Thanks for replying! I ended up playing through with my Steam Controller instead—it just behaves as a keyboard so I don't have the gamepad-specific problems, and the smaller analog stick is at least usable for this game, though (even having the silly touchpad as a dpad) it's still not a substitute for a proper dpad. Worked out just fine c:
Anyway, I finished the game a few minutes ago! It had a lot of neat puzzles, was very satisfying to explore even if I got stuck a couple times, and threw me some curveballs (especially towards the end). Also there's lesbians so that just makes it even better!! (I've had a good streak of selecting games with lesbians from the bundle it seems, intentionally or otherwise 🤔)
Was surprised to see that I missed so many palettes though, I only got 32/43! They must be well-hidden :o