Skyvir Demo Reaction

Back in March, I interviewed upcoming 3rd Year Game and Arts student Ash Toner. During that meeting, he showed me a preview for his game 'Skyvir'. On May 5th, his work has been completed and you can check out the demo here:

For a one-man team with a deadline, the demo is a short and sweet way to see how much effort has gone into development. The intro cutscene, while not as solid story wise, did make me chuckle with the humour it conveyed.

In terms of gameplay, it was a lot cleaner than expected. The movement does not look too clunky, and the addition of shooting and wall jump mechanics keeps things interesting. As for the enemies, although their attacks remind me of a bullet hell when more than one of them are on the screen, are pretty interesting. The mechanic of the enemies and their hats being separate entities is a nice touch for difficulty.

What I find the most appealing about this demo has to be the visuals. From the basic preview's images to this fully rendered demo, I am blown away by the artwork. The colours are vibrant, the characters are defined, the background and platforms are distinguishable and the small details on the signs makes it feel retro in a way. Even if I were to get bored of the platforming, I would stay to see what else the artwork the game has to offer.

Overall, I think this is definitely a game I would want to see developed further by Toner, and I am looking forward to whatever he produces next.