I've just played to the end. There's some nice ideas here. The whole ever-changing-spell-element thing plays into the surprise theme very well. I do think having a mana-metre on top of that might have overcomplicated it a little. Character designs are lovely. I'd zoom the camera out and maybe move it a little lower, as the field of view is a little limiting, especially when travelling downward. One thing I really loved was the satisfying noise when my spells hit the guys guarding the gates. It made those battles feel a bit more visceral.
Viewing post in Quintessence - Jam Version jam comments
First of all thanks for Playing and your Feedback! This is my first time trying out this style of art in a game, and after this Jam I think it will become my Go-To for future projects.
The Intention for the mana meter was to limit the spamming of spells too much, although this may be better achieved by adding a fire rate variable to the spell (I spent way too much time designing a custom editor for spell creation).
In regards to the camera would you prefer a crouch action that lowers the camera to see a little lower?