What an awesome idea! Vampire survivors mixed with runic spells is very neat, and I felt like the skill ceiling for it is quite high! I almost reached the master of the forest, but I was able to see a good amount of the spells and passives. The life steal one is felt like the best. The pixel icons were really nice and definitely evoked the same aesthetic that VS has. I've got some feedback from my playtime.
- The spell casting had a little bit of friction, exacerbated by the fact you are under pressure by enemies constantly. For being done in 72 hours I am very impressed. but I think there is room for improvement due to being the core mechanic. Clicking for points individually gives you clear data, but makes it harder for the player, especially since that means you need to press space to submit. Luckily you do get used to it due to the limited selection of spells. You get a feel for what the system allows. However, if time allowed, I believe a better solution would have been to let the player click and drag to draw, sending the result through a CNN to analyze the shape against your spell list. Then it would only be after the player lifts the mouse button. Not sure if you've seen it (and I hate to compare), but The Magus Circle is something similar I think you could look at to see what I mean.
- Lack of invulnerability on hit can be detrimental and frustrating. I felt like I had a good run, but due to the swarm of enemies and limited play area, I got stuck in the last minute and instantly lost with full health. The above point doesn't help with this, as a reason many players will die is due to failing spells. I think a few seconds of invincibility would help this situation without trivializing anything.
- Halting movement in the opposite direction feels awkward. I'm sure you had your reasons for it, but the fact you aren't looking at your character most of the time leads to a disconnect between where you think you will be and where you are by the time you exit the spell menu.
- Not sure how it relates to the theme. Doesn't really have to do with the game itself but I thought I'd add that.
Anyway, you made me feel like I downloaded a cursed video game. Loved that. Sprinkle in some reversed sound clips and you'll be soiling some pants. I will likely be returning to see if I can improve and win sometime. This deserves a high rating for being so technically ambitious alone. Good work!