That is quite intended; this game is meant to be relatively hard because there is only one level. Winning unlocks the speedrun mode, no more checkpoints! The principle is like Geometry Dash: playing again and again, losing but improving your skills each time.
You are absolutely right, navigating the menu with the gamepad was intended, but it's hard to prioritize indeed.
I am still experimenting with which ways are the best to handle all the game logic. From my game design experience, I prefer to organize the game's logic and "rules" as comprehensively as possible, even if it may have drawbacks.
