That's some amazing feedback and ideas! I really appreciate how your reasoning is clearly backed by a lot of personal experience. I don't think there are many people who explain this kind of stuff so clearly.
Love the idea of shifting the entire playing field. I can already think of a few ways that might work. But your idea of grabbing/pulling is excellent!
I think my key takeaway is to keep the core gameplay simple and accessible while not limiting optional mechanics that can make the game more interesting. Although, I'll try my best to also keep the optional mechanics relatively simple as well.
Thanks again for all the incredible feedback and insight!