Ooh I think I didn't realize that the pill that instakills me is actually the "explode the block you're standing on" power - then indeed potions are a bit safer than I assumed! Although getting the potions that halve your distance or damage might still be fatal for that run.
So there is one more level below!? Could there be even stronger opponents than the Colonel!? (And I only took him down cause he was chilling 😅) Indeed, I noticed the bat AI give up after killing one of my teammates too.
Makes sense regarding diagonals and pathfinding woes, thanks for shedding some light!
Anyway, I believe this is a stellar game idea - it fuses so many different concepts seamlessly. Great job!