This game is very unforgiving, which isn't a bad thing. Without having given it more time, it seems the most important thing is choosing your first upgrades as not having the sword-length increased at least once is pretty hard and I didn't get far enough to see how difficulty increases relative to future upgrades over time.
Am I correct in assuming the game is Souls-Bourne inspired even though I hate that term XD? The mention of it being a 'place of kings' kind of struck that note, with the obvious satire of the balls being majestic good fun. Either way, this feels mechanically strong and I should really spend more time getting to know it. <3