This one needs to be looked at with a higher standard than usual, based on the experience of the team behind this one.
The raw quality of the art and audio is commendable indeed.
But in a game like this, that's not good enough. When something is wrong, the player should know from the music that something needs to change. The repetitive attack tunes tell me that I was supposed to switch it up a lot more, but that's about all the feedback I could ascertain.
Since you stop to play (makes sense), your positioning is really important so that you don't get stuck playing the shield tune the whole time trying to navigate the bullet hell. This is, indeed, a level of originality not seen in the bullet hell space for some time. That said, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DODGE SCREEN WIDE BEAMS!?
Overall though, this was a really cool experience. You're a strong contender, for sure, but you're not invincible.