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This game...this game was perfect for Halloween! I didn't really understand it all that much, though it was very, very different and unique from a lot of Flash games I see these days.
It reminded me a lot of a game I played earlier this year if I recall correctly. I can't remember the name of it, but it was deceptively shown off initially as a short work in progress, but actually the end of the "test" proved to be just the beginning, and from there it played out quite similarly to your Gyossait.
This game has its share of fear, uncertainty, and doubt throughout the entire game. I really wish I just stuck to just having the lights off, and omitting my addition of having headphones on, because dang. Some of the repetitive sounds, even though I know I've heard them before, I always ended up fearing the sound of hearing them again. Good job on that part.
Intuition was a nice key to playing this game, as not everyone's keen on looking at instructions (noting you didn't really make any, just told a story). The switching of roles from defense to offense (shield to gun), felt pretty incredible for this game.
Fear seemed to be the major factor of this game, and by golly, I think this game was a testament to the fact that 2D games can STILL scare people. The seemingly random shock moments (shrill screaming, abrubt horrifying imagery) were done well. I about wanted to scream a few times myself especially after the "first" death. The transitional animations were kind of hard to watch for me, as they were just plain scary! That sudden flash of those demonic faces at one part made me react like Kevin Costner's character in The New Daughter (the truck window door getting busted up by some outside force), where I just wanted to make a made dash out there; literally thought I'd die, if I stuck around!
Item: you did an awesome job with the background music, and abrupt silent moments. I literally idled for about a minute or so when I entered a silent area (I didn't want to open that door). From past experience with other games like the Hunters-ROTS series, I felt that a boss battle was ahead or some other terror was going to scare the pants off of me.
For a platformer, it was a great challenge trying to make it through the game in one piece. I stared at the game's filesize, thinking I wouldn't be done with the game til dawn (played this 'round midnight)! I actually thought like the GameStop bunny commercial series where multiple takes are done to make it past a certain part, and often ends up just cussing the game out.
Speaking of which, I think if there was one thing that needed to be fixed, it was the red key thing continuity. The--*hears spooky music suddenly and looks up to see familiar animation* (okay make that TWO things) key should be located in its resting spot, even after dying, instead of being magically applied to you, when you're on your way back to retrieving the key.
Not sure if you were going for a screensaver or what, but apparently idling at the title screen of this game for enough minutes seems to trigger a bit of the intro to the game. Accident or no, that's just plain creepy!
Overall, the impression I get from this game is a dark tale adventure created by a troubled youth (not to say you really are one). I sense emotion and feelings from how everything played out, even if it wasn't intentional. A lot of symbolic presentations in everything. I actually thought of Doom II when it came to the last couple of boss fights (you may understand what I mean if you played that game).
Lastly, there were a few time I couldn't really make out what you were saying in some of the text in the game, mainly the very first lines you encounter in the game. If you could tell me what that line said, I'd appreciate it very much.
-FTA