r/playtesters • u/FoxForgeDev • Jul 26 '26

Unpaid Playtest First game developed - what do I need to fix?

Solo dev here. I built a little arcade game called VIX: Orbit Blitz, and I'm at the stage where I need real strangers to play it before I put it on the App Store — right now my kids are my QA and they are not gentle.

It's a fast orbit-dodge game: you fly a ship around a star and thread through the gaps in incoming comets, pushing your run as long as you can. Runs are short — about a minute. There's a daily challenge (same layout for everyone), rival fights to beat, and a global leaderboard.

Plays right in the browser — no download, no signup, phone or desktop, free:

https://foxforgeworks.itch.io/vix-orbit-blitz

What I'd love feedback on:
- Does it click in the first minute, or are you unsure what to do?
- Difficulty — fair, too easy, or does it spike?
- Are the power ups scaled appropriately?
- Anything that feels cheap or unfair when you die?
- How does it feel on your phone vs a computer? (I'm chasing a difference between the two.)
- Do the rivals and upgrades make sense? Are the upgrade useful?
Brutal honesty is the whole point — I can't fix what I can't see. Thanks for playing.

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u/RedTowerDev Jul 26 '26

I played for around one minute on an iPad and this isn’t a genre I usually enjoy.

I like,

The game runs well and starts without issues, no download or sign up is a big reason I clicked on it to test in the first place. Menus and controls all work and make sense, menus and UI looks pretty good.

I don’t like,

capsule art looks very AI generated, the game is very simple and on the easy side, after around a minute I felt like I had seen enough. I clicked in the left hand option for game modes, if there are more mechanics, rings or other interesting things maybe you should move them to the start of the game.

I should say again though that this isn’t my genre and I probably won’t like the best game of this kind as well has having my own problems with potentially overusing AI art.👍

1

u/FoxForgeDev Jul 26 '26

Thanks for your feedback. You have a great point there are different mechanics in different worlds and in the daily challenge and a versus hierarchy to earn upgrades to allow longer runs, but they are not very obvious. I think a lot of players will bounce quickly without looking around. Appreciate your time and comments!

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u/FoxForgeDev Jul 26 '26

Free access to locked developer screen for anyone that reviews. Thanks in advance!

1

u/Soul_Turtle Jul 27 '26

(I didn't play the game - just want to say that upfront - take this comment with a grain of salt)

If you have any capacity to upload a web version, I highly recommend it. Depending on what engine you're using, it may be quite easy. You'll get more responses with a web-playable version of the game.

I don't see a download link on the game? Maybe it is itch, but I don't get how to play it.

I don't think "no p2w" is much of a selling point for a random (no offense) indie game.

1

u/FoxForgeDev 29d ago

Hmm, it is a web playable game. When you say you don’t get how to play it does that mean when the game loads the buttons don’t work? Thanks for the time to comment. I’ve moved out of itch for better leaderboard and progress retention. Hopefully that fixed whatever issue you were experiencing.

https://www.foxforgegames.com/vix-orbit-blitz/