It definitely needs some tutorial levels - I get that.
I got the inspiration for stat switching from Binding of Isaac (I think?).
My idea was that it could make it more replayable.
Playing multiple times would make you remember what stats / effects existed, and then of the game would be about first figuring out what item does what, and then trying to remember this while finding your way through the level.
I also think because we knew how everything works and is generated, we just couldn't see how difficult that ended up being.
Right now the player always start in the top left part of the level, and the strawberry is always in the bottom right part.
I also considered viewing the entire level when the level is loaded and then quickly zooming in, to help the player get an initial idea of where direction to move in. Or we had an idea to add a mole NPC that would give hints to where the strawberry is. Or perhaps a mini map could help keep track of where you've been and haven't been.
But, you know, time was up and so on.
Thanks for playing, and thanks for the feedback!
(The map generation was my favorite part of the project!)