Wow, Angry Fry, thank you for such a deep analysis! This is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for. You've hit on a very interesting point about the tone dissonance between the music/visuals and the stress of the gameplay. I intentionally went for that contrast, but I totally see your point about it making the objective feel a bit 'muddy'.
Comparing it to Bloons TD is actually really helpful—it gives me a clear direction on how to better communicate the player's priorities in future updates. I really appreciate you taking the time to write this out; it’s incredibly valuable for my growth as a dev. Thanks for playing and sharing your honest perspective!