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I don’t usually play puzzle games, so please keep that in mind. However, I wanted to try this one because the magnet mechanic looked interesting. Here are some stream-of-consciousness notes I took during a short playthrough:

• Didn’t read "How to Play" before I started. Probably should have.
• I like the graphics, but I wasn’t sure I understood the hats. Are they mechanically relevant, or just something to give the game personality? (This got answered as the game went on.)
• Playing with the mouse: I don’t like having to drag the faces when there’s only one possible direction. Would rather just click and have them move.
• I love the nested levels and smooth animations between them. Would be nice to have some sort of map, though. It’s easy to lose track of where I am within the hierarchy, even if (as far as I could tell) it doesn’t really matter.
• The hint system is perfect. Gives you just as much help as you want.
• The menu bar at the top (Esc, R, Z, P, H) takes up way more room than it needs to, IMO.
• The magnet system is really cool. I love how it expands to reveal more of the level and retracts to hide it, and how this becomes part of the puzzle itself.
• The fan-looking thing was initially confusing. I didn’t notice at first how switching a seemingly unrelated tile was affecting the fan tile.
• In the level "4 - The Final Twist," I solved it pretty quickly, but wasn’t entirely sure what problem I had solved.
• Some animations are a little too long for someone like me who just wants to get in and start puzzling.
• Solving the levels is very satisfying.
• Good, simple sound effects. Personally, I wouldn’t mind a little background music.
• I definitely would have kept playing if I’d had more time to spare.

Nice work overall, and I hope some of this feedback is helpful!

Hi Mike, thank you very much for giving Sigils a try! Figuring out how to balance navigation, cursor movement, and drawing with camera positioning has been tricky, but I'll keep exploring ways to make it feel steadier. Also, really glad you enjoyed the battle sequence! Appreciate your feedback :)

>was losing track of your character mainly a problem during crowded fights, or did they also blend into the scenery when things were quieter?

IIRC, I only lost track of my character when things got chaotic in close-quarters combat. When I was farther from enemies or had a ranged weapon, I had no issue.

All feedback is welcome, even if you only played for a minute or two!

If something confused you, didn't work, or made you stop playing, even a single sentence about what happened would be incredibly helpful.

There's no need to finish the demo to leave feedback. Thanks!

> Where you first felt confused.

At first, it was very easy to lose track of my character among the NPCs.

> What happened during your last death.

At the Golden Dragon, inside a small room, I ran out of ammo and tried to punch my way out through a crowd of enemies.

> What you expected your first cocktail to do.

I had no particular expectations, tbh. If I had to guess, I probably would have expected a health boost or weapon power-up.

> What made you continue playing or stop.

Honestly, I probably stopped because the game was a bit above my current skill level. I was getting better quickly, but after my last death, I wasn't quite ready to restart just yet.

> Platform and the version you played.

Demo v0.8 on Chrome Version 155.0.8059.85 (Official Build) (arm64), macOS Sequoia 15.4.1.

Some general feedback:

Night, rain, alcohol, and brutality—a perfect mix. I liked the pacing and overall feel. The guns, especially the shotgun, were very satisfying to use. Loved the chunky blood splatter. The game was plenty juicy for my taste, and the highly destructible environments were a big plus.

My main criticisms concern two readability issues. First is visual clutter—characters, health bars, blast effects, text, and more can get mixed together. At times, when everything overlapped, I found it difficult to understand what was happening. Second, the environment (floors, walls, scenery) sometimes blended together. I'm not an artist, so I don't know the right terminology, but I felt that objects needed greater contrast or depth to make them easier to distinguish.

Also, as someone who enjoys whiskey, I think players should be punished for mixing it with soda. Neat or on the rocks only! :P 

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, and I really like where you're going with it. Hope this helps!

This was a fun game that I played late last night, making it up to level 14. I know other games like this exist, though this was my first time trying one. I found the controls and interface straightforward. Draw, launch, erase, reset, and restart (trash can) were all easy to understand and use. The physics felt smooth. Finding solutions was both engaging and satisfying.

With respect to gameplay, I see a couple of possible improvements. First, since the game's core challenge is to discover a solution by sketching out the geometry, I would make line editing smoother. For example, I would often erase part of a line and then redraw (extend) it in a different direction. However, the overlap between my old and new lines would sometimes create a little unwanted bump, which then had to be cleaned up so it didn't bump the hamster. I don't think super fine details like this are the point of the puzzle, so automatic smoothing would go a long way toward improving the experience.

Second (and sorry, I don't recall the exact levels), it felt like there was a jump in difficulty where the solution wasn't taught or foreshadowed through prior exercises. What I mean is that I had to go through a lot of trial and error to fill gaps in my understanding about how to leverage the launch and physics mechanics. I think perhaps some additional text or worked examples that teach players strategies could help.

Also, it was a while before I realized broccoli accelerated you and wasn't just a collectible or hazard. Could be my fault, though, if I blasted through some tutorial text and missed it. : ) 

Sigils of Slaughter is a top-down shooter that incorporates gestures (sigils drawn with a mouse) as a core combat mechanic. I haven’t seen gestures used much in video games outside of virtual reality, yet they are extremely satisfying when you can pull them off. So, I created this prototype demo to explore the concept further and gather player feedback. Hope you’ll give it a try and let me know what you think!

Example gestures include drawing a V to teleport to a new position:

Drawing the sigils you see above an enemy's head to destroy them:

And drawing slashes to hurl the Blades of Mayhem (magically tethered butcher knives) toward an enemy, or drawing a ^ symbol to lay a spike trap. 

If this sounds interesting, you can download from: https://etaranta.itch.io/sigils-of-slaughter.