Yeah, enemies do get stronger — but they also drop way more cash. 💰 It’s almost like you’re supposed to build an actual good setup instead of just stacking random upgrades and hoping for the best. 😉
Ah, then this is something you must make clear to the player, because up until the 2nd run it just looks like a shooter with Arkanoid elements and purchasable upgrades.
While I appreciate you're bringing your own flavor and uniqueness to the genre, you should make sure players aren't caught off guard because they're expecting a conventional roguelite experience.
Maybe add a "refund upgrades" option so players with poor builds (like me because I was surprised by the adaptive difficulty) don't have to wipe their save?