Thank you for playing and for the kind words!
The Map: I definitely agree the map is pretty crucial for the genre and would help our game's flow immensely. This was my first metroidvania and 2nd-ever 2D platformer, so a lot of learning of how to set up various gameplay systems was done along the way, hah.
The CDs: they were part of another unfinished feature, a lorebook/codex. When you collected them, they were going to populate a lorebook that appeared on the pause screen. It was a way for players to have lore if they sought it out, and also give completionists a drive to collect em all
The extra considerations are very much welcomed, I never thought to do that, and as a Godot newbie, I really appreciate the mouse hiding piece of advice. Thank you again for the really constructive and thoughtful feedback!!!