The Loopler

I want to recommend this game really badly. I sort of do recommend it for the price if you're looking to waste time and not think with a satisfying little cozy game that you don't have to think much about. But the problem is that it's a game that tries to make you think and the more you do, the more you realize how poorly balanced everything in this game is. I've almost gotten all the achievements and just beat diamond with all items active. I really like the mechanics of this game, and it's super satisfying to play but it feels like an alpha more than a finished game due to the way a lot of mechanics are balanced and a few missing things that should have been included in game. I feel like this game is so close to being a fun long term game but the way it's balanced it is basically just, get the same items every time and win. [h2]Shops/Charms/Gates: [/h2] You can buy a charm that increases your top speed by 1 per loop for 12 or you can buy one that increases your top speed by 1 per 100 boost for 24. Tax gates and drift gates are not helpful for any run. Being able to skip card packs for a full refund (if you have full health) gives you zero reason not to "risk it" by opening a pack. Especially when they're on sale [h2]Cards: [/h2] Almost all the score cards are bad. A single scoring gate of just about any type outperforms them all, save for one that does more than double your final score. [h2]Maps: [/h2] The "maps" for the run are entirely randomized. On higher difficulties, the boss levels(skulls) should not be able to spawn in the first rounds of a run. There's only one boss that will actually damage you in round one and usually only by 5% to get an extra reward to start with. The map icon is a skull but it actually gives you the easiest start. Modified rounds should have their modifiers hidden, or have better rewards guaranteed to debuffs. There's no ability to view the map from a track or the shop. [h2]Car Parts: [/h2] I honestly don't feel like these should appear until endless. The upgrades that are available to you with the base parts are more than enough to win most runs. There are buffs that can only be found in the upgrades with RNG. Change the drift gate to give drift grip and it would actually be useful [h2]Scaling: [/h2] The score scaling should scale up slower. Once you get to round 6, it scales at the same level through the rest of the run. I think if the game scaled more gradually, it would make some of the score cards viable. The scaling on diamond has a huge jump from round 5-6 and then scales about the same until the end. [h2]Loadouts: [/h2] Loadouts should disable all progress. I shouldn't be able to force all my fuel, score and boost packs to have the exact 2 cards I want and then use the rest for econ. [h2]Game Speed: [/h2] This game NEEDS a faster speed up than just the 3x. This game is only balanced around you maxing your speed out. I'm not sure if this is for game optimization or just due to the efficiency gate but if so, this gate should be removed from the game or changed. In higher rounds it may take multiple minutes per repair. Waiting for 10-20 minutes to see if you win isn't fun. [h2]The Rocket Car: [/h2] This is the only car with a debuff and it is massive. It's benefit might also be the smallest one unless you consider the drift car (due to it starting with an item any other car can get). Rocket car one gives you an 80% health debuff and buffs your overdrive. Overdrive can only be buffed via car parts and one score card that does a very small amount. It also needs to recharge. It can also be disabled by certain boss modifiers. [h2]Bad Mechanics/General Grievances: [/h2] There's a round modifier that has a small chance to disable your gates temporarily, minor early on but will ruin an endless run. This modifier may be one that the game speed limits cause you to wait out all your repairs and then you just hate the game. There's nothing to do in the round. Why doesn't this game h