Sealed Bite: Extended
It's ok to just be ok
Why
- Charming pixel art & very nice water
- Which is used to creatively signpost some secrets
- The core combat/traversal mechanic is a cool idea
Why Not
- The core combat/traversal mechanic is more or less the only cool idea
- And it has a few drawbacks holding it back from carrying the game
- Didn't unlock a single achievement despite meeting the requirements...
Impressions
Sealed Bite is a short but solid platformer held back from being special by slight annoyances with its primary mechanic. Shortly after starting your journey a werewolf bites you, somehow imbuing you with the ability to hurl yourself through the air at enemies as both a method of attack and traversal. This is a pretty cool idea and it's what sets the game apart from many other competent entries to the genre, along with nice pixel art and water the dev is clearly (justifiably!) proud of given how common it is.
While I'd definitely call this a good game and probably worth your time, there are a few minor issues with its main mechanic which'll likely lead to plenty of frustration during your playthrough:
- Dashing through an enemy gives no/few iframes
- There's no 'cooldown' after being hit
- And taking damage knocks you back
The last two combine to mean that if you find yourself in the air during a boss fight with no dash charge, you're likely about to die while being forcibly juggled by a hail of projectiles. Since you're briefly locked out of acting during the knockback, it's also very easy for taking a single hit to lead into multiple, suddenly depleting your carefully preserved health.
The lack of iframes on your dash is particularly annoying on a specific boss who shoots projectiles out in random directions around them; dashing through is the only way to deal damage but also leaves you vulnerable to a projectile spawning inside your body on the other side. Eventually I figured out to time the dashes for when they weren't firing, and that's probably even the intended way to handle it, but a little more forgiveness at the end of dash probably wouldn't hurt either. Another minor boss-related annoyance is the final boss being basically harmless but having two insta-kill lava pits in his arena. I prefer to fight the boss rather than the environment, so IMO it might've been better to make his attacks actually do damage and just remove the lava pits.
Overall I had a good time with Sealed Bite despite a few minor-ish grievances, most of the time the combined combat/traversal feels really good and there are plenty of secrets to find. Worth a try if you're looking for a cheap, couple hour game to kill some time.