Feedback Do I add life steal to my top down shooter?

In my top down shooter, i already have various sorts of healing such as a healing circle, heal powerup, and im planning on making natural regen. i would like some opinions on whether i add life steal to my game or not. (life steal is essentially you heal a little bit for every amount of damage you deal)

if i do add life steal, should i make it so you only gain health when you kill an enemy or just when you deal damage? bc i feel like it might be a bit too easy for the player with all the ways of healing

 

We know nothing about your game, from given description.

I suggest make it and play test it.

 

Like @Antypodish said, you've given us nothing to work with and we need to know the game before trying to judge such a design decision.
It should also be trivial to implement if you designed the attack/damage system right, so just try it - can always remove it.

You need to identify how it'll effect the rest of the play, if you heal by dealing damage it would likely make for more aggressive play, what other effects it will have depends on the game.

 

Rather than asking us a bunch of "should I add feature X?" questions, start by defining the overall experience you want the player to have.

- What activities do you want them to be doing?
- How do you want them to feel?
- In what way do you want to challenge them?

Without us knowing at least those things we have no way to know whether any feature is a good idea for your game or not. If you know those things then you can probably decide that without having to ask us. Individual features may be cool, but what makes a game good overall is when the selected set of features and content all make sense and integrate nicely, working together to achieve something cohesive.

Also, as the others have said, if you're on the fence about a feature then implement it and give it a go. Once it's in ask whether it supports or hinders each of the things listed above, and anything else which you decide is important to your game.

 

Interesting topic.

 

I'd imagine life steal as something tied to a specific weapon. For example, a magic wand which steals life as it damages, but does less damage per hit than your regular sword. So based on the enemies you are facing, and your current health, the player can decide to use the sword for higher damage, or use the wand to gain some health.

But I don't know much about your game, just thinking out loud.

 

It's called life on hit and life on kill.
You could also try bloodborn style, you can retrieve some amount of health when you hit immediately (duration) after receiving damage.