You're right, not having the shadow was definitely what made the perspective seem strange. Trying it again knowing that and it seems to be behaving correctly. Really must just be the subconscious expected the shadow.
I did beat the first full level. I use vim regularly, hitting escape is no big deal. Having joystick/gamepad support would be cool. I'd probably also drop the health meter and maybe focus on the balance aspect. Ever play marble madness for the NES?
Thanks for sharing your game!