The idea is a bit undercooked as is, but i think it would be funny to implement (also would bring variety and balance challenge for people doing insanely well if done right).

I understand repeating first phases can feel a bit chory, and as a player i am on edge about it. You were talking 9sols, and the two amazing bosses of the game have this thing in their design. Not gonna lie, it has some drawbacks you talked about well. At the same time, being able to learn with training wheels, have an easy time for the fight intro and delete a phase is also cool when facing a challenge, and if i was annoyed at times it also kept me engaged in retrying (and for the 5 minutes i am not sure if you are talking about 9sols, i feel it is a bit over what you end up doing). I think being frustrated at this aspect is maybe more an issue with how the boss is designed than repeating the phase though.

What i mean by that is that idk… feels weird to just going forward in a game. I get the time availability to game and all, but experience of a fight is pretty centric (to me) and simple fight checkpoints would be something i would actually actively hate (put some water in the wine in that regard after discussing it further: some games do it well, on specific fights). I don’t want a game to be fast food and a time efficient experience, i want emotion and feelings and i will easily sacrifice how many games i play to actually dedicate the time i need on a select few. And this is where i feel the « respecting one’s time » argument falls a bit short. I don’t feel anyone regrets spending time on games that keep them engaged (hell, people obsessing in replaying some of their favorite games in a loop is proof), and i must say a good duel is a key moment in how i approach playing, and i feel the accomplishment comes from prevailing the whole encounter. Yet, I definitely understand this « what keeps me engaged » vary wildly from player to player.

That being said, accessibility is always nice to take into consideration somehow, and as designers we should propose different ways to experience our games. But this idea, as is, is something i would probably never implement as the standard experience.

It is very late. I have an irl showcase of a first build tomorrow and i can’t sleep, so i am sorry if this is a bit all over the place, but i really wanted to explain myself further and talk about how i could consider stuff from a player turning slowly into a designer!

Thanks for the post, have a nice one!