Good job on completing a submission! I think there's some potential here, but I think the upgrades could be better served as some sort of reward to the player for doing well rather than as a crutch for a player who's not doing well. I didn't see a reason for me not to just let myself die so I could get the upgrades. Maybe as a compromise an idea could be that the upgrades could be something they could get when they die but they can only die so many times before it's game over. The primary method would be earning the upgrades through gameplay though rather than through solely dying.
Either way, keep up the good work!