itch.io

Again - this is just my opinion and should not be taken as everyone's opinion or objective fact - most media is better with a "target audience."  By starting out with a concept but then changing things to make them have "something for everybody" and simplify for a lower skill floor, you can dilute and weaken a game. Instead of being a great game for many, it could become a good - or even okay - game for all.

That is not to say accessibility features are a bad thing. I am one of the people that wouldn't mind an easier "story mode" for beginners to enjoy difficult games like soulsbornes and roguelikes. I just don't want it to be the default, be the baseline for balancing, or have the game take away key concepts of the game. 

Imagine "losing your souls and having to retrieve them" was too complex or difficult for some players, so they changed it to "you lose some souls every time you die." While that concept can work - and has worked in other games - it changes the balance of the game and how players would approach it. It also changes the atmosphere.

To me, that is the "bomb in the new version of your game. The clock might be hard for some to understand, but can be figured out, and tying everything to card flips instead of rounds makes a big difference in how people would play the game. As long as you have rounds to spare, you have less tension than worrying and strategizing over card flip values vs how much time they eat. You may know you have tons of time NOW, but you also know those minutes add up.