Love the reference in the title :)
Also really like the story and feeling of progression, just with small details like the sky getting gradually brighter, as if the goal was to survive through the night. (Speaking of the sky: if your entire level is in pixel art it makes sense to keep your clouds at the same scale as well)
The slashing animation is a bit off sadly, but I got used to it. This kind of detail actually contributes a lot to the experience so it's worth putting in extra time to fine-tune them in the next jam :)
Some ideas to expand on this concept:
- Make the enemies come from both sides. You have to turn to hit the correct ones.
- Introduce friendly characters which the player should avoid hitting at all (may need to change your story then :P )
- Maybe something in relation to the music? Killing enemies in time gives back a bit of life?
All in all, for your first game it is very impressive. I'm curious as to what tech you used for this and I look forward to seeing the next one so keep me posted! Take care!