This is a very cool, stylized, run 'n gun type of pixel platformer. The pixel graphics are amazing and quite beautiful to look at, the controls are quite tight and responsive, and the gameplay is engaging and pretty fun. Overall, this is a good skill-based shooter.
For me, it is very punishing as it can only take one hit to kill you and restart the entire stage. There are helmets that you can get to give you an extra hit so you don't die immediately.
Some suggestions that I have:
- Checkpoints - it would make this game less tedious, considering that you can die quite easily in this game. Maybe one checkpoint in each stage to still make it a challenge as too many checkpoints would just make the game too easy.
- A way to compensate hits - I don't think this game needs player health, it's not really necessary in this game's aesthetic. I think a better mechanic that would replace health would be something to absorb the damage of a hit or two like the helmet, maybe a vest. So the player would have a vest + helmet before actually dying.
- Fire - fire was one of the most annoying aspects of this game, mainly because it's hard to differentiate between a graphical effect vs an actual threat. Maybe make it more obvious on which is just a harmless effect and which is fire that can actually kill you. The pyro enemies are also very troublesome, the way they explode and throw out insta-kill fire is very annoying. Also I don't think fire would be an instant kill for the player, I think it should take 0.5 - 1 second before killing the player so that the player still has a split second to react to explosions rather than immediately dying and starting over again.
- Dropping Guns Mechanic - this is a very interesting and fun mechanic in this game, however there are some things that make it tedious. Auto picking-up guns can be a problem in jumping gaps because as the player runs without a gun for a jump and accidentally picking up the gun, it can mess up the jump of the player. Also if a player gets rid of their gun for mobility and encounters an enemy, they are basically screwed. Maybe add a mechanic for melee so the player isn't completely defenseless when not carrying any gun.
- Controls - the controls are pretty tight which is very vital for these types of games. I agree with everyone here saying about the choice of keys though. I'd prefer for the keys to be J K L instead of I O P. It's probably because most games that use keyboard controls usually use J and K keys so that's what we are accustomed to. It can also be because of finger placement being on the middle of the keyboard, A to L. so having the controls being I O and P may be a bit weird as the fingers are in a more outstretched position compared to J K and L.
Overall, good game and challenging skill-based shooter.