A fun little two-minute distraction! Nothing too fancy, but does its job perfectly well.
I read through your personal notes in the devlog and I think you have a very understandable but still wrong idea about “failing”. Finishing a game in time for a jam is a huge success, no matter what position end up being! I understand that getting a low rank can be very disappointing, but that should not let you be discouraged from making games. For me, every game I made so far (solo or with my gf) has been a learning experience in one way or another. Some of them were pretty well received, others unfortunately not quite as much, but each and every one of them taught me something. A game that ranks low is not a failed game, it’s just another opportunity for learning stuff.
To answer your questions:
1 - Most of the changes you made were an improvement I think, though I also liked the old player sprite better. The added mechanics are definitely fun. Still, the game does feel somewhat similar to the old version, so I find it hard to call a significant improvement.
2 - Probably 6/10. It’s a lot of fun for a few minutes, but after that, it feels like I’ve seen everything the game has to offer. That’s okay, though! Not every game has to offer hours of gameplay. Sometimes, little time wasters like this one is all you need. Which leads me to
3 - Mobile. While I’m not sure how well the controls work, in my experience, mobile tends to be the better platform for quick little games like this one.
4 - The UI is okay. The elements all look good, but I think you could look into composition (i.e. where to place those elements) a bit more.
Honestly, though, I think the game is fine as it is! My advice: There’s no need to spend your time overpolishing it. Make more prototypes. Enter more jams. Throw noodles against the wall. See which ones stick. Turn those prototypes into fully polished games.
Keep it up!