Thank you so much for the feedback! It's a really thorough and in-depth analysis, that's so awesome! It's really interesting to me to see what you pointed out and what highlights caught your eye. I fully agree with everything you said: the game was rough. This is the first time I really got into time trouble in a jam, and it shows. I generally expect a higher level of polish from the games I release (or at least, I like to think so), but some unforeseen time sinks (making the game use a retro resolution, various switches of bounce systems and the re-doing of all art assets, especially) got me in slightly more trouble than I actually could manage. Having said that, it's very informative for me to know what parts show most when they don't get enough attention.
Specifically, I couldn't agree more with your two main points. I was afraid the game would be confusing, and I fully concur with your statement about the tutorial. I hold a big grudge against tutorials. Usually, when a game I bought has a large, extensive or intrusive tutorial/prologue (e.g. XCOM 2, Warsaw, Middle Earth: Shadow of War), I just quit them. I have to force myself to start playing them again (which can be really rewarding: XCOM 2 is one of the best strategy games I've ever played, I think) but introductions like these barely ever work. I'm more of a "show, don't tell"-kinda guy, so I totally see how this could cause confusion.
Your point about frustration and reward also makes complete sense. I didn't playtest and iterate enough - I barely playtested or iterated - to find out whether or not the core gameplay loop felt fulfilling. That information is really insightful to me! It helps me straighten my priorities for my following projects, which are undoubtedly to come, and hopefully allows me to improve my game devving and the product I create. So once again, thank you so much for the feedback you're giving.
Additional notes of interest: I found it really funny to notice we had such similar ideas for our games. In effect, we both made pinball variations that allow the player to change the terrain rather than just use flippers. That immediately got into my mind when I saw your game, and I thought it was a fun similarity. Other than that, I'm definitely spending more time on technicalities for any larger release I'd do, such as the installing of DirectX like you said, and I would look into exporting to Mac.
One final time: super much thanks for your feedback. It helps a lot. I hope you have a great day!