Happy to help!
I was using the movement keys very frequently. On my first playthrough, I found myself spamming “s” to try and move quicker through the level.
After realizing I could basically move wherever I wanted, I realized I could probably mop up all the points in the early game, and collect as much cash/items as possible, but it felt like that would take so long that it didn’t feel worthwhile to do.
I still think the primary issue is the pacing - I think an arcadey type game like this should have quick runs with fast action that make you want to hit replay over and over again to try and improve your score. I’d imagine your playthrough that got 1 million points must have taken quite a while to finish, and I’m not sure most players would have the patience to play for that long