I am a big fun of survs and while many look bland I felt this has potential. I really enjoyed the physical swing of the sword - it made my movement matter much more than usually, because I was constantly adjusting the angle as well as position.
I did not enjoy the progression. The upgrades were not noticeable for me and I felt little to no power-spikes throughout my 2 playthroughs.
Enemies got too hefty quickly, my attacks felt like rubber sword swings. Especially the Dart enemy who was like 3-4x stronger than the basic one. He was tougher to dodge, tougher to hit, tougher to kite, overall tougher to kill and was a bigger threat. Quickly after he comes the game becomes overwhelming.
I was not sure how does the HP work. To lose a HP square I had to be hit a couple of times, but had not idea how many.
I wrote a lot about my issues with the game, but it's because I feel the potential and liked the initial 20-40 seconds. All the tethering is quite clear and an interesting mechanic with the totems. I'd want to see more weapons and upgrades that focus on the fact that I have to angle the character to hit them correctly.
If you'd like more in-depth feedback or some suggestions feel free to hit me up.