout is really easy to read. thanks for the playtest, and good luck with the kurose files!

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PencilTide Studio2 hours ago

Thank you so much for actually playing through the whole case and sharing such detailed feedback!

I'm really glad you enjoyed the camera and timetable puzzle, and that the ending worked for you.

Your points about the locker puzzle and the missing location in the movement log are really helpful. I'll definitely take those into account for the next revision.

It's also useful to know that the case took less than 15 minutes when played on screen.

Thanks again for taking the time to play. It means a lot, especially as this is my first playtest feedback!

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