Glad you liked the game overall. Something tells me that's not so easily earned from you.
- Weapons are slow/recharged to force the player to manage swapping and changing weapons. I wanted the combat to be deliberate and methodical. If you panic it all goes to shit.
- The child is meant as an intrinsic motivation. You can ditch him while you wait for the weapons to recharge but it feels bad. Most players I watched try to dance around so they can stay close. Are you the kind of person who ditches a kid under attack or will you risk taking a hit so you can stay close to him? It's all meant to make you feel that way. That said, if I had more time I'd add mechanics to mitigate that to some degree.
- Bullet tails are a great idea and something I will for sure add to the game if I continue development. This is useful feedback.
- The game fit the theme just fine thematically, albeit being a bit cliche. Applying the theme mechanically was never a requirement as far as I know? The theme promotes bad practice and I have no interest in making a game that deliberately hides information from the player. (as you noted yourself, it makes the game obtuse)
Thanks for taking the time out of your day to leave a comment. Cheers!