This game has a nice concept and the writing is good enough to keep me invested. I have some issues with it though that make it a bit lukewarm for me gameplay-wise.
There are various UI issues with this game. Even after selecting the "background blur" option, it won't keep it that way consistently looks like. There is way too much clutter on the screen for my liking without it, and maybe even with it. This is a game in which you really have to focus on quickly reading various symbols precisely. Takes a lot of practice to really be able to process what you're seeing in real-time and starting to assign the correct workers in correct tasks, but I don't think I would find it fun anyhow. I don't think I actually wanna play with gameplay that stressful all the time!
It's very (and maybe too) ambitious to have totally different symbols for different workers instead of just the same symbol for all tech and for all science with a big number in the middle to indicate which level they are. It's a very much more difficult task to learn which symbols are above which others in the ranking and can therefore perform their tasks but not vice versa.
I didn't see what difference the "angle background camera" option is supposed to make to the view as you're looping. I have no idea what option that says something about a "briefcase" does but maybe that's a later-levels thing.
When dragging a worker from a node directly to another node, it sometimes starts dragging the screen around instead, or in addition to that, making it impossible to complete the action.
In addition, the slowness of the movement of the dragged worker makes it more difficult to tell when you're hovering over where you want them to end up, making the process a bit more clumsy. Not a major issue though.
I'm having a difficult time telling when a node has empty spots and when they're filled. It's maybe not visually distinct enough? I keep getting surprised by having missed empty spots. Also missing available nodes I haven't assigned anyone to.
I'm finding it pretty hopeless to always think strategically. Especially early into most levels, it seems it doesn't pay to try to do that. Instead just spamming workers into nodes indiscriminately works best. You've tried to create a game with strategic aspects WITHOUT a pause function for a story reason that just isn't justified. At least at the start of the loop and at least the first time you play it, you should be allowed to take in what you're seeing. Like I really mean it. That would help greatly in highlighting that aspect of gameplay instead of shifting it into a mindless action game. I mean, yeah, you can technically do that with the clock ticking, but the game doesn't incentivize that by the very same ever-ticking clock and story reasons you chose to omit the pause function for... i.e. it's asking the player to voluntarily break their own immersion to do that. Secondly, there's the idea looming in the air that you might be getting a worse ending or something if you waste too many loops. So I really urge you to reconsider this design!
Another reason why strategic thinking is out the window is the fact you can't scout ahead what unlocked nodes require. So basically would have to be able to pause again mid-loop, like an actual strategy game or RPG or something. I really don't think that would make the game worse even though it creates "ludo-narrative dissonance". That's a darling you gotta kill to make this game shine IMO.
The game isn't zooming out far enough (and correctly centered) to see the entire grid when the loop starts! Have to do that manually every time. Big minus for that. I don't think I touched the default graphics settings in a way that should affect this.
I didn't get how to go to the start of the next loop when you've run out of things you can do in the current loop. Or just in case you missed the first several seconds and know you won't have time to get in progress that time around.
If you think about some of this stuff, I'll consider inducting the game into the Home of the Underdogs collection... for whatever that's worth :P