We completed our first full game play test with external QA.
Here are 3 features that succeeded:
Story ːsteamthumbsupː
They loved the story, the weirdness, and the characters, citing the relationship between Evo and Brunilda as a reason they wanted to finish the game. They also enjoyed the visual style of the game calling it beautiful.
One player said: "My favorite parts were the weird and creepy scenes... they are perfect and remind me of horror films that I love and it's what made me motivated to continue playing and find more of these strange and creepy interactions. I absolutely loved this aspect of the game and it's what stood out about it for me above other games... reminded me of the film Lost Highway's atmosphere."
We loved finding out that our game was resonating with fans of surreal film makers like David Lynch. He is a core inspiration for us.
Performance ːsteamthumbsupː
The game ran at 60fps on Ultra settings, except for one or two levels. This was incredible news as we had already spent a lot of time with optimization, and we were that it paid off.
Game Duration ːsteamthumbsupː
The game took between 4-5 hours to complete which was our goal from the beginning. This is NOT including discovering secret levels and hidden content.
Here is what didn’t go well:
Combat ːsteamthumbsdownː
Not clear when hitting enemies
Not enough ways to kill enemies
“Least favorite part of game”
Enemies attacking through walls.
Ammo and Enemy Placement ːsteamthumbsdownː
Too little ammo
Too many enemies
Driving ːsteamsaltyː
Though driving reviews were mixed, there was a singular loud voice stating the driving felt unrealistic and weird in a BAD way.
What are we going to do about it?
Push back our release date
Implement a list of specific fixes for these problems from the QA testers
Invent our own creative ways to make combat more fun including a melee system, as well as some new shooting features.
Launch a new demo once all of these changes are complete (as well as extend the demo to include more story content) and use it to promote the game for Steam NextFest February 2026.
We are also keeping in mind that we are a narrative first game - our goal is for the combat and driving to add fun variety to the game - not be the reason you play it. You have to pick your battles.
Wishlist Alter Evo on Steam
-Technical Fiction