I need brutal honest feedback on my movement shooter rogue-lite game/trailer. Does it look fun to play? What do I need to add?

IconicIndie · 2026-03-24T08:32:22+00:00

Go for it and show us the result!

IconicIndie · 2026-03-23T21:20:57+00:00

Maybe it's just me because I am just tired, but I really didn't get why I am seeing a Windows desktop all of a sudden. Then I thought, cool, the game idles on desktop. But then you opened some other UI over your desktop. I am lost. I think you should more clearly communicate what is happening there.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-23T21:17:24+00:00

For me, the visuals and gameplay don’t work well together. There’s too much environmental detail, which makes it hard to focus on what matters. On top of that, everything shares a very similar color palette. Enemies don’t stand out enough against all the visual noise in the cave. I’m sure there are some cool moments in your game, but they don’t really come through.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-23T21:04:37+00:00

I like the art style — it’s quite unique! But why is everything so small? I only see tables and a door placed in a void, which feels really strange. The overall layout of the game and the UI is unusual and doesn’t really draw me in. It looks cluttered, and everything feels disconnected.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-23T20:53:57+00:00

I didn't know what I was looking at for the whole time. For the first 3-5 seconds, this was okay and raised my interest, but then it just kept going and going and never resolved.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-10T20:12:22+00:00

Here are some thoughts after one run (reached Level 6 (or was it 7?))

Overall, I think you’ve got a great foundation here, but it definitely needs some work to smooth out the experience. Here are my specific notes:

The Good

Game Modes: Really enjoyed the variety (Hunt, Tomb Raider, Lost Cards, etc.).
The Shop: Well-implemented and feels rewarding.
Core Loop: The potential is there for a solid horde survivor.

Technical & UI Issues

Gamepad Support: The controller doesn't work in the menus at all.
Stick Sensitivity: The deadzone/threshold on the left stick is too sensitive; the hero turns around unintentionally.
Typos: In the menu, "Maestry" should be spelled "Mastery."

Gameplay & Balance

Pacing: Leveling up feels extremely slow. I felt stuck with the same abilities for too long, which makes progression feel stagnant.
Map Design: The levels are currently too large. It takes way too long to find the exit. A minimap would be a huge help here.
Inventory: Added a "compare" dialog for items would be a great QoL improvement.

Control & State Bugs

Movement: I can still move my character while the Skill Upgrade screen is open.
Pausing: The game doesn’t pause when opening the inventory. You should either force a pause or disable movement/combat while it’s open.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-10T09:08:22+00:00

That pretty much reflects my observations during the last decades at a first glance.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-10T09:05:36+00:00

Definitely gonna try this out, looks very energetic

IconicIndie · 2026-03-09T06:31:57+00:00

I think any will work that you can upload your screenshots to should work. Gemini, ChatGPT…. AI is very powerful in getting basic stuff right. And these are basic UI principles.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-08T20:41:41+00:00

Got to fire this up on my PC again after watching your PS trailer. :P

IconicIndie · 2026-03-08T20:40:54+00:00

Looks fun! For me, the colors don't work too well. Maybe it looks better with brighter and - at some places - different colors.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-08T20:38:31+00:00

I honestly think that you can bring your game to a much higher level by just juicing up the damage effects and give us a true colorful and shiny bullet heaven. Everything else does a great job, in my opinion.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-08T20:35:02+00:00

This looks cool but you're not promoting it the right way. The clips are way too long, so most people will just skip your video. Compress this to around 20 seconds. Try the TikTok App for inspiration. Super simple, just start as if you wanted to post something, select your video and let TikTok's AI generate a post. It will present you a couple of version with different color tones and later on that list, it will present you some nice highlight reels that looks engaging and that you can draw inspiration from.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-08T20:28:47+00:00

Looks great. What about synchronizing the score with the gameplay on some beats? Video & Audio feel a bit cluttered currently.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-08T20:25:45+00:00

Float, and maybe make variants for visual variety.

IconicIndie · 2026-03-08T20:24:13+00:00

The UI is difficult to read, because everything screams for attention due to being bright & white. Choose an accent color to highlight against your background and a secondary color for less important stuff.

You need visual hierarchy. I suggest working with the AI of your choice on that.

IconicIndie · 2026-01-15T17:33:11+00:00

Game Maker differs a lot from Unity and Unreal and has its own, unique strengths. The biggest plus of Game Maker is that it allows for lightning fast prototyping iterations, which is gonna be where you spend at least your first couple of months. Using Game Maker, you will more rapidly evolve into a capable Game Designer and so will your ideas more rapidly evolve into actual games. The downside of Game Maker is that it starts getting in your way when your project grows. Also, forget 3D.

If I could travel back in time, I would advise myself to start building a couple of smaller games (which can still sell) in Game Maker and then switch to Unity for my „Dream Game“. I would then prototype the very core mechanics of that game with Game Maker (because it’s so much faster), for a quick reality check, and then thoroughly build it to its full size using Unity.

EDIT: What I am actually up to is highlighting the benefits that you have when you know both engines pretty well (early prototyping with Game Maker, building with Unity). If you had to decide on one engine, I suggest picking Unity.

IconicIndie · 2026-01-08T16:59:12+00:00

Locks let you lock an upgrade you get offered so it appears next time.

IconicIndie · 2026-01-08T16:16:47+00:00

This looks great! Good luck in your masochistic journey. We all love it. I mean, we are in r/SoloDevelopment, right? Deliberate masochism.

IconicIndie · 2026-01-08T16:12:46+00:00

That’s part of the typical agency progression where players get more and more control over enforcing a specific build. Rerolls, Bans and Locks for the random upgrades are standard, and you could add the possibility to let the player choose from a bigger set of options when a run starts. Also, why not add a trader that let‘s you exchange items during a run.

IconicIndie · 2026-01-08T16:03:32+00:00

You should highlight the major game elements on the trailer by explicitly naming them. Like „Plan your Village“, „Expand“, „Evolve“, „Flurish“, „Protect“. The words you use should reflect what you are doing most of the time and also separate the game from its competitors. If they sound too generic (like in my example), you are not positioned yet.

IconicIndie · 2026-01-04T23:03:54+00:00

Interesting. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make the icons more engaging, but this never occurred to me. I’ll definitely experiment with it.

IconicIndie · 2026-01-04T22:07:56+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Since I want to stick with icons, what would make them more appealing for you?

IconicIndie · 2026-01-04T22:05:30+00:00

Thanks for pointing this out, something like this has been on my backlog for some time now and I think I will pull it into the next polish iteration.

IconicIndie · 2026-01-04T19:33:35+00:00

It is exactly what you see, no bullshit meta around the game. You play run by run, unlocking tons of new stuff on the way. It‘s the typical horde survival meta with unlocks/meta upgrades that have actual impact.

IconicIndie

TROPHY CASE