I think I last played this two demo days ago. I was really hoping the balance and difficulty would be more tuned, but I honestly think the game is still way too "hard". Hard isn't even the right word though, because it's not exactly a skill issue. I mean, there is only a limited amount of control you have in terms of getting the reels to do what you want. Punishing is a better term, the game is very punishing. Imagine playing Pokemon, and you head out. In the very first field you enter, a Pidgey swoops in and completely destroys you. That's not good at all, but that's basically what you have going on right now. There is just no reason for the game to be this punishing, in my honest opinion. And it's completely detracting from the great aesthetic, concepts, and structure you have designed here.
The reason I won't call this difficult or hard, is that both of those sort of imply that the "meat" of the game is increasing your skills. When you play Dark Souls or something, the game is asking you to improve your mastery of your weapon, to understand the enemy attack patterns and timings, their positions, how to use your shield and your roll, etc... The core content of the game is in developing those skills. Would you really try and tell me that the core content of your game is getting better at stopping the slot machine on the right item? Fuck no.
I think you're misunderstanding the type of experience the game is promising. When I load up this game and start playing, I'm looking forward to exploring, building up, trying the minigames, seeing the jokes, and just enjoying myself. Instead, the game is slapping me in the face with random punishments. One goober at the very start of the game is just knocking me down to 0. For what reason? I genuinely think that clinging to challenge/punishment is a sign of insecurity about the value of your game. All the good and fun ideas of your game really desperately need to be freed of their punishing prison so they can shine.
I'm so sorry if this is harsh, but I really like this game. And it's such a simple change to fix these issues. I promise you, people are not going to come to this game to be harshly punished and shit on. Let the game be what it is. Please.