Ah just now I realize you're behind Hyper Runner, awesome game, I have a reminder set to order the physical version. Really nice work and good luck with your new project!
Now you mention Blitz Basic, when I started I asked to do it in C but also look for other options, Blitz Basic, Amos, Scorpion etc we're all mentioned and researched but for my usecase we sticked to C
About performance, my mistake was test too much on 030 so 020 became horrible FPS wise. Gained a lot FPS back and fixed other issues along the way by letting ai inspect and debug the compiled code. Fun times.