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.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what the rewards should be, but I'm guessing every 10 depths should amount to something. And every week, the highest scorers should get something out of it. This encourages players to rely on their ability rather than spamming sparks of life. Rather, it should cost a spark of life or more to enter the ring.