So I got further this time and I still have mixed feelings on the combat. I think it's interesting and I think that maybe it could work, but as it stands it's very unintuitive and confusing to play.
I figured out that the reason why I usually wasn't attacking is because I had to hit a movement key and the attack key. I find this awkward and confusing because it doesn't really act as a combo- you just move and also attack. I think with better feedback and some tweaking to the mechanics (maybe a pause or hesitation in the movement?) this could be really fun, but as it stands it just feels kind of janky.
That it requires a paragraph to explain how charge mode works says a lot in and of itself. I know some people prefer that kind of complexity but I'm not a fan; I've never been good at fighting games because I have no idea what the combos are for instance. I was able to get the charge mode to work a few times, but I also tried and failed a few times and I had no idea why it sometimes worked and sometimes didn't.
I think at one point the game actually glitched out and wouldn't let me attack but I wasn't sure because the interface frankly does a very poor job of telling you what's going on. The gauges at least need labels and some prompts would help a lot as well.
If there's one way to improve this game it would definitely be the feedback. Give the player a better idea of what they can do at any given point in time and how they can do it. I realize that's something that's going to typically be left until the end and maybe left by the wayside on a jam game but I think it's really critical for a game like this.