Kind of annoying how fun this is! I found the portal and said - out loud, "Aw, man..."
This looks good, sounds great, and controls excellently. The alternative uses for essences is really clever, and I'm jealous of how well you tutorialized the system. There's solid enemy variety, but I wished they felt a little different in combat. How? I don't know! Reasonable for a short jam game? No!
Great job!