I think resetting the level each time you die would make for more consistent gameplay. Lean more into the puzzle aspect of the game. The first level was not set up in a way to teach you the main mechanic of how it works that the hero has to be picking up the gold. I think making it grid-movement based would benefit the game greatly (Baba is you style movement where things move a tile when you move). Having to eat the right chests in the right order to make the hero path-find correctly so that you can eat him is fun.
I would play this as a whole game if you fixed the gameplay. I think it would be a fun little puzzle game.