So, upon further investigation, I think ive been shifting my values in the wrong direction.
All of the colors I have are super saturated, which can be an style all its own, but its not working how I want. Ill have to adjust my palette and see if I get a better result.
Another thing Ive seen is the devlog for a game called Dauphin on YouTube, and how he approaches it is opacity. As long as the texture underneath is interesting but not distracting, that is another option