Totally wasn't ready for this gameplay loop to come out of left field, but it was pretty enjoyable!
I only played on normal, and died once (I think), but it was already pretty tough to manage the boss stages and sometimes the beginning of the levels - which is to say I couldn't imagine trying to go through on hard mode, props to any players who tried to take that one on.
Controls felt like they took a little bit to get used to, but after the second stage I got a pretty good grip on it. Around that time I also go blocks that were more useful and didn't require me to rotate them, which I think really helped the gameplay pace - I found myself needing to stop to rotate blocks in the first 2 levels that made things much more tense than the end game, but the cooldown upgrades might have helped with that as well.
I do like those shop mechanics though, that make the coins worthwhile and directly impact the moment to moment decision making when trying to ascend.
Good job on the art, picking the characters to include in the game, and props for incorporating difficulty options, which I normally feel like are left on the sidelines for more jams. Good work!