Yes - first order functions are quite a nice feature that Java is still lacking of (if you don’t count the callable interface). Static typing on the other hand saves you a lot of unit testing - but I agree: if you write tests, javascript can be quite stable as well but of course you can’t test for everything 
Clojure is a nice approach but it is not an imperative language but a functional one. This makes it more complicated for beginners to learn. But it is interesting never the less. It also is quite good if you want to create a visual language on top of it, as functional languages are the only ones that have implicit execution order (that’s also why they are so good for multithreading).
I know that this is quite a challenge. Roughly the story is about getting back to earth with a lot of XcyT (a material only found on Xcylin - hence the name). To achive that you need to either repair the ship or create some kind of teleportation system. All parts of doing either of that are hidden in various locations on Xcylin and if you find one it points to where the other can be found. Around each I plan to build some quest - by an automatically generated dungeon or something like that. Each quest allows you to create better weapons, better armory and better tools. Some quests/sidequests might also only be accessible if you have the right laser/weapon/tool (like in the old Zelda series where you needed the glove first before you could lift the heavy stones). Other parts to the plan need to be digged by searching for them underground like in Minecraft. Furthermore you also have the constant threat of the creatures living on Xcylin also at first you won’t even notice them
