Honestly, it's a great start, I am always happy to see some VS-likes and this one plays like it will be a pretty good one. Worth a try for sure, and the gameplay changes from v0.8 to v0.9 are a good improvement.
I don't know exactly what is planned but I would recommend adding in a few more gameplay features prominent in most survivor-likes; randomized boosts for each stat, even just shuffling them and keeping max level the same, this would increase replayability greatly which would help with unlocking stuff in the gallery. A turbo mode unlock would also be good on any character that has reached max level, allowing players to increase game speed and do quicker rounds for repeats. Also WASD movement is a must really, especially since you have to use your mouse to select your level up and then quickly move your hand back to the arrow keys, if you aren't left handed it's a problem for any level ups that aren't transformations, the other option would be to use arrow keys and enter or space to select the level up reward.
That's pretty much it for me, thanks for the great game, looking forward to more.