looks pretty nice! I think a big part of the friction in this game is the randomness, the blue monster seems like an impossible fight even with upgrades, and resetting is inconvenient... I also got soft locked in the fight after getting the gnome exchange, the background was all blue and I couldn't do anything
Overall I think this is a nice idea, I can definitely feel the Slots and Daggers influence, but in my opinion, making encounters somewhat scripted is so much better than making them have a random probability of being impossible! I sadly couldn't reach the end but I would've loved to :(
Maybe this is a skill issue on my part but game jams do favor prioritizing easy and fun gameplay (you got the fun part tho! Spinning the slots has a nice feel to it)