Thanks for playing and for the thoughtful feedback!
Totally fair on the jump feel and spike timing. We’ll look at smoothing that out for future updates.
Regarding deaths: make sure to press and hold F to "pray" at the altars you find to activate them. They'll restore your soul fragments and set a new spawn point.
Super glad you liked the art and sound; we made everything in-house during the jam.
And you’re right, the theme was a tough balance, appreciate the honest thoughts!