Thanks a lot for the feedback, I’ll definitely make it simpler.
Originally, I did strongly consider having an arrow guide the player (like in an arcade brawler game). When I was making it under pressure, I had hope people would want to explore the world and figure out they are trapped in a nightmarish world that repeats itself. When they head west, south and east, the return to the exact same spot. This would leave north as the only direction that leads anywhere. As if the game is forcing the player down a path, the hero should be reluctant to go. That was pretentious perhaps. I was hoping to express the feeling of cold, hopelessness, dread and such. My intention was that the combat mechanic itself will be fun (like in Silent Hill), cause the game itself mostly conveys despair. I took the theme and experimented with it as a game mechanic and as a concept.