Thanks so much for your detailed feedback! Please don't feel bad about being critical; I want to know how every player reacted, even if different players had different perspectives.
I do plan to address some of the difficulties in the early game, so the ramp up can be gentler.
Shift and Spacebar is what comes naturally to me since I play with WASD. However, I can look into implementing alternative control schemes in the post-jam edition.
As for the laser guys, I will think about some ways to nerf them. On the other hand, I kind of enjoy having enemies around that annoy me. :D