Siphonophore

*Informational* Lovecraftian top-down shooter + graphics - unclear tutorial = Sparkle in another dimension. Music and visuals are good. Has potential, just not sure on what to do yet.

The game has some pretty good ideas and I hate not being able to recomend the game at the moment for the following reasons: -There's a "text wall" before you can play, and don't get me wrong, what the text says is interesting, but it feels hard to get into the game after nearly 8 minutes of pure text mixed with tutorial explanations. -The tutorial as a result of what I've said before ends up being confusing. -There are some spare bugs, and one of them made me restart the game right at the first dialogue to be able to continue. -The objectives of the game are not clear as a result of what I've been saying. In general this could be solved with a more dynamic and clear aproach on the intro/first 10 minutes of the game. I must add that the game has two strong points: -The visuals are preeeeeettyy NICE, they are quite good and enjoyable. -The sound design of the game feels really enjoyable. Here you have some footage of the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp0UpHg40TA

Really wanted to enjoy this but the explanation of game mechanics is ridiculously poor. I had no idea if I was doing anything right the whole time and there's zero information online about how the game works.

[h1]I was a beta tester for Siphonophore so I'll go into a bit more depth about the game.[/h1] [b]TL:DR - I enjoyed my time with the game, The gameplay loop is simple and fun, Boss fights are challenging and the game's story kept me interested while at times a little confused.[/b] [b][u]Gameplay/Difficulty[/u][/b] You start off with a basic cannon like weapon which you will be using for a majority of the game with new weapons and colour upgrades becoming available once you have defeated each boss. You also have a dash ability that can be used to propel you short or long distances with momentum affecting how far you travel. The creature also has some weapons to deal with enemies and is more useful against the bigger enemies you encounter. As you traverse your way through each level you will be gathering up souls and feeding them to the creature who grows and morphs into different shapes depending on what coloured souls you feed him, unlocking puzzles by matching the symbols with the creature's shape and size. Bosses will be summoned once you have completed all symbols in each level. Difficulty is well balanced with movement being the best way to avoid dying as the smaller enemi…

https://www.reddit.com/r/Lovecraft/comments/p5e1vg/siphonophore_angelic_nightmare "Siphonophore is a unique game, combining the mechanics of Tamagotchi and Ikaruga. A story both confusing and intricate, inspired by the principles of Cosmicism and Gnosticism with a bit of Theosophy. However, the gameplay is lacking, and the boss battles will test your patience. That said, I'll recommend trying it out."

Tip: Hold E and use scroll wheel to enable progress. So far I don't think it's a masterpiece. The gameplay is lacking due to the large number of enemies, important indicators communicated exclusively through the HUD, and near complete lack of distinction between food and foe. However, it's worth playing. The aesthetic and sound design are just like in the trailer, and the dialogue while probably thoughtless gibberish is entertaining to read (except in the extended tutorial that entirely misses the core issue).