Some interesting ideas here! Really liked the length, the focus on a small-scale narrative and the central mechanic of the hoover arm. Game was absolutely gorgeous throughout - didn't love the character models but the environments were fantastic, felt bright and full of life.
My thing is, it felt boring to play. I know it wasn't going for ultimate excitement. I know this. But I just felt bored going through the motions: hoover up the gunk in an area, pull some switches, open a new area and do the same. Movement didn't feel great at any point (especially when using the useless sprint) and rarely did the gameplay feel super exciting or engaging. And rarely did I feel a real pull to continue playing and discovering more (beyond wanting to see the story through). Thought the upgrades were a real waste of time. Mostly useless (apart from the odd mandatory upgrade), I never felt like I needed them or that I needed to harvest materials for the sole purpose of getting them. I liked the idea that scanning more objects unlocked more upgrades, which would encourage me to explore more and harvest more along the way. But idk man, I just felt no pull at all towards doing that. If the upgrades meaningfully changed traversal, or added some dimension to the very flat combat, then maybe I'd have cared. Also makes me chuckle that there's a whole fast travel system between each of the areas here, as if I ever want to backtrack anywhere lol. The levels felt very setup for linear traversal only.
I will say, looking at the credits at the end and seeing how tiny the team was made me appreciate the hard work a lot more. I think I've softened since becoming an employed gamedev and seeing the process from behind the scenes. It's a miracle that anything gets released - even when it's mid.
Oh wait I forgot to mention - whenever you look up there's an effect where the FOV increases, which really makes you feel the scale of whatever you're looking up at. Those graphics really were phenomenal, and super strong art direction too.
My thing is, it felt boring to play. I know it wasn't going for ultimate excitement. I know this. But I just felt bored going through the motions: hoover up the gunk in an area, pull some switches, open a new area and do the same. Movement didn't feel great at any point (especially when using the useless sprint) and rarely did the gameplay feel super exciting or engaging. And rarely did I feel a real pull to continue playing and discovering more (beyond wanting to see the story through). Thought the upgrades were a real waste of time. Mostly useless (apart from the odd mandatory upgrade), I never felt like I needed them or that I needed to harvest materials for the sole purpose of getting them. I liked the idea that scanning more objects unlocked more upgrades, which would encourage me to explore more and harvest more along the way. But idk man, I just felt no pull at all towards doing that. If the upgrades meaningfully changed traversal, or added some dimension to the very flat combat, then maybe I'd have cared. Also makes me chuckle that there's a whole fast travel system between each of the areas here, as if I ever want to backtrack anywhere lol. The levels felt very setup for linear traversal only.
I will say, looking at the credits at the end and seeing how tiny the team was made me appreciate the hard work a lot more. I think I've softened since becoming an employed gamedev and seeing the process from behind the scenes. It's a miracle that anything gets released - even when it's mid.
Oh wait I forgot to mention - whenever you look up there's an effect where the FOV increases, which really makes you feel the scale of whatever you're looking up at. Those graphics really were phenomenal, and super strong art direction too.