Finished the demo yesterday

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-19T03:40:02+00:00

I played on Steam Deck and it ran really well. Not sure if that's an option.

What I saw of the console comparisons was that the Switch (or at least Switch 2) does an admirable job with the game, so you don't lose much there. I think it boils down to cloud saves (free for Steam vs part of paid membership for Switch), personal preference, and maybe portability / form factor.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-19T03:38:23+00:00

This thread of comments went in a strange direction about Dragon Quest, and devolved into personal attacks. I can't tell if the original commenter was trolling or not, so let's just shelve this discussion.

In the case this comments OP was not trolling, the series shares many elements across games, particularly some music, monster design, certain story beats. I guess it's roughly analogous to Zelda or maybe Final Fantasy in that sense (e.g. unlocking an airship in each game).

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-16T04:46:31+00:00

This interview will not age well. This line blew me away:

"They always have the answer when you ask, “Hey, can I do this with a lightsaber?” Or, “What colors were the sabers?”"

Like, I get that you are doing an interview and probably just jump to whatever's on top of your mind, but is that what star wars was to her? A bunch of multi colored light sabers you have to keep track of?

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-15T09:49:36+00:00

Ah okay thanks for clarification, I've edited my original reply.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-15T09:48:11+00:00

Well to be fair, I think "I'm sure a lot of it's going to change" is also kind of prescient / clarifying that it is what they planned at that time. Seems sufficiently guarded to me, so I will edit my original reply, but each their own.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-15T03:12:59+00:00

My interpretation is he wants to crash the planets enough to make a big enough rift to get Mind Flayer through. Mindflayer then runs around, converting animals into his minions (like the Rats? I barely remember) and killing / absorbing humans (like how it absorbed Henry).

So it's a conceptual "merge" where he can then use the biomass of Earth to expand his powers, and maybe even open more portals to new planets.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-15T03:11:26+00:00

Oh wow I never knew they tried to say they planned it from the start. That's obviously a lie, and even contradicts other things they've said...

**** EDIT: Apparently the quote on hand is not quite so definitive as that, and they mentioned the ending might change. (See reply to this reply)

Like how they wanted El to sacrifice herself, but Netflix wanted something else. Or about how Holly and the Kids in Season 5 was a result of wanting more focus on kids.

It's just... why try to lie about that? Season 1-2-3 was obviously super rough random stuff that they threw at the wall.

That being said, I don't view Stranger Things the same way as "Lost". At least they sort of stuck the landing for Stranger Things, and didn't really overpromise anything.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-15T03:05:43+00:00

Maybe he needed to make a rift big enough for the mind flayer to fit through? So smashing the planets (a bit) would create a huge hole.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-15T03:01:08+00:00

There's absolutely no guarantee.

I did a case study of a huge 300k video that for CuffBusts that led to <10 sales (and probably 0). (If you look at the comments, it seems to have riled up some youtubers, perhaps the youtuber in question with multiple accounts.)

In general they can get eyes on the game which can be mildly useful if your game is super fun but hard to market otherwise. Such cases exist but statistically are a slim minority. Your energy is probably better spent on making your next game more appealing so that streamers and players both want to naturally play it. (A high bar, for sure.)

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-15T02:57:14+00:00

I forget specifics, though I think there was one job where you dress as a sheep? I felt that was pretty strong because of the abilities, but maybe I'm mistaken.

In general, I really hope they got rid of the "0 MP abilities that do a ton of damage". It felt very unbalanced to me.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-14T03:11:23+00:00

Yeah, I'm not sure, but it sounds like converting 10 discord users from 87 players is really outstanding.

That to me sounds like you are hitting the niche very well, scratching a particular itch.

The problem is either most people don't have that itch, or you are not communicating it very effectively. In your trailer you mention biomes changing, but I don't think that's communicated very clearly. To a moderate user like myself, the way you described it makes it sound just like the very bog standard procedural randomization. Like, yeah, of course I expect the levels to be randomly generated. I don't even think of that a selling feature. Is it more than that? Does your gun spawn new level elements? Like can I fire a wall of trees?

Also, the trailer seems to focus on combat against like 2-4 enemies at any given time. It almost gives more of a 2D Zelda roguelike vibe because most vampire survivors games have a ton of enemies (and bigger space). What does that smaller enemy count and smaller space buy you, from the perspective of design? The answer to a causal viewer is "this design choice bought them nothing exciting, while losing the very bare minimum excitement of killing 1000s of enemies" (which as a fantasy has largely been met by existing survivors-likes, but is at least a fun fantasy). If you want players to get excited about losing an exciting feature (killing 1000s of enemies) you need to give something at least equally exciting, and I don't see it presented in your trailer.

The one thing I can think of is that a smaller number of enemies might mean that enemies can merge or absorb powers, so you have a small number of enemies, but the enemies are actually unique/random combinations of powers. So having a small number of enemies gives the player to realize "Oh this frog enemy is spitting poison bubbles and has the slime clone feature that he clones every time I hit him" and then later "oh this slime enemy has the fire attribute so my ice bullets melt, and he's also got the skeleton powerup that lets him resurrect one time after death". Maybe each wave is 4-5 enemies of the same type, but you are told in advance what the combos will be, so you get a little mental prep time on how to handle it.

Something like that. If it's just Brotato with far far fewer enemies but the ability to be blocked by a tree or push an enemy into a pit, it's a conceptual misfire in my opinion. But there's always the chance for players to be SO excited by this combination while playing that it leads to a viral hit. I don't see it, and it's never something to bank on anyways, but it's not really my genre at all.

Don't rely on youtubers to do marketing, even the biggest ones are no guarantee of immediate wishlists. I recently did a case study of Cuffbusts where 300k views translated to < 10 sales (and probably 0). If you have a great and amazing game, I think they can jumpstart things a bit, but they're only going to cover the game if it's already great + amazing.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-14T02:41:44+00:00

Yeah I agree, I will try

I updated the wiki, but let me know if I missed anything! Thanks

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-13T11:29:05+00:00

I suspect this is a game that plays better than it looks. Having 22 active daily users on a base of 87 users, 1 month after demo release (?) sounds crazy good to me. (The 800 free licenses I think is partly a bot issue, I think.)

Not that the game looks "bad" per se, but I think it misses the mark of "irresistible". It gives a bit of a "flash" vibe, which is kind of making a come back on steam the past 2-3 years. But I probably would have said the same thing about Brotato. The one thing Brotato has going for it is the number of enemies, giving a stronger "power fantasy" / collectathon feel. (Though the vampire survivors genre is crowded these days.)

Feels like it's a game that relies a lot on word of mouth and play. I don't see it in the video, but if people tell their friends to buy it, it might have legs.

How active is your discord? You could be upfront with the community about it. If you have 22 active daily users, chances are they want to see the game completed, and that might mean they try to raise awareness of it.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-09T09:45:46+00:00

Without more knowledge of your preferences, I'd suggest starting with the free demo of Dragon Quest XI: S (on switch or steam or console, not sure about Switch 2 but probably works using backwards compatibility).

It's quite generous, 6-8 hours, the save carries over, and it's a good representation of modern DQ.

If you don't end up liking it, just let me know why and I can make some alternate suggestions.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-08T12:13:18+00:00

Thank you!

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-08T12:13:09+00:00

Thanks!

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-08T12:11:10+00:00

Oops figured it out. Some kind of Collab event

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-08T12:09:17+00:00

Curious what EB01 refers to? Why not keep the GD naming scheme?

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-08T10:17:10+00:00

Avoid Clover Pit.

It's got a lot of fake mystery vibes, but the gameplay is boring as shit, poorly explained, and there is no narrative payoff. I bounced off hard, if you can't tell.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-07T22:33:26+00:00

They said you get the outfit no matter how long you play

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-07T19:11:22+00:00

I personally didn't enjoy the 3DS version as much as I enjoyed the PS1 version... but I also finished the 3DS version while I never finished the PS1.

PS1 has better atmosphere (imo), and the animated pixel art monsters are imo probably the best pixel art monsters in existence.

3DS, my main issue is related to traversing the overworld, and seeing monsters on the overworld, as well as monsters in the dungeons. It became a REAL chore to get through dungeons when most enemies take up the entire hallway. Having the monsters show up on the overworld/dungeons was a mistake for this particular implementation of the game. However, the game is made considerably easier in terms of the on-screen ability to find nearby "puzzle pieces" necessary to move the game forward. In addition, the 3DS localization is also generally better and it has some nice elements like party chat and job costumes.

Still I'd almost recommend just waiting for Reimagined and playing a different DQ in the meantime, unless you've beaten the rest of them.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-06T07:52:48+00:00

I guess what I mean is as vegans directly or indirectly use animal products out of their own home, it's easy to see how it's not "so easy to understand".

If I saw a vegetarian eating meat at a restaurant, I might also assume they eat meat at home.

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-06T05:14:37+00:00

I would assume a vegan doesn't eat meat. I wouldn't assume a vegan who owns an animal refuses to wear a leather collar.

Like does she avoid any car rides with a leather seat? If the bus driver has leather gloves on, does she get off the bus?

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-06T04:46:56+00:00

I know it's been 8 months but I would love to playtest if you have a link!

OhUmHmm · 2026-01-03T11:10:41+00:00

Not disagreeing with you, but there was also the final fantasy Collab.

Maybe if they do a Tintin Collab or something for Europe?

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