It's interesting that some people didn't like this mechanic, but I liked the knockback mechanic. You can use several tactics, lean against the wall and pour water, or pour in a circle into different fire sources.
We actually were sceptical about adding an upgrade that reverses knockback (so you are knocked forward), as that might ruin some of this fun. But we decided to add it anyway, as it wasn’t the hardest thing to add so if it’s heavily disliked we could just quickly rework it :P