Space Cats In Space!

I found the production value in this game suprisingly high. There was voice acting, mid dogfight conversations and a theme song, a freaking theme song (and it was so cheesy it's good!). The music was alright from what I played. It was just the theme song without the lyrics, but it sort of fit the mood. But that all went down the drain when you actually started playing, and you tried to move the spaceship. I'm sorry to say, but I found the controls terrible. You'd think you'd move the direction the ship is facing by pressing W and move left or right depending on if you press A or D respectively. But no, you moved up by pressing W, left by pressing A, right by pressing D, and so on. But that was not all. The speed in which the spaceship moved was inconsistent and was really frustrating. You moved in the direction in which the spaceship was facing by pressing space, so I thought it'd possible to do so, which just makes it more frustrating.

Here's how I would've do it. You moved in the direction the ship is facing by pressing W and move left or right of the spaceship depending on if you press A or D respectively and you move backwards by pressing S. The spacebar could've been a sort of thruster mechanic, where you'd move a little further in the direction you´re moving. I don't now if this only annoyed me, but I felt like it could be worked on.
Otherwise, great stuff!

I very much agree with Guurd on the presentation of the game being surprisingly high. The music, graphics, voiceovers, and visual effects were all wonderful and drew me in right away. The music did get a little repetitive after a few minutes, but the energy was great so I was able to overlook it for the most part.

My biggest complaint is also in agreement with Guurd for the most part. I do agree the controls need some work, but I was fine with W being used to always move up, S to move down, etc (though I would have been fine with Guurd's suggested controls). I had two issues with the controls: the sudden burst in movement on occasion and the direction not always going where I would expect it to.

The sudden burst in movement seems to happen when going in a new direction every so often. It feels like the ship moves much faster than it normally would so I felt like lots of times I was struggling with getting my ship positioned the way I wanted due to moving past where I intended. In short, the movement speed didn't feel linear.

The direction seemed to happen when I was pressing several keys simultaneously and moving between them. if I'm moving down with S, then hold D to go down-right and then release S and hold W (so W and D are held down) to go up-right I'm mostly still moving to the right.

One other thing was I couldn't find any exit button when in full screen. I could hit End Game to go to the Main Menu, but there was no apparent way to exit the game.

Creative name haha.
I don't whats wrong the GUI. Its looks weird and out of place in my opinion. Maybe you should take some time to readjust the UI.
Sorry if that too ..hard?

Presentation and graphics are really great.
Gameplay is also good and easy to get into. There is just one thing: sometimes I can't see for sure where I'm firing (when there's too much action on screen, with the wingman, etc). It would be nice to have the option to put a small crosshair on the screen. That would solve that problem.
But overall it's very solid, congrats.

It's going to be hard to roast this game because it's so excellent and ready to go.
I'll start with the premise and feel. Bourguoisie space cats spouting double entendres while fighting facist space dogs, it's like Little Britain-meets-one of those Hollywood talking dog movies. Utterly unique and creative, I love the little WW1-style leather caps and goggles that they wear, and the voice acting is top-notch. They blow a lot of banter out in the demo, which makes me wonder how on earth they'll possible be able to keep up the pace throughout an entire game. It's more like a cartoon movie that you play, in that respect.

Next up, the controls and mechanics. I love that you jump straight into the action, but that there apears to be the possibility of upgrades and RPG elements so there's more to come. The controls take a couple of minutes of play to really "get", but I really prefer physics-based control and mechanics that are reflective of reality. The more "aim-and-thrust-with-momentum", the better and more believable it is. Nothing better than thrusting, aiming backwards and shooting as you drift on... twin-stick controls don't work all that well in this context, it cheapens the experience and makes it too easy.

The bombing mechanism is great, once you get it, you depend on it constantly, and when you wonder "oh crap, how will I get thru THIS" you suddenly remember the bomber.

Finally to the look and sound. You guys really separate yourselves from the pack with the character overlays, they are very clean and well-drawn. Space rocks, enemy ships, rockets, bosses are all intricate and like good Saturday morning cartoons. Hopefully, we'll see a lot of animated cut scenes and videos connecting the game itself with the story behind it all otherwise, it would all come across as very shallow. I already mentioned the excellent voice acting. The sound is similarly great.

Loved the boss fight at the end, right on the ragged edge of almost not making it, but feeling elated that I finally did.

I wouldn't change a thing, just keep adding levels! Oh, I would love to see some speed run levels and rogue-like challenges.

First off, great writing and design. I loved the cut scenes, humor, music, and "barks" that the different units make. I'm not really into twin stick shooters, but the humor and writing you layered on top made me happily play through this. I'm not sure if it would get repetitive later on, but for at least the first level it is great. Similarly there is a lots of neat units coming out and different scenes.

The main problem I had with the game play was mentioned above, that the player's ship movement doesn't feel right. I'm not exactly sure what the problem is, but moving the ship around just felt consistently off and weird. It was never doing quite what I thought it should. A few possibilities you could try:
- make the movement completely precise, e.g. you press "a" and it moves left at full speed until the instant you let the key up, at which point the ship stops dead . I could see this precise movement being good since you do have a bit of a bullet hell going on.
- look into some other twin stick/asteroid games, where is some momentum and friction in space. The ship takes a half second to reach full speed in a direction, and takes a half second to slide to a halt one you stop thrusting.
- would it be possible to have ships bounce off of obstacles rather than stopping dead?



A few other minor issues:
-On the main menu screen, make it easier to find the "Quit" button. I had to hunt around for a bit to find it.
- on the tutorial, make it a bit more obvious that you need to destroy the shield generators to make it out of that very starting area. I was hitting the the laser barrier with the strategic bomber for a bit before I realized i needed to blow the shield generators up.
- When I played on my 1920x1080 monitor in full screen mode, the UI textures all seemed a bit fuzzy and blurred out. Maybe look into making them crisper?
- There was one "Lightning" looking upgrade that dropped from on the mini-bosses, but I was not able to pick it up? I would move over it, and occasionally it would pop to a slightly new position, but it would not pick up. I'm not sure what was going on there.

Anyway, First off, great writing and design. I loved the cut scenes, humor, music, and "barks" that the different units make. I'm not really into twin stick shooters, but the humor and writing you layered on top made me play through this. I'm not sure if it would get repetitive later on, but for at least the first level it is great. Similarly there is a lots of neat units coming out

The main problem I had with the game play was mentioned above, that the player's ship movement doesn't feel right. I'm not exactly sure what the problem is, but moving the ship around just felt consistently off and weird. It was never doing quite what I thought it should. A few possibilities you could try:
- make the movement completely precise, e.g. you press "a" and it moves left at fulll speed until the instant you let the key up, at which point the ship stops dead . I could see this precise movement being good since you do have a bit of a bullet hell going on.
- look into some other twin stick/asteroid games, where they do something where there is some momentum and friction in space. The ship takes a half second to reach full speed in a direction, and takes a half second to slide to a halt one you stop thrusting.
- would it be possible to have ships bounce off of obstacles rather than stopping dead?



A few other minor issues:
-On the main menu screen, make it easier to find the "Quit" button. I had to hunt around for a bit to find it.
- on the tutorial, make it a bit more obvious that you need to destroy the shield generators to make it out of that very starting area. I was looking at the laser barrier for a bit before I realized i needed to blow the shield generators up.
- When I played on my 1920x1080 monitor in full screen mode, the UI textures all seemed a bit fuzzy and blurred out. Maybe look into making them crisper?
- There was one "Lightning" looking upgrade that dropped from on the mini-bosses, but I was not able to pick it up? I'm not sure what was going on there.

I know that sounds like a lot of criticism, but overall you guys have done a great job with your theming and writing. I think you can fix these minor issues and have a really neat game.

I love this game, I sure hope it becomes real. The demo is great. I'm hooked. I don't know how the Kickstarter did not happen, so many bad games get kickstarted. Maybe it was timing.

I remembered the game star rangers made in Russia, a very pleasant experience, thank you for that :)

Love the theme of this game! The voice acting and humor were good. The gameplay mechanics feel a bit off though (I was playing with keyboard and mouse). It's fortunate that collisions with walls don't hurt you (unless they have spikes). I feel like the momentum of the spaceship made it hard to control at times. Also, having the "wingman" cat unnecessarily cluttered the screen and made it especially confusing because his spaceship is blue just like the players'. I didn't have a problem with the WASD controls but would have loved to see a target reticle instead of trying to find my mouse cursor when I'm trying to aim.
I played this game longer than most indie games I try out. Definitely some potential here!

Es un buen videojuego con el tema: Gatos Espaciales increíble y buen manejo de historia y el dialogo lo que más me llamo la atención, pero hay algunas cosas que no me gustaron al probar el juego es que los controles, primero al principio no son entendibles, segundo al descubrir cómo se movía no mejoraba nada ya que de igual manera era molesto tener que pulsar esos botones en ves lo que ya son estándar en los videojuego -WASD (arriba, abajo, izquierda y derecha). Además, la nave se movía a velocidades inferiores a lo que requiere el juego de naves espaciales.
Por ultimo el juego apesar de estos cambios que se deberia arrelgar, es un buen juego donde respera su estetica, dinamicas y pulir mas las mecanicas del videojuego.

This looks like it has good, manic, skill-based gameplay.

The in-game graphics don't look great. I believe changing the BG from mostly gray to actual colors would improve them quite a bit.

The sprite split-up explosion effect is honestly the worst thing about your game. Games like this need to have satisfying explosions, and this effect just doesn't cut it. Even a really basic particle effect that resembles an explosion would be way better. Check out games made by Treasure to see what explosions should look like: Alien Soldier, Gunstar Heroes, and Gradius V come to mind.

Review: Mystic Realms: The Enchanted Forest
Overview
Mystic Realms: The Enchanted Forest is the latest fantasy adventure RPG from Dreamscape Studios, a developer known for creating immersive and richly detailed game worlds. Set in a magical forest brimming with mystery and enchantment, this game takes players on an epic journey filled with quests, exploration, and breathtaking visuals.

Story and Setting
The story of Mystic Realms revolves around the protagonist, Elara, a young sorceress who discovers she is the key to saving the Enchanted Forest from a dark curse. The narrative is deeply engaging, with well-written characters and intricate lore that draws you into its magical world. The Enchanted Forest itself is a masterpiece, with each area offering unique biomes, from serene glades and mystical groves to ominous dark woods and ancient ruins.

Gameplay
The gameplay of Mystic Realms is a blend of classic RPG elements and modern mechanics. Players can customize Elara’s abilities, choosing from a variety of spells, combat skills, and crafting techniques. The combat system is fluid and dynamic, allowing for both strategic planning and quick reflexes. Exploration is highly rewarding, with hidden treasures, secret paths, and lore-rich collectibles scattered throughout the forest.

Quests in Mystic Realms are diverse and well-designed, ranging from epic main story arcs to intriguing side missions that uncover the forest’s history and its inhabitants' stories. The choices you make during these quests significantly impact the game’s outcome, providing a sense of agency and replayability.

Graphics and Sound
Visually, Mystic Realms is stunning. The art direction brings the enchanted forest to life with vibrant colors, detailed textures, and atmospheric lighting effects. The character models are beautifully designed, and the animations are smooth and expressive.

The sound design is equally impressive, with an enchanting soundtrack that perfectly complements the game’s magical ambiance. The voice acting is top-notch, adding depth to the characters and enhancing the storytelling experience. Ambient sounds, from the rustling leaves to the mystical creatures' calls, immerse players in the game's world.

Performance
On the performance front, Mystic Realms runs smoothly on a variety of systems. The developers have done an excellent job optimizing the game, ensuring that it delivers a stable and enjoyable experience without significant bugs or technical issues.

Verdict
Mystic Realms: The Enchanted Forest is a captivating fantasy adventure that stands out in the RPG genre. Its engaging story, immersive world, and polished gameplay make it a must-play for fans of fantasy and adventure games. Dreamscape Studios has once again proven their ability to create a magical experience that players won’t soon forget.

Score: 9/10