Fish Monger

Your instructions on how to play the game were clear, and it was helpful that you provided the controls both in the itch.io document, as well as including it as part of the GUI in the game. I like that I don't have to tab back and forth between the itch.io page and the game just to be able to figure out the controls. I was confused for quite a bit about why I couldn't go over the moving walkway of fishes to the left, and I thought it was just an unfinished part of the game until I realized those are the puffer fish and swordfish that I need to catch. I think a pop-up  when approaching it for the first time could be helpful, although I feel I still bear some responsibility for wandering around the level for 5-minutes before figuring this out. 

I found the fishing to be reely fun, I think it's a cool and satisfying mechanic to push the bobble out and then drop it, almost like a claw game in an arcade. It's not realistic in comparison to the real-world casting and reeling, but I feel like I enjoy it more this way. I don't care too much for fishing in games either, so this was a pleasant reprieve from what I was expecting to be similar to fishing in Stardew Valley or World of Warcraft. It wasn't tedious or grindy to catch fish, and that is wonderful to me.

On the visual side, I'm not sure if it was just me, but I ended up a bit motion sick by the way the game screen oscillates side-to-side heavily when running or jumping against a wall. The run speed feels like it may be a bit fast, and it causes a similar dizzying effect as before, but in this case it's from running past the brick textures very quickly. The transition from dying to respawn was also very snappy and disorienting, and I think it wouldn't feel as dizzying if there was an animation or fade to black after each death, just to slow things down so the mind can catch up with the information on screen. The character is a bit difficult to control as well, and I was (admittedly) not able to complete the game level by collecting all of the pearls. One spot that gave me a lot of trouble in particular was the large spike pit all the way to the right, which is a good challenge, but it just doesn't feel beatable with how I seem to die to the spikes even when I have a stonefish down.

Thank you for sharing your game, the concept is really cool and the gameplay was enjoyable. I look forward to playing your final version!

This was the first game I tried out and overall, I thought the game delivered a lot on the promises it set to do. I think someone else did this too but I also initially played without looking at fish abilities. It was a little weird figuring out the controls and getting used to the in-game physics (gravity was higher than I thought), but I was able to get 6 pearls with just using the Q ability. Without the bugginess of the walls, I honestly probably wouldn't have collected many pearls to begin with (or maybe that was intended) since escaping the jittering allowed a brief period to jump again if we timed it right. Taking advantage of that did net me one of the pearls that required me to climb up a ledge. Originally, I thought we only had access to the Q abilities for the play test and got stuck so I came to see what other details were provided. It turns out that we had access to the E abilities as well -- just need to slot them in with E when we first fish them. It would be pretty cool to test out the various combinations of fishes and Q/E abilities now that I think about it. Didn't have time to go try out all the combos but I can see the mechanics of the game going pretty deep with more fishes being added later. Besides that, the art for this game was pretty distinct and I think it meshes well with the setting and style of the game. I also liked how when you hit the spikes, it would load the player to a preset location close to where we died. Though, the kinetics of the player did feel a little slippery and the player would sometimes hit the spikes multiple times (a save location close to the spikes), carrying over the previous velocity and I would have to wait for things to settle before continuing. Overall, there was a lot of substance in this play test and I can't wait to see what else you guys add!

Edit: glad the time didn't force a game over because it would be pretty disheartening to lose your progress on your pearls (especially when I first experimented with the controls)

I adore the concept of this game, and enjoy the movement systems that are present throughouot the game! I will say however the fish are not created equally, as by far swordfish's Q and the pufferfish's E out class the others in fun factor. I adore the way you can utilize pufferfish as a sticky bomb even using them as a midair jump if you are skilled enough. But the Rockfish Q doesn't seem to have much use besides when the level gives you an opportunity to break blocks below you. I'd love to see some more tech to do with the rockfish  for movement, possibly like bouncing off of spikes, or something of the sort. Additionally  The controls for the fishing minigame could be improved as it did not feel as satisfying as other fishing games that I have played. This game has so much promise and as it stands now I feel like it just needs work in making the movement and fishing feel more responsive and more interactive.


[additionally bug notes:
when running into walls is jitters a ton and you get stuck, this allows you sometimes to regain your jump and jump infinitely up a wall

when catching fish you often find the fish not making connection to you to equip in your loadout instead getting stuck on the ledge. This is confusing when trying to make new}

I think this game is complex/multifaceted and is enjoyable in that way. The progress you guys made in such little time is honestly really cool. The art is very neat and distinguishable. I played it first without the explanations on the page to test how intuitive the controls are.  I think they are difficult to immediately understand, but it is fitting to the different layers of this game and how the fish have a variety of applications. The starting area is a great way to practice how to understand the general idea of using the fish and what they do with the player. It's likely that this isn't solved yet to fit time constraints, but the bugginess I experience while fishing is still sort of jarring and takes a bit from the experience, but I was curious on why it occurs? I don't have ideas for ability ideas, but it'll be interesting to see what you guys may add. And I was wondering as to how many are planned to be added. Overall, quite a dapper game and can't wait to see how it grows.