Thank you playing and giving such a considerate thought on the game. You make a lot of great points with the flow of the later part of the game.
As far as the suggestions,
- The world size is a bit of a limiting factor since it has to load each time you play.. I will do some optimisation and try testing a larger world size.
- Upgrades and level balancing will be improved to ensure it is a fun and rewarding time throughout the entire game.
- I will explore new upgrades, ores, achievements and other suggestions on if they are a good fit
Thanks again for the detailed review!