Hi Amit!
Thank you very much for the kind words. I really appreciate the time you've spent not only playing our game, but also to provide some very insightful and actionable feedback. I totally understand what you're saying about the introduction of the mechanics and level selection - especially the comparison to Portal's structure and difficulty evolution. Beyond the control adjustments some other folks have mentioned (in comments, but also internally!) this definitely is another thing I'd love to tackle in the future.
Viewing post in Basic Scaling Puzzles jam comments
Awesome, teaching layered mechanics is one of my favorite things to do as a designer. To go back to the Portal example, you will notice that the game doesn't really have a tutorial. The game itself just slowly teaches you the mechanics through clever level design without ever explicitly telling you that it's teaching you. I'd replay the first couple levels and really study the way it is structured. Best of luck on the jam, and I look forward to seeing your future games!