Great submission. Loved the graphics.
I found the arrow in the bottom right corner a bit confusing. I assumed it rotates the camera because it is placed right below the zoom in/out buttons.
I like the retro music and the visuals.
I think the character could move a bit faster to make traversing the map more fun. Perhaps you could also make the enemies spawn off-camera and then move towards the player instead of appearing out of thin air in front of the player.
With the right power-ups, this could turn into an addictive game loop.
Thank you for the valuable feedback.
I was definitely planning on adding music and sound effects but ran out of time and didn't want to add it last minute since this was my first time using Defold.
I like the idea of adding gamepad/joystick controls. I ultimately want to add touch controls as well.
Your suggestions around implementing a camera system gave me great ideas about how to develop the concept, even further :)