Thank you both for the feedback!
Honestly, I think I partly agree with you. The time-based star system was something I wanted to experiment with during the jam to see how it would affect replayability and encourage players to revisit levels. Looking back, I'm still not entirely sure it was the right fit for this particular game.
The atmosphere, story, and exploration aspects were always the heart of the experience, and I can definitely see how the rating system can feel at odds with that and create a bit of a "stop" in the narrative flow.
It was an interesting experiment, though, and comments like yours are exactly why I wanted to test it.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and help me understand how it felt from a player's perspective.