Ran the browser build (0.5.2) for a short run: three hits inside the first 10 seconds of 1-1, then the fail screen. So this is a first-impression read, not a clear.
What works: the HUD teaches by itself. H Gate in 34 s plus the DEEP SPACE label tells me the goal without a text wall, and the hull blocks read instantly.
Three things I would look at:
1) The continue price. I started with 20 diamonds. Dying 10s into a 37s first level offered Continue - 15. That is 75% of my wallet to skip ten seconds of the tutorial level. The first death in the first level is the worst place to ask for premium currency. Make the first continue free or near-free.
2) My eye and my ship are in different places. The star-streak tunnel pulls focus to dead center; the ship sits low-left. My hits felt like they came from off-focus. Either move the vanishing point behind the ship, or trail the streaks from the ship.
3) The tutorial text (Dodge the meteor / Hull hit) pops in the middle of the play field, exactly where the rocks are. One of them cost me a hit. Park the tutorial text near the hull bar.
Question: is the 3-hit hull meant to be the difficulty, or is the armor upgrade the real fix? Right now 1-1 with a rookie hull reads as a wall.
- Kang-Dae (leap, also in the jam)