Hi everyone,
Over the past month, we ran a public playtest for War Angels, and we want to share what we learned.
This wasn’t just about testing systems, it was about understanding how players feel when they’re forced to make difficult decisions under pressure. This post is a reflection of that, what worked, what didn’t, and what we’re improving next.
Playtest Overview
Period: March 10 – April 10
252 players joined the playtest
Players spent an average of 2 hours 4 minutes in the game
Median playtime reached 53 minutes
Player Engagement
One of the clearest signals for us was how long players chose to stay.
Most players made it past the first 10 minutes.
Nearly two-thirds stayed for 30 minutes.
Almost half reached 1 hour, by which point most of the current build’s content has already been shown.
A smaller group pushed to 2 hours.
And a handful stayed for 5+ hours.
Core Design Takeaways
1. The emotional tension works
Players are not just interacting with systems, they’re reacting to situations.
The pressure of limited resources and difficult choices is doing what we hoped:
it creates tension, hesitation, and sometimes regret.
2. The mid-game needs stronger structure
After the initial phase, some players:
feel overwhelmed
lose direction
or fall into repetitive decision patterns
We need to improve how the game guides players without removing the pressure.
3. Depth is there, but too hidden
Players who stay longer discover more interesting dynamics, but many don’t reach that point.
Our goal is to:
surface meaningful decisions earlier
introduce variation sooner
reduce unnecessary friction
System & UX Observations
From both data and feedback:
Some players struggled with understanding treatment consequences
The diagnosis → treatment flow needs to feel clearer and more readable
Resource pressure is good, but sometimes feels too punishing too early
What We’re Improving Next
Based on everything we’ve learned, here’s our current focus:
Gameplay
Improve mid-game pacing and progression
Add more varied and reactive events
Make consequences clearer and more readable
Clarity
Better onboarding.
Stronger feedback for player decisions
Emotional Impact
Expand narrative events tied to player choices
Retention
Reduce early frustration without removing pressure
Introduce more short-term goals to guide players
If you were part of the playtest, or even just following the development, we’d really like to hear your thoughts!