I'm a diehard R-Type and Gradius fan so take a lot of this with a grain of salt.
Audio is maxed out so RIP headphone users, but also the balance between music and sound sharpness is just fullblast the whole time so its kind of overwhelming.
Trigger responsiveness is absolutely key in any Shmup-type game. The alternating potato gun is fine, but it feels like when I push fire nothing comes out sometimes, and its frustrating.
Also I removed a Star from Visuals because your Stars Background particles disappear in the middle of the screen half the time - its enough to distract my eye. Most critical feedback here for a Shmup!
Great little jam project! :) Proper gameloops with a score and everything are important (I missed that goal this time around!).