I'm going to assume no one is gonna find this, but I'm the main developer of this game and had no idea it got added here, so I want to use this space to write about our demo, especially now that I've been able to work on what will be available next in much more detail.

To give a bit of an introduction, this game concept is something I've been trying on and off to make for almost ten years now, since before I left high school. Now, as an adult, I decided to do my younger self a service and finally see it to fruition, while also bringing some friends with similar gamedev passions along for the ride.

As for what we released, it's pretty good for demonstrating the game at its core, but it needed some much-desired polish. Easily the biggest pointer I got was for the eight-directional controls, which was the very first thing I changed going forward, switching to the much better performing full mouse aim, similar to something like Hotline Miami, for example. Also, while I wish we could've gotten some more finalized art for the backgrounds and cutscenes, we simply didn't have the time to make it happen, as we were working on this about three months before the start of SAGE 2023. Despite that, I still think the art here is pretty damn good, especially the animations for Mr. Shootem.

As for what else was great about the demo, the game itself is just really fucking fun, and I'm not saying this because I'm the developer. I tend to catch myself playing around with the mechanics while testing some arbitrary parts of what I'm working on at that moment. The same can be said for the game's music and how I'll listen to the tracks while I'm working or doing anything else, and I can't speak any more highly of my composers.

When we released our demo during SAGE, we got lots of positive reviews and ended up getting more eyes on the game than I had anticipated. I got to meet a lot of amazing people in the indie scene, and I've even gotten to work with some of them on their own projects, which has been an absolute joy to take part in.

On Christmas Day, we confirmed a full version would start development, and since then, this little passion project of mine has ballooned into something far beyond what teenage me had envisioned, and I'm really excited to show off what's next.

Anyway, that's all. Back to doing whatever for me.

I’ve been playing this game for years, and I will say: this game is not for everyone. But if you’re able to sink at least a little time into your first couple of runs, I promise you this game is gonna take over your life. I’ve played Terraria for upwards of 1000 hours combined from my time on Mobile, Xbox 360, and PC, and I’m STILL finding new ways to play the game. If you’re able to get past the slow pace of the beginning of a run and the absolute grindfest that’s the end of the game, you’ve got a real golden goose of a Metroidvania on your hands.

At its core, the game really is just a fancy looking pedometer, but it's the stuff you get to do BECAUSE you decided to take that walk through the park or the neighborhood that really makes this worth checking out. My only complaint is that the game is really confusing when it comes to getting the special Seedlings because you'll swear on your life that Seedling came from a restaurant, but the game says it's a Roadside Seedling. Not really a big deal, but I'd prefer my Pikmin collection not be filled with Pikmin with a simple sticker on their head. Overall, though, definitely check this out and maybe it'll slither its way into your daily routine like it has for me.