Brawlcrawl: A Tale of Booze 'n Brimstone

1. The game is engaging, though the arena sections feel a bit long, at least for being part of the intro area. I'd also recommend having enemies spawn randomly within or near the edges of the arena, as opposed to the immediate center.

2. Sound effects for getting hurt, enemies finishing their attack, and the player missing their attacks would help a lot with game feedback. Otherwise, the sounds are great!

3. Combat feels good, but the parry locks the player for a long time, and the spacebar ability feels pretty underpowered. I'd recommend upping the damage, and change the extra bar segments to either increase the damage or simply be separate uses, as the increased AOE doesn't do much when all the enemies are surrounding the player so closely. As of now, it's really easy to just stunlock goblins with basic attacks (which can hit multiple enemies) and never use anything else, which feels fun but leaves the other mechanics unused.

4. The game is pretty short right now, I'd recommend extending the length of the two regions, maybe add one or two new areas if time allows for it. Having multiple enemy types would be great as well, perhaps some that can't be stunlocked at all, some that need to be fought with a specific high/low attack, or ones who shoot at the player from afar.

5. The difficulty feels nicely balanced so far.

6. The visuals are great! I really love the 2.5D style, it's very unique!

7. There were no problems with performance.

1. I found the game to be very engaging. Somehow I missed the space bar ability so the game was pretty difficult but I wanted to get to the end so I stuck it out and kept myself entertained for a while longer than it probably should have taken. The game is much better with that ability though.

2. The sound effects were good. I think they will definitely help once you get some for the enemies, having a sound cue for when an enemy is about to strike would make the parry ability feel better to use.

3. Combat feels pretty good. I think shortening the parry window might improve it. I found myself using it and just sitting and waiting until the enemy hit. I think getting a heart or two back after a big wave of enemies would be great.

4. I think it was already a fair amount of content but it did seem to just end abruptly. I think having some closure to the game is all that is really needed.

5. As mentioned above, the difficulty was pretty high without the space bar attack. Even without that, it's still fairly difficult. I'm a fan of the occasional slog type game so I don't have an issue with that.

6. The animations were great. From the what was shown last week, the animation was a much needed addition. The 3D assets were a little bland but that's not a big deal and making the game in 3D is already going above and beyond.

7. No performance issues on my end either but I also have a gaming PC.

8. I just want to reiterate that earning some health drops after a wave of enemies a nice reward.

This game is awesome y'all; I can tell a lot of hard work went into making it what it is. This was very ambitious but I think it lived up to the hype. Well done!

Q1. Did you feel engaged? Should there be another objective to make the game more interesting?

I think the game was quite engaging. I think the story objective is really charming.

Q2. How do you feel about the music/sound effects? Any suggestions?

The sound effects were nice. Not much to say.

Q3. Does combat feel good? How can it feel better? Does the combo gauge feel engaging?

The combat feels really great. This makes me nostalgic for other games of this style. I think it could be really cool to have the punch not stagger enemies and have the kick not do damage. In that way, you would have to choose between dealing damage or preventing the enemies from attacking. The combo gauge is definitely one of the most intriguing parts I feel.

Q4. How much more content needs to be added for the game to feel complete in your opinion?

For the expected size that we were required to create this game feels like it goes beyond already. 

Q5. How did you feel about the games difficulty?

I think it was pretty easy, but I think that's how games of this style shine best. I don't think I would change it. 

Q6. How do you like the visuals and feel of the two zones? Any suggestions or advice for improvement?

I think the different zones have a good amount to make them distinguishable. Personally, I don't care for the fact that the characters are a single color, but I understand if that is a stylistic choice. 

Q7. How does the game perform on your machine? Any issues with the visual effects?

No performance issues.

Q1: Pretty engaging, I don't think it needs a mechanical any other mechanical objective, maybe some petty narrative goal like chasing after a stolen drink so it feels like you're progressing towards something.

Q2: Audio was fine, music is generic action but that isn't a bad thing.

Q3: Combat feels alright, animation and enemy ai feel really solid.  Hit boxes are a bit frustrating 2.5 D is a weird balance because I found it difficult I might suggest emphasizing shadows a bit more so you can tell if you and the goblin are on the same plane when you're punching or simply making the hit box more generous.

Q4: I think the one addition the game really needs is some aspect of variety.  Perhaps little combos depending on mouse clicks to add a bit of visual flare and break up the monotonous pacing.  It's mechanically sound but it feels very one note as to what you are doing throughout the game.  Adding some variety to the combat would be nice.

Q5: It feels gently skewed towards too difficult.  This only came up during the room fight against waves.  If I was struggling to finish the wave and more enemies showed up before I finished the ones already there, it felt like there was no way to recover.  A recovery mechanic such as healing from meter or heart drops from enemies may help.

Q6: Animation is adorable and lively, the backdrops look fine, a bit of extra character might be good, goblin TNT in the basement or some indication of what the building upstairs is supposed to be would be nice.  Something that makes the spaces feel lived in I guess.

Q7: No issues with performance but I have a higher end computer so that may not be the average experience.