Thanks for the detailed feedback! I’m glad the route tradeoff, steering, and overall theme worked for you.
The speed-control suggestion is genuinely interesting. You’re actually the first person who’s brought that up, and I hadn’t really considered it because “all gas, no brakes” was a deliberate part of the design from the beginning. But thinking about it now, giving the player some control over speed could be a really elegant way to handle difficulty, especially on the denser shortcut sections, without just reducing obstacles or widening every gap.
That one definitely has me reconsidering the choice.
I also really like the audio suggestions. More variation in the engine, tire squeal, and stronger impact/road sounds would have added a lot of character. And yeah, the car sprite/art pass definitely had more room to grow.
I was trying to communicate health through the car’s visible damage instead of a normal health bar, so I’m glad that part came across at least somewhat. Appreciate you taking the time to write all this!