It looks like it's been a bit of a Marmite game as far as the controls are concerned. As for my design process: once I knew that I wanted to make a game where the player has to move backwards, it followed that the arrow keys couldn't be used to move, hence the "run" button. The jumping is definitely inspired by the classic Tomb Raider controls, where the tough part isn't jumping, but in properly lining your jump up. The "creep forward by tapping the button" mechanic is lifted directly from the classic Mega Man games.
If there's one thing I've taken away from this, it's that what feels good for me won't necessarily feel good for everyone; I really enjoy the controls, but I'm aware that a decent chunk of people want a game's control scheme to just do its job and then get out of the way.
Anyway, glad you liked the aesthetic, even if the controls weren't to your liking. Thank you for playing!