Muzzleloaded

Terrible.

Temper your expectations - this is a $2 game from a brand new developer and it plays like one. The enemy variety is awful, the majority of the game is spent trudging through too-long corridors, and you're basically incapable of fighting without the first upgrade (which means the first 20 minutes are going to be miserable). That said, the bosses were enjoyable, the music was acceptable, and the game is not long enough to become agonizingly tedious. As long as you know what you're getting into, this is a reasonably enjoyable game. You can do a whole lot worse for the price, especially when it's on sale.

This game is so bad it makes me want to inject myself with COVID.

Ok, I just beat the game and want to share some of my thoughts.

This game is a short platformer with a huge influence from Metroidvanias. I wouldn't call it a Metroidvania per se because even though we have an interconnected map and abilities that let you visit new areas, most of the new areas you can visit with abilities are optimal, offering stats rather new upgrades or bosses.

This is also the first game created by the dev and feels like one of these browser games that I used to play ten years ago. That's not bad by any means, but you have to be aware of what you are getting. The three areas are distinct between them, but there is not much variety within themselves. In the same area, most of the scenarios will look the same, which can make it hard for you to recognize places you have been before. You have like like 5 different types of enemies, and in latter areas, they are just variations of previous ones.

You start the game with a short ranged gun. Notice that it's not a pistol, so the shooting does not start right in front of your model, but a bit farther from you. You have to play accordingly then. Then you have four upgrades to get and this is one of the positive points about this game: all of them are well welcomed. We have some acclaimed Metroidvania with lots of contents that sometimes feels more like collectibles than upgrades since you don't use them much. One example would be the weapons on Axiom Verge. If I used 5 different guns in a single playthrough that would be more than I expected. Here, all of the upgrades are useful for the game. You have a double jump, good for platforming, a cannon, which opens some doors and are stronger in combat, a "scatter shot" which makes combat easier and a fireproof vest, useful in most parts of the games where there is lava..
Another nice thing you start with is the speed on the character. Platforming feels smooth from the start, you don't feel sluggish. I found it surprisingly nice.

The boss fights were interesting and I'll talk a bit about each one:

Crab: The first and the most difficult for me. You have to hit the inside part of its hands before the head since he covers his face with them. The problem is the short range of your gun. I recommend exploring a bit and trying to get a long range.

Crocodile: My favorite boss. You have a long corridor and he comes from the right. You have to kill him before he bites you. It's not hard, rather easy, but I like the idea of an indirect "timer" on this boss.

Ship Boss: Really easy. By this time I have already got most health upgrades so I simply facetanked it. You just have to shut down its cannons.

Kraken: Last boss, not hard. Have to avoid his tentacles on the sides of the caves. Dropping on the lava makes it really difficult to come back.


Now, I want to pinpoint what I liked (or not) on this game:

Good Things:

1 - Has tight controls and platforming.

2 - Does not overcome its stay. It's simple and straightforward and doesn't have lots of upgrades, so, if it were longer, would probably become boring.

3 - Interesting boss fights. Besides the third boss which I was able to face tank, all of the bosses require some strategy to beat, which is a nice feature for such a simple game.

4 - The sound effects are simple but honest. I think they fit the game well.

Neutral Things:

1 - The graphics. They are not bad, just plain simple. As I said, if you liked to play browser games you'll enjoy the graphics.

2 - The story is quite simple/inexistent.

Bad Things:

1 - Short range gun is terrible. Lucky you, you can get an upgrade to solve this problem quite quickly.

2 - Falling on lava when you don't have either the double jump or the fireproof vest will take a chunk of your health.

3 - The maps don't pinpoint where you are. But the corridors are long enough for you to realize your location by yourself.

4 - The corridors are longer than they supposed to. There are not variety enough on the enemies or environment to justify that.

5 - The game does not give you the option to save whenever you want, but only when you die.

very fun and challenging