I think you're onto something with the vampire survivors / star fox combo. Graphics are cool as hell and I love the effect of feeling like you're going to that island in the distance but just never getting there!
I think some focus on visual clarity could go a long way. It could be hard to tell what was going on at times. I felt the boss fights had a nicer balance of amount of stuff happening than the trash mobs, especially in the later ranges.
Really impressive work regardless!