Thanks for the feedback. It’s the explosion flash. There’s no gun involved here, since this is a torpedo hit. This may change down the line, especially the camera shake that may be a bit too intense.
About the watch, I have to keep feasibility and timing into account. An animated hand is very hard to do well, and would add a few more seconds to each time lapse, which the player would likely get tired of after a while. Repetitive non interactive animations tend to break the flow of the game. It may be already too long as it is. I wanted to find a way to keep the full screen stopwatch but sometimes you have to kill your babies for the greater good.
Exactly how I feel about difficulty. I feel like we ought to trust the player and let them learn from their own mistakes, rather than holding their hand.