I don't think Kivit's feedback is particularly well-worded, but I agree on the point that the theme could have been better thought out.
The "theme" for this jam was moreso an aesthetic restriction, and had no room for interpretation in terms of concepting a unique mechanic. Judging games based on an aesthetic theme boils down to who had artists most comfortable with this niche style going into the jam, instead of serving as a creative limitation of scope.
It only really gives the artists an interesting limitation, while the rest of the designers and developers are left without any restrictions (often resulting in generic genre templates with new visuals), which I believe makes for a weak jam theme.
If I can offer some feedback as someone who was interested in participating, but disuaded by the aesthetic restriction, next time I'd avoid honing in on specific genres or visuals and aim at a theme with a more general concept, such as a subverted mechanic or scenario.
Looking forward to seeing where this jam goes in the future, hopefully we can get more people interested in participating!