For anyone looking to bang out the Best of 2017 quest, if you grind for credits on the first few levels and buy around half of the marine and general upgrades, continuing through story mode should help snowball the achievements (I went from having 9 achievements to having 25 within a single 3 hour session). Using a variety of classes/abilities makes for an easy 10+ achievements, since many of them are either "kill X bots with Y class" or "affect X bots with Y ability". I was able to get the badge without beating any challenge/hard mode waves (strategy/defense games like these aren't my forte), but if you're confident you can beat them, that'll probably speed things up too. And a general tip, make sure you pause (with spacebar) during/between waves, it makes it so much easier to set up combos and make necessary upgrades.
For people having trouble with using the modifiers, I've found that clicking a lot (yes, a lot, and very randomly over the card) can get the modifier to select the card you want. It's less than ideal, and definitely not the creator's intent, but it seems to have worked every time for me. It can take a few seconds for it to work but if you're aching for that badge, it's just worth tolerating.
The only thing I can say I really appreciate about the (terrible) money-collecting system is that at least the more valuable eggs are larger, rather than smaller. And overall it's really the only major "challenge" the game provides you, since there's very limited strategy in terms of when/what you upgrade.
The only benefit of being forced to start over was being able to start with a fresh strategy that ultimately helped me win in less time than my original run before it froze.
Managed to get 1/4 of the way there, decided to put a fourth guy on the machine gun, aaaaaaand as soon as I x'd out of the shop, everything froze except for one of my guys' hammer animations, the "space bar" prompt over the shop, and my ability to move around/jump. (and yes, the prompt over the shop didn't go away even when I walked away from the shop). Shooting the machine gun (which I had equipped) just made white lines that didn't disappear either. Timer still running.
Neat premise, and it started off pretty fun, but I lost over 20 minutes of my time and all of my progress because the game can't even handle itself.
A game this reliant on RNG needs to have some sort of checkpoint system. It reaches a point where it relies even less on skill and more on luck. Why should players have to start at the bare bones beginning because the rng didn't provide any of the more specific pieces they need in later levels? Even if you save up plenty of useful power ups and manage them wisely, it still isn't enough to guarantee you'll get the pieces you need. To have to start over at the very beginning every time is frustrating at best.
I accidentally found out you can move during the cutscene before the debate and I admittedly was having way too much fun with it. "Make a wrong move and I will snap your neck" Emily says as I run laps around her.
The way new clue types are introduced is probably my favorite part of this game. It doesn't really feel spoonfed/forced the way some games introduce new mechanics, instead letting you sort out the introductory puzzles on your own, with the aid of previous clue types. I definitely prefer it to games that, say, show you a completed puzzle right off the bat. I'll admit I did guess every now and again, but every time it blew up on me, I ended up noticing clues that I could've acted upon. You really don't need to guess, I'd recommend skipping a puzzle or otherwise taking a break from it to look at it with fresh eyes if you're getting frustrated.
for some reason typing contra didn't work once? every other time I typed contra and got the achievement no problem, but during my latest run it just didn't work. weird.
 "Stellar Squad"){kind=icon}
 "Mytheria"){kind=icon}
 "Penguin Overlords"){kind=icon}
 "Cube Escape: The Cave"){kind=icon}
 "Coinbox Hero"){kind=icon}
 "Monster Bark"){kind=icon}
 "Ring Pass Not"){kind=icon}
 "Medieval Cop - Adam and Eva"){kind=icon}
 "Colourshift"){kind=icon}
 "Mine of Sight"){kind=icon}
 "Achievement Unlocked"){kind=icon}
This problem should be fixed now -- please send me a private message if you're still having difficulties!