Are you fans of Hades like me by any chance? Additional lore and ability upgrades are a really cool concept and I like how you tie them together as the main character remembers his past.
Unfortunately, for me, my abilities would get taken away if I died more than 3 times. Which then made the fight a lot harder again. Fighting is really difficult anyway, the enemy seems to always block at the right moments and it felt like I was getting hits in by cheesing rather than understanding where and when to hit. It's a shame because I would've liked to see the end.
The animations and pixel art are pretty good, it'd be nice to see the walk animations on the main character too. No main menu meant it was a bit of a shock to get sent straight into the action.
It's a good start and you've both done a lot in a short amount of time, Well done!