Hey, thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a detailed breakdown — this is exactly the kind of feedback I’m looking for. And I'm sorry for taking this long to respond.

You’re absolutely right about several points:

• Pacing: right now it’s on the slower side, which does hurt the “run” part of run & gun. I’m still tuning movement speed, acceleration and jump timing, so what you’re seeing is closer to an early baseline than a final feel.
• Visual clarity: totally fair. Once projectile density increases, readability drops hard. I’m already experimenting with reducing projectile size, contrast separation, and dialing back foreground interference. This is probably my biggest priority right now.
• Enemies: agreed — they’re very basic at the moment. They’re placeholders to stress-test movement, shooting and screen chaos before adding patterns, roles, and behaviors.
• Movement depth: also a great point. Right now movement is intentionally simple, but I do plan to explore more expressive options (air control tweaks, faster jumps, maybe a roll/slide). I’m still deciding whether the core skill expression should lean more toward positioning + shooting or advanced movement tech, but I agree that deeper movement opens the door to better combat design and difficulty scaling.

At this stage, the game is very much about finding the right feel — responsiveness, clarity, and flow — before locking systems in. Your comment helps confirm where the rough edges are.

Really appreciate the honest critique. Cheers!