This is a really cool prototype !! I really like the dark atmosphere of the game from the moment the title screen appears. I love how there's a lot of work put into the early love of the art style. I also love how the character moves and swings around, it really reminds me a lot of classic Zelda and really captures that game feel nicely! The enemies were a nice challenge to fight against and were a lot harder than I anticipated, which created a lot of tense moments of trying to get in the right range while also backing up so i dont get hit. Having items is a neat cherry on top too, and makes me excited to see more to use!
Although I like the combat, I think it leans too much to classic Zelda styled combat and could be quicker. For example the dodge roll is really cool, but its slow and you can't act out of it afterwards, so I don't use it a lot. I think it should be a lot shorter than it is!
I also think another thing that slows the combat down is the sword swings freeze frame everytime it hits. Its tense but it can get tiring. I also am wondering if there's a way you could add variation to the last swing, for example-like maybe it could do some knockback or something.
I also didn't really know what most of the items were for besides the potion, as the descriptions weren't really clear. But it is cool there there is a system set up so that you can have items used on the fly!
All in all I think this game has so much potential to become a really cool top down action game set in a really grim atmosphere. I'm really intrigued by the world building thats set up and I can't wait to see more of it!
also breaking pots is so satisfying and fun as always >:)