Took a few moments to digest this one, but generally I think this was good! I don't think I'm quite as high on this as others are, and I do have some issues with how the central theme was executed, but there was a clear, ambitious vision here and I think the team did a good job of realizing that vision within the confines of the jam.
Getting into presentation first, while mostly good, this was a bit of a mixed bag for me, which was surprising considering there's practically the equivalent of the total population of Liechtenstein listed in the credits. I wouldn't say there were so many proofreading errors that it was distracting, but there were more than I would've expected with 5 testers/editors, as well as some misused words (e.g., "pour over a text" should be "pore over a text"). Also, I understand that we're going for an academic, socially awkward tone with the narration, but some of the language still felt a bit overbearing. "It was there that I found a bench to take my seat in and unwind during my scant few moments of free time" could just as easily be "I spent my few moments of free time resting on a bench there."
Music seemed hit or miss for me - there are moments when the soundscape is really effective and others, like when [redacted] wakes up after the first encounter with Nepenthes, it's conspicuously absent. This scene could have benefited from a bit more kineticism, using music and SFX to sell the buck's panic right from the moment he wakes up. As others have pointed out, the flashback dream sequence feels way too sparse in terms of visuals and sound compared to the richness of most of the rest of the VN (and I'll have more to say about it later).
Last point here before we get into plot/theme, while I did think much of the art was really impressive and atmospheric, the protagonist kinda has that thing going on where he looks less like a deer and more like a dog with antlers and hooves? Idk, snout and ear proportions seemed more canid than cervid for me, but others don't seem to have a problem with it so maybe that's a personal issue.
Spoilers beyond this point.
It's very clear what the central theme of the work is - satisfying the human (furry, whatever) desire/need for companionship, community, and belonging. This is apparent from about 10 lines into the VN when we hear that the 3 victims shared "one commonality". The widow is alone because her husband died; the entrepreneur is alone because he's been so focused on his business that he neglected personal connections (e.g., he told his housekeeper he was leaving, not family or friends); and the orphan is alone because, y'know, orphan.
We get much of the same from Ben - he evidently has some sort of social condition that prevents him from easily understanding or making connections with others (doesn't understand why Fox and Bear love each other, doesn't understand why Bear does not feel the same about him after getting drunk and touching tips, etc.), which may also have been inherited or affected environmentally by his father (he's off in Sweden again during the flashback).
Main problem for me here is that the theme might be a bit too obvious. I get that there's a balance here - you don't want anyone to miss the point, but I think there was still some room where you could've been a bit more subtle. First change I'd make is chucking that last "I am not alone!" line - the theme is crystal clear by this point and I think, even though it is a literal outpouring of emotion, that line is less cathartic of a conclusion than just letting Ben fade into the hivemind.
Second, I think you can actually cut a great deal of the dream sequence. Ultimately, a lot of that felt really on the nose for me too, and I think you might have been able to more effectively convey Ben's isolation through incorporating the various disconnects in his life (his father, his boss, his colleagues, his partner) more into the conversations with the butterfly, snail, and koi. This would probably help a bit with the pacing so we're not taking such a long tangent with the flashback too.
Another angle that I was interested in, but don't think is actually present in the text, is the extent to which the hivemind exacerbates, or even creates, feelings of loneliness or emptiness that aren't actually there. I know we have this kind of sub-theme going on where Ben (and presumably the others) are lured in like a fly to a pitcher plant, but this process all starts when Ben gets the pitcher glitter on him. I think a fun direction to take this could have been using the memories to convey some degree of ambiguity as to whether Ben was all that disconnected in the first place. Maybe he does have people waiting for him at home, but the plants have convinced him that he doesn't so he stays there and lets them consume him. Could add a bit more nuance, as well as contributing more to the horror of the conclusion.
To briefly touch on this last point, vore is probably like, the one furry trope that I just cannot stand, but I think it was used effectively to sell the horror (rather than as fetish fuel) here, so kudos for that.
Going to stop here since I've been rambling long enough, but to reiterate, I think this was really good, and while there could've been some improvements in certain areas, it clearly left enough of an impact for me to want to discuss it at excessive length. ^^"