Good:
- A really solid card game, with some interesting mechanics. There were a few different themes I was able to build decks around, which was nice.
- I was so happy when I reached the first deckbuilding shrine. I think it actually works really well to have the ability to build a deck be something you unlock.
- The simple icons on the cards are great! Very readable, yet nicely varied.
- I have a couple of gripes about the interface, but given the time constraint, it's remarkably well-polished. It didn't take me long to grok the mechanics of the game.
Bad:
- The overworld mechanic is an interesting idea, but -at least as far as I can tell- there's no cost to passing a turn, which basically turns it into busywork. I would have liked a map with fewer rivers and mountains, but more of a cost to ending turn and re-rolling.
- It's great that you have a map view, but it's a little hard to use for planning. Completed battles don't look any different, and there are so many empty nodes that it gets a bit noisy. Obviously there was a tight time limit, but in future I'd like to see more decoration, to give the map a sense of being an actual space, rather than the abstract thing it is now.
- It's very easy to get enough armour to block all the enemy attacks. I'd rather the game be too easy than too hard, but something to reward riskier play, or punish safer play, would be nice. As is, the optimal way to play is to drag the fights out really long, which isn't super fun.
Overall, I think a Deck-building Metroidvania is a fascinating idea, and I think your game is impressively fleshed out. A few balance changes and I could see this being really popular.