I added some styling to the particles. I set the base brightness/alpha over their lifetimes with a semi-transparent gradient, then added color over lifetime with another gradient exposed in the inspector.
I made some tweaks to the initial particle velocity, which was too intense. I used a minimum node to clamp the velocity to a maximum value. I also used an age over life curve to lessen the initial velocity of the particles from the hand to the body. Then, I lessened that overal velocity by normalizing the direction vector, something I should have done in the first place to avoid unintended velocity scaling.
To improve the particle spawning effect, I decreased the radii of the spheres where they spawn. I also dampened the initial SDF attraction speed using an age over lifetime curve.
Finally, I revamped my physics settings. The bodies were way too sticky once they collided. I want players to enjoy the merge effect but not get stuck inside each other.
Here’s the result of all those changes.
Did I go too heavy on the bloom? That’s a rhetorical question. The answer is NEVER.