Hello, thanks for your well written constructive comment! The level design part definitely needs a lot more adjustments!
First off, let's be honest:
The level was built very fast at the last minute and the hiding mechanic (A core one) was implemented in the last 24 hours so it was pretty... Chaotic! ^^ In addition to that I'd say it lacks technical review (had to finish quickly instead!) and playtesting. But at least the game kinda works, it's there haha!
With that being said now:
- The intention was to tweak the game difficulty to a casual level. I agree the immersion is broken with the current enemy avoidance timing stuff. The enemy placement often have not much meaning. The AI is also very basic so it might not be so engaging though placing enemies correctly should at least help a bit.
Also, there is no checkpoint! All of that is definitely not casual friendly. - This ladder problem was supposed to be fixed but we had to skip a more rigorous testing phase in favor of the addition of new features. We didn't know you could trigger that bug with the ladder in this way though so thanks for letting us know! :)
- The sound in the menu indeed is very loud... I'm not going to pretend it was made to scare you by destroying your ears, it has to be toned down for sure! ^^
Also glad you enjoyed the art direction! Thanks for your time! :)