Thanks for the detailed comment, glad you enjoyed it.
I agree it does start a bit too slow. I think I didn't catch it during play testing because well my friends felt like they had to push through, when fresh players can just give up at any time. It is also a difficult tradeoff: The early game has to be a bit tedious so you flying through it later feels amazing.
I had some sort of Active Abilities you could turn on for temporary boosts that you gained from powers, but had to scrap it due to time. I'm sure you know the feeling :)
Thanks for playing!