Thank you so much for playing, and I really appreciate your kind words and advice! You're right, if I had him blink red or something when damaged instead of just a noise and losing a heart it would read better for sure. In order to free the friend, you have to collect 4 of the energy orb "cookies" and then stand on the portal in the center to start the next round. Once you do that the friend disappears and a new frozen one spawns, so there should never be more than one on the screen.
I worked solo for this, and my Fiancé played the music. I will definitely be more careful with the font in the future. Thank you again! :)