I have played this (great) game more than anyone should, and I even learned how to hack Pico-8 games just to see how some rare RNG scenarios would play out. I think I've played enough to say:
The game has a balance problem. Specificially, it is almost impossible to win the game with something other than melee weapons *without getting melee weapons that would win the game faster*. The RNG probability on melee combos is so high, that any other combo only arises if the player intentionally chooses the hard path for fun.
The other balance issue is the launcher spider. It's a very cool design, but it sucks. It is so much weaker than many preceding bosses, setting aside that its flamethrowers could be effectively countered by that anti-flame shield. I think you could double the output of the weapons and add some special boosting item in the middle (all items increase by 1), and it would still be beatable.
Ive been keeping up with the commentary surrounding the game, seeing the general feedback and it does summarize to very specific aspects of the design. While some are part of the limitations of the system, some are part of balancing a heavily RNG game. I have been writing down most of the points made cause Ive seriously consider doing a follow-up game and these points are very valuable. That being said, its been nice seeing all the screenshots of people beating the game with a variety of builds, so while they might not be as prevalent or easier to start, they are strong enough to beat the entire game. Encounter balance also needs a look-through, but once again, I have found a healthy mix of people trying and people having an easy time wining. There are things yet to be improved and I will look into them as I try to make this idea even bigger and better. Thank you for the continued commentary.