Thanks for playing!!The checkpoints are there to make sense for the life bar mechanic, which was thought of for a more metroidvania kind of thing. I overscoped (obviously) and the game is tiny and maybe it makes no sense. Still, part of the levels are there to make the character stronger by collecting the life pieces scattered around, so not having checkpoints as they are now sill defeat the purpose. The switch that you pressed opens the big gate that is at the ceiling of the main hall, which is the big room with the first fountain. Once open you can escape the prison by climbing the pit and end the game. Thank you for your feedback! It's very much appreciated and helps me a lot!