Thank you for playing the game, I appreciate it!
The artwork is very good! I did not make it. Please check out the creators here on itch.io!
https://sodacoma.itch.io/awakening-complete-tileset
https://elthen.itch.io/2d-pixel-art-red-panda-sprites
https://elthen.itch.io/2d-pixel-art-giant-gorilla-sprites
I had some problems with the ball getting 'pinched' and accelerating like you said. I figured hey, this is a game jam where the rule is "wild"... I'm not gonna wrack my head trying to fix this, it's a feature now, not a bug :)
Thank you again for playing!