Talk about atmosphere, the music and presentation in the initial cave really sets the mood. The character and monster art is charming as well. There are also some really good lighting / particle effects in use here which was cool to see. The gems mechanic is also a really good design idea, it has tangible benefits but is less abstract than a stats system.
Some suggestions / feedback:
- Each screen is quite large with lots of pathways to remember, especially early on when many of them are inaccessible (I definitely struggled with this in the area after Lund's Lair). Finding a way to give the player a bit more guidance or make the viable path more memorable could go a long way.
- Controls-wise, there are a few issues. I did really enjoy the multi-directional attack, but the lack of a mid-air attack felt strange. You can also polish up your jump mechanic by adding coyote time and jump buffering (if the player hits jump slightly before hitting the ground, the character will jump again once they land, it makes things feel much more responsive).
- Mid-air dash is always a favorite of mine, so I was excited to pick it up so early, and it came with some cool visual effects as well. However, you have to use it almost immediately in a very dangerous situation (dash through a small gap above a spike pit) without any real "safe practice" with the ability beforehand. A suggestion would be to add a couple of descending, safe gaps on the way to the dash jump which then require the player to use the dash jump to re-ascend before attempting the spike jump.
Overall a solid entry, I really enjoyed the aesthetic and the apparent size of the world (so many zones!) and given a bit more guidance / control tweaks I'd love to explore more of it. Great job!