I think the storytelling device used here is interesting and could be explored further, but it feels very… underused?
For one, I have no idea how to tell how I’m progressing and what I need to do to get to the next level. I got stuck on the third phase at N3, tried dying 50+ times to the phase, but still stuck - but another streamer got to N2 and died only 3-4 times and managed to get past the phase? (They got stuck on the fourth phase.)
Secondly, the gameplay loop felt very repetitive? There’s no sense of difficulty (and thus no progression), its just the same enemies and the same patterns spawning randomly over and over. The mechanics are nice but they didn’t really carry the game enough.
I know this can be harsh criticism but I do like the game’s concept! It’s just that there’s so much more you can do and a lot of untapped potential for interesting and atmospheric gameplay. Maybe try putting clear goals for each level (“Destroy 30 enemies”, “Dodge for 1 minute”, etc.), and introduce harder enemies the further in you go for a feeling of progression. Also, adding a clear pattern for enemy and danmaku spawning instead of random spawns will help a lot.