This is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I love the art, the music, the theming of Laika (rip). When the game first booted up I was expecting a methodical, puzzley, turn based sort of game, but what it turned out to be instead was a lot of fun. I really liked what a frantic experience the game develops into, and wow there's a lot of upgrades.
I kinda wish I could just hold a button to travel in that direction instead of mashing, but I guess that adds to the frantic-ness. I also like how movement metas develop as the game goes on, like how jumping isn't just a way around obstacles but also acts as a movement speed increase when you use it properly, and map wrapping just breaks the game wide open, haha!
The short little narrative you included is very sweet as well, and it makes sense that it would have a bittersweet conclusion.