Feedbacks after demo 💗

[sick granite]

Hello, my name is Franck. I discovered Kernel Heart several months ago thanks to a trailer. The musical atmosphere and character design really caught my attention. I tried the demo and wanted to share my feedback. I hope you’ll find my feedback on the game useful. It’s a beautiful game, and I really hope it gets finished. I might be a bit harsh and critical at times, but that’s just my nature—it’s not directed at you or the game specifically. I’m assuming you’ll take it in stride and listen to recurring criticisms. I don’t know enough about video game development to know what can still be changed or not, so I’ll focus on what personally resonates with me.

I'm playing in “Normal” mode on Steam Deck. I've only played solo.

Graphically, the game runs very smoothly. The resolution is a bit low, but that's to be expected. I haven't encountered any graphical issues worth mentioning, aside from a few slowdowns at the start of expeditions and when objects fall from the sky.

A major plus:

Your game reminds me of a mix between Risk of Rain 2 and NieR: Automata, and unlike those games, your interface is really easy to read and pleasant to use, no matter what the screen looks like or how intense the action is. Too many action games forget to offer clean, clear interfaces; yours is visually appealing and doesn’t overwhelm the player.

Animation / Character:

• The animations are enjoyable. As someone who traditionally plays with a controller, I feel there’s a lack of precision in how movement speed responds to the stick’s angle, but the character is fun to control, and the attack animations are satisfying.
• The idea of pressing a third time to climb a railing seems like a bad idea to me; the character should grab the railing automatically.
• I know that a character’s facial animation isn’t the top priority, but Fernet looks really creepy with her frozen face when you move or just rotate the camera around her. You gave her a breathing animation to make her seem more alive, but slight eye movements or even blinking would immediately make the character more human and endearing.
• The fact that she shifts into her drinking pose in the middle of a conversation is odd; this animation triggers way too soon after just a few moments of inactivity. It feels unprofessional. Otherwise, the animation and the pose itself capture her character well and are executed with care.

The combat system:

I’d say there are two major issues that turned me off the game, even taking into account the hardware and technical limitations of an indie studio.

• There’s a real problem with the dodge system.
  Dodging doesn’t cancel the attack animation, which creates a responsiveness issue. When you’re in the middle of a combo and want to dodge, the game waits for you to finish the move. I can understand this in a game like Monster Hunter or Dark Souls, but in a game that feels more like NieR: Automata or Bayonetta, it’s far too choppy and unpleasant.
• The direction of the dodge in the middle of a combo isn’t clear, even with enemy lock-on. At times, you move forward in the direction you’re attacking, even though you’ve deliberately moved the joystick backward to dodge backward. This undermines the sense of control, power, and the feeling of choreographing your fight.
• The fact that this dodge is a forward dash (which is too long, with unnecessary step animations, making it imprecise) where the character runs creates an affordance issue. It feels like the dash is a way to activate running mode rather than a real combat mechanic for dodging projectiles or attacks. I managed to trigger a clean dodge animation, but that’s because I was in a tester’s mindset at the time.
• The way enemies “freeze” when you pull off a perfect dodge is really cool, even though I find it hard to pull off.

I’m not saying the game needs to turn into a Souls-like or Bayonetta-like title by placing heavy emphasis on dodge mechanics. But this is a demo—the immediate combat gameplay is part of the game’s showcase and its engaging nature. We need to feel a sense of mastery and the belief that if we invest in the game, we can improve our technical skills. As it stands, there’s too much imprecision surrounding this mechanic.

The second issue is combos and heavy attacks.

• What are heavy attacks for? Actually, the game offers very little clarity on the combos you can perform and their purpose. I get the impression that heavy attacks are used to start or end an air combo, but it depends on the enemy. Sometimes a strange technique involving a barrage of red hits just happens.
• There are two optimal solutions for a player like me who doesn’t want to think about combos: stringing together only light attacks, or alternating between light and heavy attacks because that triggers the air combo, the return to the ground, and the barrage of red hits.
• I don’t think a detailed combo system is necessary, but since you can’t hold the heavy button for a big attack and it’s the same weapon, maybe give that heavy attack some extra utility? As it stands, it feels like we’re being offered two buttons/moves for the same action with a nuance that’s hard to grasp when you first start playing.

As for the gameplay loop in a more general sense, I have fewer comments because I don’t play this style of game as much—the kind that requires quickly amassing resources as the timer ticks down. There are subtleties in balancing and power levels that I haven’t examined because I don’t know if the issues I encountered stemmed from playing solo or if I’m simply not used to this kind of macro-management.

Conclusion: I think that when it comes to onboarding, the combat system and the feel of movement are the game’s calling card, encouraging players to dive deeper into the levels as they go. I was drawn to the game because of its aesthetics, but the combat system quickly turned me off. I think this can be overcome because, if you overlook these issues, the game has real charm thanks to its art direction.

[mental edge]

Hi Franck!

Thank you very much for your detailed approach to critiquing the game and your insight is appreciated both in your introspection of the type of gamer you are and also your experience of the game as a new experience.

The idea of pressing a third time to climb a railing...
This critique is really interesting for me because I noticed a good amount of time players tend to say how they enjoy having agency over character movement, but having to input a direction here feels redundant. It's not like the majority of the time, players are having to do attacks immediately after vaulting over objects since parkour is not a primary component of the game.

There's a real problem with the dodge system...
Wow...thanks for such a thorough analysis! The dodge system is definitely a big discussion for any action rpg and is one worth debating when it comes to the direction of a game's movement but also fluidity of play!

...At times, you move forward in the direction you're attacking, even though you've moved backward...
I imagine in this case you may be referring to when you dash attack and your dash goes toward the enemy. This may be related to the camera and the softlock system.

...when you pull off a perfect dodge is really cool, even though I find it hard to pull off.
Currently the game has multiple "dodges" and will be informing the player of these in the future. What about perfect dodges did you find difficult to pull off? Is it related to pulling it off while in combat with many enemies vs a single boss (for example), or did you have difficulty with pulling it off in both instances?

[scenic zinc]

Hi, Franck! Thanks for playing Kernel Hearts and to take your time for writing all this valuable feedback! I'm the combat designer of Ephemera and would love to discuss about mechanics with you.

It is true that there are some lack of explanation with some mechanics due to our lack of manpower and time so I will proceed to explain some stuff that may cause some confusion. I will use the following terms

• LA = Light Attack
• HA = Heavy Attack

The existence of light and heavy attacks are in the first place to give access to different moves depending on the order. As an example, Fernet's HA > LA gives you a powerful attack that can be used to charge mana very quickly. Spika's LA > HA > LA will provide an area attack around Spika for crowd control.

Another purpose for the Heavy Attacks is bonus damage against shield attacks. Though they might not be powerful, they are very good to attack enemies with high amount of shields that you want to prioritize first.

Regarding the dodge the first thing that I want to address is that we managed to improve how it feels and now it behaves as we expect. The main problem of the dodge is that the movement of the character is so fast that it can be quite tricky to dodge something in the direction you expect, specially considering all the enemies and projectiles around the combat zones. I'm glad to say the we finally managed to improve the dodge system and now it will feel much consistent when it comes to timing so players will find their proper reward (perfect dodges) in a more consistent way. With or without lock-on, the dodge will feel MUCH, MUCH better than how the current demo's dodge.

The last point I want to talk about is how the attacks are not dodge cancellable. This is by design. The game provides many tools in order to avoid damage. Being able to dodge everything by reaction will trivialize pretty much all the combat mechanics. Think about this: Instead of reacting an enemy that will attack you, try to change your position in order to prevent such attack in the first place. In Kernel Hearts positioning is going to be much important than reaction.

However, there is a way to cancel your attacks. If you've played Bayonetta, this will feel familiar to you. #❤️kernel-hearts❤️ message
Basically, you can cancel your normal attacks by using your spells. Depending the spell it can be used for offensive or defensive purposes. This again is not very well explained in the game I'm afraid, so that is on us.

I would like to know your experience with Fernet and Spika. Which character do you like more and why?
Could you mention some aspects of the combat that you find homogeneous? We would like to see if we can find something that could help differentiate more the purpose of light and heavy attacks.

[sick granite]

When it concerns perfect dodging, I’m thinking, for example, of the Slimus Knight when he unleashes two attacks. I manage to dodge his first attack, but then I’m too far away for the game to count my dodge of his second attack as a clean dodge, or else I’m out of sync, and I get hit. So I haven’t been able to figure out if dodging him twice cleanly triggers a reward or an interesting counterattack.

The Red Knight, who gets immobilized when you dodge him perfectly, is a simple and satisfying situation. And that’s what made me wonder if other big enemies have that kind of reaction when you dodge.

As for the details on using the softlock system, that’s exactly right. I avoid using it since you quickly get overwhelmed by enemies.

I hope these details are helpful. I’ll keep following the game’s progress.

[mental edge]

It's perfect that you used Slimus Knight as your example because I felt this exact way here

What I discovered over time and through the explanation in the post is that there are attacks that are "avoidable by dashing", "dodgeable (With bubble vfx)" and "perfect dodgeable".

This led me to experimenting with Slimus and discovering that being hit with Hit 1 causes the player to ONLY be able to "avoid by dodging"- This means you'll have the i-frames to dash past Hit 2 but you will not get the "flip animation" that happens when you successfully "dodge (with bubble)".

So for me the tactic is when I can anticipate him doing his big swing...

Dodge (w/ bubble), Light Attack 1, Dodge (w/bubble) ... continue combo string.

Hope this helps with some experimentation/ understanding the combat system!

[sick granite]

Hi Polarnyne ! Thanks for your explanation of the combat system and the game design considerations behind it; I think I understand your intentions a little better now.

This might sound trivial, but I just replayed a level after your explanation about HA and LA—specifically the Fernet’s HA > LA combo, which I’d been using somewhat randomly until now—and it feels much better. And I get why it’s worth using that move for mana.

As for the attack bonus against shields, I assume we’re talking about the enemies’ blue health bar. That’s an important clarification because I had the impression that both attacks were equal in terms of damage. Even with this information, I didn’t find that using the heavy attack against an enemy with a shield gave me a strategic advantage.

This is great news for the dodging system. I understand the design choices and what you mean about the importance of positioning. I feel like my best matches were the ones where I attacked and then ran around enemies, rather than the ones where I was experimenting with long combos and dodges.

[sick granite]

I haven't experimented much with Spika. I prefer Fernet’s look, but Spika seemed to have a more varied and flashy move pool with its spiral attacks. Spika seems to have better control over individual enemies after an aerial attack (Jump) > HA > LA > HA > LA... is a really strong combo against a single large enemy.

I think new players get a little confused because they expect the heavy attack to be MUCH slower and more powerful than the light attack. (Maybe it's just a matter of terminology.) I don't think that's a bad thing, but it could be an opportunity to create interesting choices or enhance the experience. I feel like HA tends to knock enemies down, but when they try to get back up, a simple LA is enough to knock them back down. There might be some nuances regarding stopping enemy attack animations or knocking them down that need further exploration. As it stands, I feel like we’re mostly dealing with two moves used to create combos (which are very varied now that I can compare Fernet and Spika); but individualy, LA and HA serve the same functions and needs for the average player. A naive suggestion: Perhaps HA could deal elemental damage depending on upgrades, making it truly effective against armor compared to LA, or perhaps the HA button shouldn’t be able to perform combos on its own and its purpose should really be to enhance LA moves, or perhaps using it should yield certain types of rewards when killing enemies.

[scenic zinc]

There might be some nuances regarding stopping enemy attack animations or knocking them down that need further exploration.
I assume the reversals are what is kinda confusing right now. When enemies hit the floor they have a Floor Knockdown animation. After that animation finishes, they will start standing up. Most of the enemies will reset to the floor knockdown animation if hit again with some exception on the strong enemies where they have a window of attacking with an invulnerable attack on the standingup animation. Basically, some enemies have more leniency to combo while others require tighter execution.

If this is not what you were refering, could you tell me what was it?

[sick granite]

When enemies hit the floor they have a Floor Knockdown animation. After that animation finishes, they will start standing up. Most of the enemies will reset to the floor knockdown animation if hit again

That's exactly it.

[mental edge]

I think new players get a little confused because they expect the heavy attack to be much slower and powerful than the light attack... (Maybe it's just a matter of terminology)
I hope you dont mind me asking Franck, but what has been your experience with action rpgs/hack n' slash? Depending on your answer I feel like your experience with this game will change.

I feel like HA knocks enemies down...but a simple LA is enough to knock them back down...
This is actually a fundamental part of the gameplay that you are intuitively picking up on (which is AWESOME btw) but are missing one component...shield. The explanation as to what you're noticing in "game terminology" would be called, "Staggering the enemy" which can lead to a condition (typically in fighting games) called "Stunlock".

In hack n' slash games like Dynasty Warriors for example, when you deplete an enemy of their armor/shield, they enter a state where utilizing certain combos (usually ending with a HA) will stagger the enemy, causing them to fly into the air and enter a Knockdown animation. In this animation, when you interrupt their "get-up" with another attack (whether LA or HA), since they are armor-less, they will reset the knockdown allowing you to lock them in this stunned state. This is a stunlock.

HA in these games is typically a tool to help crowd-control, deal greater damage, and extend combos. It's not a mandatory tool to use, but is absolutely a necessity to experiment with if you want to improve your flow and mobility in combat. While I can understand how you might not be familiar with its usage, I think understanding this concept, may help you to aid your progression and enjoyment with the game.

A few enemies in this game have unblockable get-ups...namely the Red Knight you noted and the Yomi Hunter in Ash Desert.

Like it sounds...these get-up animations are not interruptible by attacking, thus require you to dodge (as denoted by a red/pink aura that surrounds them before they do the move).

In other words...these enemies cannot be stunlocked 100% of the time despite having their shield depleted, requiring you to reevaluate your timing and engagement with said enemies or risk death.