Thanks for this, it is the kind of comment I actually needed. I have been staring at the same 5x5 for months and I had stopped being able to see what was missing.
The modifiers reading as a separate mini game is what I am taking away from it. They sit next to the run instead of inside it, so nothing about them pulls you back in. Obstacles and swap are the two I want to try first, and the in run draft idea appeals to me a lot more than buying permanent unlocks with score.
Really what you gave me is a direction to take the thing, and that is the part I was missing. I care much more about the loop being fun enough that you come back to it than about piling on features, so this helps.
And 87 is genuinely good. I have hit the low 90s and I made the thing
Great update, manage to play longer and getting a higher score of 280. Though after platinum, got no other feature being introduce and not many things I can do as the floor drops, and I am stuck in one corner. I can only perform the same steps over and over again.