I recently launched my first co-op horror game, SEWERS, currently sitting in its seeding phase (around 10 CCU, 35 total votes).
Despite having solid core engagement metrics, the rating is suffering badly: 19 Likes / 16 Dislikes (~54%).
I have already audited the common pitfalls:
No sudden/unavoidable one-shot deaths without audio cues.
Checkpoints are forgiving (minimal progress loss).
Performance and mobile controls have been tested and run smoothly.
No aggressive “Like the game” pop-ups interrupting gameplay.
Because the vote pool is still small, I want to identify any blind spots before scaling further. I’m looking for brutal, objective feedback:
Does the monster mechanic (stand still when hearing breathing) feel fair and responsive, or does it trigger accidental deaths?
2 Did you encounter any collision hitches, camera clipping, or audio imbalance?
Hello! I am by no means an experienced QA tester, but I will try to bring out every point I thought of during my playthrough!
The helicopter at the start of the game was barely visible
perhaps make the flashlight’s light more visible (thru some simple vfx and/ord letting it emit more light)
at the start, after finding a key, the gate’s highlight was occluded; I think it would be better if players could see it through walls
when I chose to leave, it did not end my game but gave me the “coward” badge. Instead, it then gave me a brave badge, and the game proceeded as if I stayed (i assume)
when getting the paper password from Sunny Chamber, perhaps add an arrow pointing to the entrance behind glass - took me a while to realize its not bugged haha
perhaps add sprint for better mobility.
perhaps add a few more scary elements? (ex.: sfx in the distance)
I apologize if my feedback is not exactly what you were looking for.
I was personally expecting more fright, more of the monster. Now I can’t completely identify your monster mechanic unless it is the jumpscare. If it is - prior to it, I have not noticed any breathing or so. Also, if it is, I recommend making it more frequent, as it happened to me only about 5 times in the whole game.
I wish you the best in your dev journey; the game looks really good. My favorite segment is the sunny chamber. I’d just recommend maybe adding more scary elements.
Hello! Thanks for the detailed feedback! I am still trying to adjust everything throughout the release process, everything is being changed frequently. I will definitely consider your opinions about the game. Glad you liked it, thank you for your kind words!