That's very kind :)
I agree, the camera flipping around going to / from those points of interest is crazy disorienting, and messes with the controls. I was toying around with the idea for a different algorithm that keeps the pitch and yaw intact, but in the end we just didn't have time. Actually, 2 of the major world areas were completed in the last 8 hours of the jam haha.
Game-wise, the shrines are essentially a way to track your progress, teach you the mechanics, and provide some challenge. Development-wise they were our method of condensing the levels without making the game too overcrowded, and they also made it possible for more than one of us to work on levels at any given time.
As for the flames, they're a way to point you in the right direction and let you embrace your inner loot goblin. The reason there aren't any in some shrines is because we forgot... woopsies. I played it the other day to see how it turned out now that my head wasn't in rush mode and realized we forgot to place some in those last 2 areas I mentioned earlier haha.
We're glad you had a good time, and thanks for playing :)