Exiled

Updated on 24-06-2026 
 
Gameplay

• How fun/engaging/challenging the game's mechanics are and how well they support the intended experience.
  • Normal mode had a good difficulty progression, easing into more advanced and difficult fights with the final boss being great for using  fair patterns with clear punish windows. Losing felt like it was on me, and i always knew what to fix for the next attempt.
  • Gauntlet mode builds on top of the normal mode difficulty nicely, letting the player get a sense of how each enemy acts and how to counter them, before asking the player to execute a longer fight with more limited room for error.
  • Enemy attack previews fit the visual style of the game and significantly improve the flow of fights by letting the player learn how and why an enemy attack connected with the player.
  • The combat system is top down melee and deliberately simple. Given the scope of the project, this is reasonable and therefore not a real criticism, but it does place some constraints on gameplay depth.

Presentation

• Quality of the visuals, audio and general juiciness.
  • The art is gorgeous, especially the UI
  • Sprites and animations are equally great
  • The intro animation is excellent, with a clear and cohesive art style suiting the game.
  • Limited sound is a major gripe for me, especially with the high quality and cohesive art, it stands out. A bit of walking audio, enemy impact and attack sounds etc. would still lift the experience a lot.

Experience

• How well any intended emotions, themes, narrative, atmosphere, or fantasy are conveyed.
  • The game story and visuals together support each other for a great overall theme.
  • Exile combined with a dark atmosphere works well and creates a very compelling experience for such a small game.

Cohesion

• How well the gameplay, presentation, and experience support each other.
  • Judging by what's on offer right now, all three elements fit together well and support each other to build a whole that's greater than the sum of its parts.
  • This game is technically excellent barring one crash on loading gauntlet mode, and visually one of the best student games i have ever seen, without any exaggeration.
  • My biggest criticism now, after the game has seen a major update, is the simplistic combat system because there is almost nothing else left to criticize. It is noticeably a bit stiff and limited in options, but also very difficult to expand without changing the core design. Therefore, this is a minor complaint that's only relevant if the game expands to become a much longer experience.

That boss was tough, especially the second phase two-hit ground slam attack. Can't wait to play the rest!