Just played your demo. I think you're in the right way here. I like your character, specially the weapon, I think it's very unique and different. The pixel is great, but I agree that it could use a little rework, maybe improve the animations and the color palette a little bit.
I would suggest leaving the arrow keys as directional input as well, or at least make them also work on the menu screen. Same for the Attack key. Make that work on the menu title, but also make ENTER key or Ctrl or Spacebar work to enter the menu. I didn't read the keys at the start and it took me sometime to figure that I had to hit the L key. Then add an option to check keys during your game when you press ESC for the menu. Good job and good luck.
Thanks for the feedback!
The next update will be much bigger and will definitely have full controller support and customizeable buttons and key configuration. We will have an Early Access build later this year with several levels and many new features. Thank you for playing and stay tuned, because we have a lot more coming!