Note: I'm sorry this is very tl;dr. I just had a lot to say. I really look forward to see what other games you make.

While I wasn't gonna comment besides "cool game" and stuff, I thought I'd write down some notes. As someone who has worked on a game (albeit mainly doing the story/art; that and it's a visual novel), I understand how important feedback is. I'm not sure how much of it is the limitation of GB Studio so forgive me if some of the issues are related to the engine. I also played this on the Mesen emulator so I could play with my Super Famicom USB controller.

That and I like Helluva Boss and it's characters (especially Loona and Stolas) so seeing there be a game like this is really cool! Honestly, I'd be willing to contribute in some way art and maybe animation-wise. Fuck, I would LOVE to make a proper game cover for the game! I've always wanted to try my hands at making game covers.

My intention is to not sound harsh. I really do like that this game exist and I see the potential for it to become better with a few tweaks (otherwise I wouldn't be typing all this up and procrastinating on projects lol). I know it's just a silly WG game but I'd like for it to become fun enough to play. That and it's just my suggestions so I don't know what your intentions are for the game.

In terms of cutscenes (mainly the text message screen and the title), they don't really give enough time to read the text and comprehend what's going on. I'm not sure if it's possible to have it where the screen fades in and then waits for player input before fading out into the next scene (either with "press any button" or "press A"). This also kinda applies to the ending image and especially the game over screens (with those, I think having a skip button would deff' help. I found that if I got instafat, falling in a pit restarted the level a lot faster). That or there's an alternative that might require some more work that doesn't involve waiting for player input to continue (that and resembling a proper cutscene).

Either have it where not much text is displayed or make it where it's like a little slideshow (sprite close-up of loona sitting down at a table, gets a text message, picks it up, show a bit of text, indicate Loona's annoyance). This makes it to where player input isn't required (unless they wanna skip it) and it delivers the context in a different more "cinematic" way...at least for a Gameboy game.

For the GB files themselves, I'm assuming the original file is hard mode with how everything insta-"blobs" you? I have no clue since you mentioned Millie wasn't in the "weight stages" but I had completed the original and there wasn't any indication I had unlocked her. That and there's no info in the files to indicate it unless I didn't check hard enough. Was the plan to implement the two modes together in one game (aka easy and hard mode), instead of splitting them up? For the rest of the comment, I'm just gonna go based on the "weight stages" (or easy mode, I guess?)

Now moving on to the gameplay: Honestly, I like how Loona feels. I feels like I have proper control over her, which really matters near the end of the game. Though unfortunately there's a few issues I have with other aspects.

It seems like there's no proper invincibility frames when you get "hurt." Most games indicate this with the sprite flashing or whatnot. I feel like implementing this will give the player a proper chance to recover from a barrage of "attacks", especially in the later stages. It wouldn't be as bad when getting "damaged" if there were items that could reduce your weight, make you invincible for a brief moment, or maybe even a parry system (via her claws/punch or maybe even that kusarigama from S1E6) that makes things more interactive and skillful. I know the whole point with most of these games is to lose to see the different ending art but if someone is trying to legitimately play it, it can become frustrating without resorting to save-scumming or rewinding (like I did, lol).

I think the first level does a fine job as a introduction to the game. Though I feel like it should be better communicated that certain items can insta-blob you (like the burger, and ESPECIALLY THE FUCKIN GODDAMN SIGN IN THE CLIMBING LEVEL AND THE GROUND IN THE CAVE DESPITE NO INDICATION IT DOES THAT AAAAAAAA--). I feel like either having a simple "ingame"-cutscene where a character gets instafat might help with that? So that way the player knows in advance as to what to expect. A much simpler, and common, way is to just put more non-lore/story signs up that communicate this to the player.

Is there a pause button? I don't mind if it simply just pauses and there's no options to go back or whatnot. I know I can easily do it in an emulator but I think having it built-in would be convenient, especially if someone plays it on an actual Gameboy, somehow lol.

For the 2nd level and on, it feels like there's a few "leap of faith" moments. The 2nd level has it where some of the platforms are just BARELY visible on the screen; iirc it's the only area that I really noticed it besides the cave (I'll mention it, in a bit). I love the idea of the "beerfalls." However, I feel like they could be adjusted to properly indicate when they're about to start and when they'll end. One idea I had is at the start and end of the beerfall's animation, you can have them trickling beer droplets. That way it visually indicates when it begins and ends. I can still sense when they activate but having those animations helps better communicate their loops; thus if the player accadentally gets fat, it feels like it's more on their skills rather than it being "unfair". With this in mind, you could have it where maybe each beerfall has a certain pattern loop. However, I think having the beerfall directly above a platform without some sort of visual indication would seem unfair. In order to fix it, I imagine the easiest example would be the ground below has a different sprite design or dripping beer droplets. The simpler alternative is to have access to the beerfall platforms only when the player is on the same horizontal plane as the falls.

I mentioned the cave stage having a similar "leap of faith" issue, this is mainly from when you're dropping down from a platform. There's really no indication where the...weird plant/tentacle enemy is located when dropping from the height. I thought maybe the weird fat statues would indicate it but that's not the case. There's a fat statue that's above two separate platforms filled with the enemies; where you're supposed to fall in-between w/o getting "damaged". I thought maybe this indicated what areas where safe and not just purely an aesthetic thing. But then there's also one directly below the ground that insta-blobs you so it's like "What the fuck?!?!"

I think with what I mentioned with either having invisibility frames/items/parry would help with the ghost. I assume the main purpose is to get the player to run away while also not panicking. Though it doesn't help that there's other enemies that can easily mess things up. I know it's the last level and it's supposed to be hard but with what I brought up, it feels like you have to be REALLY lucky not to get insta-fat. I do like the fact that the ground below is the same stuff from the previous one. I had already known about the ground so I knew if I fell, I'd be fucked.

I'm not sure if I should comment on the music (I REALLY don't wanna be mean). The artbook folder said they were covers of existing tracks from the show but I honestly didn't really notice. Most of the tracks were fine, though my tolerance for them was low. The 2nd level sadly is a prime example of this. Though if it was your first time making tracker music, I commend you for the effort. I know I would have a hard time making one. I don't know how many would be able to help out with making music for the game.


That basically ends my long-ass comment. Again, I mean no offense to any of this. I've been watching your FA for awhile and I had no clue you made games. I'm happy to see other folks on here make fat/WG-themed homebrews for old consoles/handhelds.

I'd be happy to discuss this more via DMs or a Discord voice call.

Yeah, we can talk via DMs to talk more about it. And really thanks for liking my game despite my mistakes.

You're good! It's a learning experience. What matters is you try. I wish I could have learned that more when I was younger.

I thought I saw a GDC-related video about this topic but this video is good too. It's motivated me to not be so perfectionist on stuff as long as I'm learning, along the way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDjrOaoHz9s

Thanks to the new health system i finally beated the game as Loona,gonna try Millie mode next :)