Hey guys thanks for the feedback, Designer/Programmer here, thought I'd plop myself in here and drop in some info.
Fantastic pixel art -- although the quality of it seems to waver in the the forth gameplay GIF.
Thanks! Yeah a lot of the animations are in place as rough at the moment until we're completely happy with how they work in game, out animator then polishes them.
Curious as to what different weapons you'll be able to use -- looks like you're hoping to have a combat that involving combo chains based on weapon switching?
Something like that yeah, the weapons are unlockable and interchangeable, plus you can change on the fly with the shoulder buttons, feels pretty good for tickling out a few customized combos.
Don't hate me, but I think the ultra flat look is much better!
Don't worry haha, we went through a small phase of thinking the same, but honestly when we saw a full mockup of a few completely polished anims, they worked so much better with the overall artstyle.
WeaponsSo the weapons are unlocked by defeating the stage's boss and activating it's Shrine. New weapons not only give you a new style of combat but also come with new abilities that allow you to access new areas. Rather than separating a new item to unlock a door or something, we tied these two together for a more simple, yet interesting approach.
Crimson SwordYou will acquire this weapon pretty early on and will be your basic (but upgrade-able) weapon throughout the game. Medium speed and medium damage, but once you start upgrading with new abilities such as uppercut and dash attack, it'll become much more interesting.
Crimson AxeThe axe is a heavy hitting weapon which is great for piling on bigger damage, great tool for stunning enemies if you're in a spot of bother! The axe is also used to break down the Crimson walls to access new areas.
Crimson claws..Or how people keep referring to as 'boxing gloves', but that's just the rough version! :D These things are the faster weapons in game, less damage dealt but allows you to keep striking into enemies and applying different combos (as long as your stamina bar isn't empty). These things also give you the ability to drill into certain areas in the ground, again, unlocking new areas.
(Yep the screenshake wants taming a fair bit here, leave it with me!
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There's a few other abilities and weapon upgrades we have planned which should give these 3 melee weapons more use too.