Oh hon, I'm so, so sorry if I upset you or made you feel discouraged. That's the last thing I would ever want to do. As someone who struggles to feel good about themselves and their work, I'm furious with myself for not being more tactful.
The thing I hate about feedback is that it's the unpleasant things or glitches etc. that need to be reported so they can hopefully be fixed/ironed out, but then it gives the wrong illusion that there are no positives at all, especially if you fail to point out the positives, which I absolutely did. I usually prefer to point out all the things I love/like about something BEFORE I list off any complaints, bugs, etc. but I let my bad mood post in haste and frustration, and I'm really sorry for that
Let me be perfectly clear, this is absolutely a great game and amazing love letter to both series and there are MANY positives. It has a unique 'feel' to the gameplay that's a little slower than other games, and ordinarily I like things fast, but here it's actually a breath of fresh air and makes you feel like you have time to plan your movements a little to time your juggles more easily and stuff. The characters' overall concepts are very good and mechanically sound for the most part (things like Moxxie being able to walk and shoot, etc. are unique and fun). The characters that felt underwhelming to me were mostly kind of a performance thing - it felt like some characters just had an easier time than others, for whatever reason it may be. But that's not to say any of them are badly designed at all. And whilst I've seen the comments on itch.io complaining about the inclusion of OCs, I disagree. The OCs fit right in and both offer unique and fun playstyles. Coco was the first character I beat the game with, in fact and I had a lot of fun with him; and guess what? I normally hate slow powerhouse characters in games
The presentation is great with the boss preview title cards and the cutscenes, and I especially love the cut-in images on super moves - it's those kinds of touches that elevate the game to professional feel. The sprite art is phenominal, seriously, all the characters look perfect. You are insanely talented here. It's a skill I honestly wish I had, as it would mean my own project might actually see the light of day, lol. Even after hearing the Alastor announcer a while back, I was NOT expecting a full voice cast for the game at all - at best I thought you'd understandably use samples from the show. Not only did you go to the effort of getting voice actors, but they all did an amazing job, with some of them almost being indistinguishable from the original VAs. It adds so much to the game, and again it shows your dedication and effort. As a side joke I do miss Millie's "B*TCH!" though xD. And of course in terms of it representing the shows, it's great. the levels are recognizable and the bosses of course look awesome. I especially loved the creepy atmosphere in Angel Dusts's stage as you walk through the room. There's a lot of fun references, not just to the Hellaverse but to beat 'em ups and such too, like the classic 'elevator before the final boss' trope
Something I always like to say: if I thought a game was terrible, I wouldn't bother leaving feedback, because I don't care enough. I only give feedback if a game has potential and makes me care
It's a "Ohhhh this could be AMAZING! It's just a shame about these couple things," kinda thing. And with it being a first release, I should've taken into account that not everything would necessarily be in it's best place yet anyway. To be honest it felt so professional that I FORGOT it was the first releaseas I was playing lol
I totally understand the imposter syndrome thing, I've definitely felt it before, but like I said, you've got talent, and the game is already MILES better than what some people have put out on here in the past (I'm sure our friends here would agree!) and there's a reason my project (despite first being conceptualized in 2019) has never seen the light of day and likely never will, because I don't have that talent and consistently get stuck on usually self-caused bugs. I couldn't accomplish anything close to this and certainly not in the timespan either. Plus you managed all of this mostly by yourself, so please never think yourself as imposter here.
I'm seriously excited and looking forward to more from this game, if you're planning on adding more
And I know the fans are gonna love it as the first of it's kind.
Peace and love x
For sure, I really do value what Psykai had to share. I guess I just wasn't prepared for such a rocky start in general. I'm more than happy to balance out the characters and whatnot. I guess a huge part of it for me too is impostor syndrome, since I incorporated a lot of talent, not just from this amazing community, but an additional sprite animator, voice actors, etc. You guys know more about coding and what makes a good game than I do, lol.
Then again, I'm probably just psyching myself out. I just need to take notes and maintain my wits.
It'll take me that long to do one stage probably, plus more than one playable character.
Came in handy for a certain blue pony if you catch my drift, heheh.
