War Angels – Public Playtest Post-Mortem (March 10 – April 10)

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!