I like the idea of the loop making you come back to a point, but letting all the rest of the things as they were. I would like to use it more to my advantage, like lure slimes to make them trapped in a room.
Another suggestion is to not put hostile creatures that cannot be controlled or outsmarted inside of a puzzle, as it may make the player feel unskilled or unprepared.
On the other hand, I liked player movement and slime animations. Maybe you could use slimes to solve puzzles as a pet instead, following the puzzle-like atmosphere you created!