I’m pretty sure the design intent was to make your first level of defense learning mechanics and using the dodge roll. If you can do that consistently you can just pump damage and speed, which is what everyone wants to do anyway.

High scores runs are for people who want to optimize the fun out of the game.

Then there are fun things for everyone else.

If you are still rolling into him in phase 2, the lights will almost never hit you. Parrying will stop the lights as well.

No shareholders if you aren’t publicly owned. Stakeholders, yeah probably, but no shareholders.

They did have something similar to a draft mode. It’s been a while since I played but you would build a deck from a series of options, usually 3 cards or 3 synergized subsets of cards, and this would repeat 15(?) times. Then when the deck is built you queue against other constructed decks.

People would just reset a run if their drafted deck didn’t come together.

I’ve played hundreds of hours in RimWorld but was late on Dwarf Fortress. I dabbled before it came to steam and bought it as soon as it did. I’m waiting for adventure mode to really dip my toes into it to really see the world at large, an experience you couldn’t get in RimWorld and the others.