Zefyr: Prologue

This was a fun little Zelda-like game, and I have to say that for a project made by just one developer, it’s incredibly impressive. However, while there’s clear passion behind this game, there are also a lot of flaws that hold it back. It’s hard to give it a completely positive or completely negative review, but I’m going to err on the side of negative because the issues really impact the overall experience. • Choppy Animation Transitions The animations in the game feel very "programmed" and lack smooth transitions. For example, when running up a wall and reaching the top, the character immediately snaps into position without any fluidity. This issue appears throughout the game, making movement and actions feel stiff and robotic, as if one animation abruptly flips to the next. It lacks the polish and natural flow you’d expect in a game with refined animation. • Movement Feels Sluggish Running is slow and tedious, and there’s no way to move faster. Rolling would be a great addition, especially since the roll animation already exists—it’s triggered every time you jump. However, the roll isn’t used for movement, making traversal in the open world feel unnecessarily slow. • Stiff Jumping Animations Jumping, especially when going downwards, feels awkward. The character drops directly down in place, slowly and stiffly, like a rock, with no sense of fluidity. It looks very unnatural and "programmed," which detracts from the overall immersion. • No Compass or Compass Markers The game doesn’t have compass markers, so you have to constantly rely on the in-game menu map to figure out where you’re going. This adds a layer of tedium to exploration that could easily be solved with directional markers in the world. • No Ledge Grabbing It feels like ledge grabbing should be a standard mechanic in a game like this, but it’s completely absent. This makes platforming sections feel a bit clunky and frustrating. • Poor Enemy AI Enemy behavior is inconsistent and unpolished. For example, in a stealth area, enemies just show a green laser beam to "spot" you—a literal solid green line out of their faces—but the system doesn’t make sense. At one point, I was standing on a ledge above an enemy, and it kept circling below me as if trying to grab me, completely unaware that I wasn’t even on the same level. Moments like this make the game feel unintentionally comical and break immersion. I understand this was made by a solo developer, and I genuinely applaud the effort—it’s not an easy feat to create a game, especially an open-world one. That said, calling this a finished product feels premature. The game is unpolished, janky, and stiff in ways that really hinder the fun. With more refinement, I could see this being something special, but in its current state, it’s hard to recommend. I didn’t touch much on the story, which was fine for what it is. However, even with the incredible ambition of creating an open-world game as a solo developer, I can’t say I would play the full game. I love Zelda-likes, but this feels unpolished and unfinished, almost like something from the GameCube era in terms of AI, programming, and overall design. If the game were more focused and polished, I could see it contending with the likes of **Immortals Fenyx Rising** in terms of enjoyment. But as it stands, it feels more like a tech demo or proof of concept rather than a fully realized experience.

A Beautifully Atmospheric Experience It's a captivating and mysterious journey that instantly pulled me in with its haunting visuals and immersive sound design. The atmosphere is rich, the storytelling subtle but impactful, and it left me genuinely curious about what’s to come in the full game. It’s a short experience, but one that sticks with you. Highly recommended for fans of narrative-driven exploration games!

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Super entrée en matière, une petite ambiance sympa qui donne envie d'explorer de prendre son temps. C'est très polish et détente, on veut le suite !

☀️

I like it, simple, beautiful and fun. I hope the final release is better optimized, it has almost the same performance in the highest settings as in the Gamecube mode (the lowest settings).

good game :D ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠿⠛⠛⠛⠋⠉⠈⠉⠉⠉⠉⠛⠻⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠋⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠛⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣤⣤⣤⣄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⢏⣴⣿⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣟⣾⣿⡟⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⢢⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⠀⡴⠄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⠟⠻⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠶⢴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿ ⣿⣁⡀⠀⠀⢰⢠⣦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠀⣴⣶⣿⡄⣿ ⣿⡋⠀⠀⠀⠎⢸⣿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠗⢘⣿⣟⠛⠿⣼ ⣿⣿⠋⢀⡌⢰⣿⡿⢿⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⢸⣿⣿⣧⢀⣼ ⣿⣿⣷⢻⠄⠘⠛⠋⠛⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⣧⠈⠉⠙⠛⠋⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣧⠀⠈⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠟⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⢃⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⡿⠀⠴⢗⣠⣤⣴⡶⠶⠖⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⡸⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⡀⢠⣾⣿⠏⠀⠠⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠛⠉⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣧⠈⢹⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠈⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⣴⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⣄⣀⣀⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⡄⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠀⠀⠀⠙⣿⣿⡟⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠀⠁⠀⠀⠹⣿⠃⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠛⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢐⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⠿⠛⠉⠉⠁⠀⢻⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠈⣿⣿⡿⠉⠛⠛⠛⠉⠉ ⣿⡿⠋⠁⠀⠀⢀⣀⣠⡴⣸⣿⣇⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡿⠄⠙⠛⠀⣀⣠⣤⣤⠄

Poderia melhorar a forma que o personagem se move e deixar o jogo mais fluído

Bem divertido o game, me lembrou os Puzzle RPG clássicos do PS1 e Game Cube.