honestly? im not sure! i think its a mix of good cover art and ive heard that submitting early is good for the itch algorithm, not an intentional decision on my part though, i only found out about this after the fact. i do ultimately think a lot of it is luck! its good to remember that more ratings doesn't necessarily equal better ratings, one of the top winners last year only had 14 in total. ill happily give your game a shot soon though, it looks fantastic! <3