The game felt pretty rough, but I did like some things. The player's attack animations were really smooth, and the special attacks were neat (though I didn't get much use out of the thrust). I also liked some of the narrative ideas that were alluded to like the stuff about mushrooms remembering things across loops, though the game doesn't really explore any of them.
To start with my criticisms, only being able to attack left or right and not up or down made combat feel pretty finnicky. Also, it seems like the thrust and spin attacks are on a cooldown that is not visible in the UI at all, which makes it annoying to try to use them for combat.
Feels like the game is over-reliant on the signs to tell you where to go rather than naturally leading the way through the level design. Cheapens the vibe of the surrounding environment a bit, and also makes it feel unnatural to explore.
Not sure if it was bugged or something, but the boss fight was ridiculously easy. The top part of its body ran away, but the lower part of the body didn't move at all, so I was able to just hit that part until it died. Only saw it attack once at the start of the fight.
Ending the game with a cliffhanger and mention of a "chapter 2" rubbed me the wrong way. Wouldn't have minded as much if the NPCs didn't set up ideas that this demo did not actually contain or elaborate on.
Despite being very critical here, I do think this game could be interesting if you end up expanding upon it. I just think as a game jam submission it doesn't stand on its own very well, as it feels a bit too much like just an intro to something else for me.