This was super sick! Really well polished, unique, and intriguing. Loved the art and music/sfx, very immersive. Vibes in general were right up my alley.
The tutorial was great and well paced! By the time I was left on my own, I felt totally clued up. Game has a very addictive and intuitive loop, was really easy to jump back in and give it another go. Loved it.
Some thoughts as they popped up:
1. The card buy screen often only offered too expensive cards, while I got only one or maybe two cards knowledge cards. So couldn't do anything there when I first entered. I think balancing so that there is always a bit more knowledge and cheaper cards available in the beginning. So you can always ease players in with a bit more satisfaction before things get harder.
2. Really appreciate the ability to cancel card! Would be cool to mention it as a hint or tutorial bit somewhere! Unless I missed it.
3. Love the trade off between a card's pros and cons, but would be cool if there were cards with just straight up positives. I caught myself thinking is the trade offs worth it or should I rather just face the luck of the draw. Admittedly this was after I summoned two massive squids that completely obliterated me. Thinking of when I played Hearthstone, or the Fallout perks - the ones with tradeoffs had pretty interesting synergy's you could exploit so that the negative impact didn't feel like too much of a punishment. Then again, maybe that harshness is just the vibe of the game.
4. The screen scaled off the borders a bit on the card-buy screen, but only slightly.
5. Would like some SFX or visual element that alerts you when time is almost up. Got caught off guard once because I was busy strategising with cards.
6. Feedback on why I died. Not always sure if it was time or damage.
7. Ritual seems a bit rare. Think I played four times, and three out of the four I didn't have enough ritual to restart the clock!
All in all, amazing effort dude! For a solo game jam effort, this was damn solid! I can see this becoming something I would sink hours into!