Wow, thanks for so much detailed feedback! The reason why blocking is so wonky is because it used to work different early in the development. Originally the reflection would be faster and it'd signalize the parry window. After the reflection is gone you'd just take reduced damage. When I realized that it'd be too precise and difficult for a game jam, I slowed down the animation and made it so that you always parry while in the stance. I didn't have much time left to polish it though, so it's pretty clunky right now. I thought about adding a sound cue when blocking, but the submission period was over, so alas :/ I like the idea of the character changing color! Kinda like Celeste's hair color change. I was thinking about a pause menu, but decided that for a browser game it's not necessary. I could' ve added some way to change the volume, though.
And yeah, the homing fireballs are pretty cheap, could've nerfed those a bit ;)