Thanks for trying the game, and thank you for your thoughtful feedback.
I was definitely a bit crunched for time, and as you've pointed out there are quite a few areas which need additional attention. I'll try to incorporate your advice into an update when I get a chance.
Once you have the lantern, you should be able to navigate the dark forest a bit more readily. Anyways, I'll see if I can polish it all a bit and release an update (and make the controls a bit more sensible too!)