The star buff is a dice roll of luck sometimes. It takes a short time to activate too so if you just smash into an enemy as you pick the star up, you'll die. Also it ends abruptly which can happen mid-collision with the enemy I suppose.
Most level design was made during the final hours of the jam, so balancing wasn't possible. Last levels possibly were made in too high difficulty due to developer becoming better at their game at that point after testing it so many times.
Thanks for playing and for the feedback!