The art style here rips. I loved this. The 1-bit transparent pixel art transposed over the gradient white-to-blue is honestly stunning, and the "you're freezing" textured layered on top is a cool effect. I'm not crazy about the black wall blocks, (I wish these were another transparent sprite) but otherwise this a beautiful game. I would love to make something in this style. The 8-directional walk cycle was also extremely well-polished.
The concept was interesting. I'm on-record for liking the collect-and-defend gameplay loop, but adding the ability to quickly run or slowly carry your fire added a nice extra wrinkle. It did seem like ultimately the easiest and safest strategy was to simply carry the first through each level from start-to-finish, but I think there is some juicy decision-making to be found here with a little tinkering and balancing.
Huge congratulations to you on your first jam game. This was such a pleasant surprise. Nicely done!