A nice little puzzle. Took me 7 loops to beat it.
To anyone stuck, its not about playing fast, its about uncovering all the information you require to be able to beat it.
To contrast with the previous comments, I think you might be better off actually making the timer tighter rather than looser, I think the big trap I fell into was it feeling close enough that you might be able to just rush through everything and do it all without the intended puzzle solution.
Other than that, I couldn't tell if the timer stopped during reading sections, but not knowing made me instinctively try to skim the very important information I was uncovering. So making it clearer that the timer has stopped would also go a long way in lowering the tension.
The controls felt smooth, the art style was very cohesive.
Great job!