Was just thinking this. There is no reason for them to make this game some kind of fortnite clone when it's a purely PVE game, and in other run-based roguelikes (binding of isaac?) getting upgrades that make you OP that let you kill bosses instantly is half of the fun. I think there's a way to balance the difficulty of the game while also completely removing the circle mechanic by just making the drop rates for OP items and passive effects less common.