This game is so cool! The characters are so cute and lovable thanks to their designs and animations, but the environment art and snow effects do a great job of setting up the precarious premise. That fire effect is also amazing by the way.
The variable jump height was very satisfying, but I felt like the hook could be made a bit more intuitive by removing the click vs hold element. What if clicking to throw your axe counted as both an attack if the axe bounces off an enemy and as a hook if it landed on ice? Then you could kill two functional birds with one mechanical stone (plus, clicking to throw feels more punchy and responsive than holding does).
I didn't get very far in the game lol, so if there's a different reason that attacking is separate from hooking that's apparent later on, then ignore what I just said. Truthfully, I could not make it past the first part with the vulture lol. Maybe you could introduce the vulture in a safer area so that the player can learn to understand the mechanic, and then you can use it in more challenging sections. The first time you're introduced to the vulture, it's while you're midair and jumping from wall to wall, while also using the stakes for the first time. I don't think that screen was poorly design by any means, but it might resonate more with players if placed later in the game.
I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, but it seems like I often have to throw my hook off-screen, climb up, and then quickly find something in the next screen to hook onto before I fall back down. Usually, these leaps of faith take some agency away from the player and makes them feel less like they failed because they played poorly and more like they guessed wrong or got surprised, but if the story of the game is about things being in God's hands and not people's, then maybe you wanted this lessening of player agency.
The story, from what I've gathered, seems very personal and sincere. I love the idea of the physical challenge of climbing corresponding with a test of faith.
Sorry that I wrote so much, I just really love this game and the aesthetics of it. I think by adding a solid place for players to stand and access the screen before being thrust into a challenge, and by introducing knew mechanics more gradually and building off of them, the game could be more engaging, but of course, it's completely up to you guys and great if you want to keep it the way it is.