For the effect itself, the advice I'd give is that it looks too blatantly like a particle effect. Smaller effects are easier to do, since the individual particles aren't as much of a focus, and the effect receives less attention when it doesn't take up the whole screen. As someone who's implemented a few particle effects before, the big ways to improve are:
- Multiple layers. Conventional explosions have a flash, smoke, debris, and so on. Code each kind of particle, set up behavior, and merge them together, and the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.
- Less simple behavior. Big particle becomes smaller is an obvious pattern to the viewer. Add an interesting color change, some movement changes, and so on, and sync them up nicely. Again, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. That's the big takeaway for particle effects.
- Study existing effects. Find a game with an explosion effect you like, slow it down, break down what's going on at each step, and try to replicate it.
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