It's a cool idea, though the execution was a bit rough. Specifically, the timing to reclaim the sword is extremely unforgiving, especially considering that enemies can hold up their shields permanently. Also, it seems like some enemies can capture the sword at a distance, while others require to to bounce off the shield?
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The enemies with the shield are intended to be beaten with your shield if you make them face the other direction. Most people seem to agree that this could've been telegraphed better, but I didn't think of it at the time. I think what made you have trouble with the sword is that enemies only capture the sword when you attack them while they're countering or have their shield. Likewise, the sword can only be reclaimed by you when it attacks you. Sorry if that wasn't clear, and yeah it is really rough. This is my first game jam game and I'm still learning.
For your first game, it was pretty well-done, and you have good gameplay ideas. :-) Regarding sword capture, it wasn't very clear to me when the second enemy (the first that can actually capture it) was "countering", so I was under the impression that the sword got captured automatically if it stayed near an enemy for too long.