Whining first - I wish there was a prompt or visual indicator when I was within hack range, maybe a bright outline of the ship you would hack so I knew when it would successfully grab a ship, sometimes it didn't possess them when I thought it should've. And having the death mechanic require possessing another ship fast enough was kind of a bummer when no ships appeared. It's probably a good idea to plan ahead and replace the ship early, but still felt like I got punished harder for dying depending on where the bad guys happened to be flying. And lastly I agree with Wing's point - a brief invulnerability after hacking would be cool, I believe you have a cooldown in there already so I think it'd be balanced.
It was so much fun to blast apart all those ships, and the hacking mechanic gave me this subconscious feeling that when a ship felt overpowered, I "earned" it because I had to steal it first. The little sparkly background and the minor bloom on everything gave it a real sense of wonder, the visuals were overall amazing. There is already a great sense of progression and excitement when a new big enemy ship shows up, but also how you leave the surface of the planet and then there are different landmarks like a distant galaxy as you progress, really helped the sense of going somewhere. You earned a high rating from me, one of my favorite entries.