Man - it took a round for me to realise exactly how this worked, but this is a really solid asymmetrical game, and a super unique approach to take to the game jam. I like how the mechanics match each of the character’s intentions, and the push forward/fall back is a really interesting way to get the willpower to play cards.
It was rough finding offensive cards to play and often when I did draw them I’d have no willpower to use them - it felt like I’d be idling for 3-5 turns just to take down a stat by 1. It never felt unfair, just because the enemy AI seemed to be struggling just as much, but it definitely dragged out the game. I saw you mention stances as something that could help - honestly I think there’s something there! It could be that you have the option to swap stance for free once per turn (so separate from the card mechanic entirely), defensive allows you to gain willpower on top of cards per turn, while offensive stops your opponent from pushing you back/some additional effect? Spitballing, and may be entirely unneeded if you play with the types of cards that are in the deck. (Gain energy, but set one of your stats to lock position could work, maybe?) The nice thing is that the main mechanics seem so solid it’s a case of balance, not it inherently not working.
Narrative wise, this feels like a game where the kink is the thing that first and foremost guides the dev choices made, rather than just the horny of it all. It definitely is a bit grim, and on reading your reply to Twi it makes me curious what other potential endings existed in concept beyond the two grim ones we got - it does feel like we got the worst of the worst whether we win or lose, and the game does have capacity for lighter endings if expanding in that way gives you joy.
I really appreciated being able to read through the in-game dialogue though the log - on the flip side, a way to click through the slow pace of the text/load all text on a screen for the prologue/endings would be really great.
Fascinating project, and I’m really glad I got to experience it.