Thanks for the thoughtful and constructive critique!
I can’t address all the points, but I definitely agree on some things.
Visuals: More careful direction will need to be taken in terms of exposure maximum/minimums
Audio: Definitely have better tracks later, but will be revamping 1st level music. (Hope those have more bounce)
Gameplay: You can sprint faster than the cops (Left Shift) by a value of 2x but it does take some time to ramp up. The first level does not explain that well enough. (Later levels have spaces which are more spacious to outmaneuver).
There is a clear difficulty I had in marrying the ideas of speed, strategy, stealth and the thematic consistency of the environment/story; which you nailed with your feedback.
regardless, appreciate your commitment to being real with game devs early in their journey!