Thanks for such detailed feedback. I definitely plan to add an optional modern control scheme later on. However, for now, I intentionally designed the controls this way to create a sense of discomfort and heighten the player’s tension — and I think that experiment worked pretty well.
The core mechanic isn’t originally mine — it was inspired by Blue Prince, which I highly recommend checking out if you haven’t played it.
As for the apprentice, if I remember correctly, he always spawns in the second and eleventh rooms