Super fun game! I've gotten to the water layer with five different characters which took about 6 hours. I think for the most part the game is well balanced with this new patch, though I think some sort of variation in the toughness of the soil by adding tougher/lighter patches would add a lot to route-taking especially in the more "plain" sections (maybe having better resources spawn in the tougher patches?). I'd definitely love to see more risk-reward gameplay especially after having completed many runs! Also maybe add tiny buffs to hats to kind of mix-and-match abilities for build variety?
Thanks for enjoying Serenitrove! I like the idea of tougher or lighter soil patches within a zone. It could add a nice layer of strategy to the runs, especially in the more straightforward sections. I actually have something similar planned with ore veins, where clusters of the same ore occasionally spawn together instead of being evenly spread out. I'll definitely add your idea to the list for future development :)
As for hats, that's something a few players have brought up before. I decided to keep them purely cosmetic because I want players to feel free to wear whichever hat they like without feeling locked into one for the sake of buffs. Adding a "hat skin" system to separate visuals from bonuses felt a bit too complex for a casual game like this, so that idea got shelved as well. That said, more mechanics are coming to offer greater build variety and gameplay depth.