Thanks for taking the time to provide feedback. We decided, this time, to prioritise the art and audio as areas for a more innovative approach, and opted for a familiar gameplay mechanic that would not need to be taught to the player. Obviously, this means that we weren't exactly pushing boundaries in terms of gameplay or mechanics. Because we ran out of time for fully implementing the VO and music systems, you can't actually experience a lot of the design. After the judging period, there will be an update with a proper audio mix (music is too loud and masking the narration at the moment) and the adaptive music will respond to your progress within the endless runner level. Also, the VO lines should change in character the further through the brambles you manage to progress, and the more times you die. The music and VO systems exist in the FMOD project, but the relevant calls need to be set up in the game code. (See the itch page post-mortem for more details). I think you are right that bringing more variety or novelty into the gameplay mechanics would also be an area for improvement.
Thanks again for taking the time to play and provide feedback.