Ever since I saw the planet's ring on the opening screen, I thought it would actually make for an interesting twist.
They can make the planet's ring into a survival mode, traveling sideways through depths rather than up or down. Every week, a tally is kept on the players who have made the most depths. If a player dies twice in a depth, they're automatically disqualified, but their team members can continue on. There are games that have implemented similar aspects to this, like an endless tower, but this version should go sideways.