A few months? I certainly can't wait for the new version, so I guess I'll play the current version more and also die a few more times LOL
Another important thing is savefile compatibility. If you add the multiple life system, pls make it avaliable for old saves.
This game really has quite some potential to become a successful rougelike game, perhaps as successful as Noita.
This game isn't really a rougelike yet, it is lacking a core mechanism: limited resources. I could think of 2 limitations: Either limit days, or limit the amount of locations, or perhaps limit both.
Location limit: After exploring this number of locations, no more locations will be provided by the bartender, until you complete his quest, which provides another limited supply of locations.
Time limit: Starting from some point (like day 20), the bartender asks you to pay him rent every some time (in the form of "something that glitters", can have debt but must pay off the rent to get more locations) , and this amount increases gradually to make time a limited resource. This way rent acts like the hunger mechanism of other rougelikes, making time a limited resource. Completing quests for him will reduce this amount by some, giving you more time to get resources.
Perhaps past some point, this amount no longer grows, or is even completely removed, as the bartender wants you to focus on creating powerful potions for him. This could be simply implemented by adding a constant supply of quests, as long as you complete enough quests, you no longer have to pay rent, and the quests are relatively easy for late game.
If this game is to be converted to a rougelike this way, then it's important to add QoL improvements, like collection convenience.
And of course also a casual mode without rent and permadeath, perhaps customizable when creating a save.
In Noita, the main limiting resource is HP. Methods of regaining lost hp is extremely limited, until you get extremely powerful spells to break out of the main dungeon, and then the player can grind as much resource as he want, allowing a save to be persistent, until the player makes a mistake and dies.
Noita doesn't have ingame option to remove permadeath, instead it's provided by mods. Mods are a good thing to have, many successful games have either a dedicated modding platform, or steam workshop for mods. The only problem is the coding difficulty, but it's rewarding enough to pay off its cost.