This mechanic feels great for dialogue choices! I haven't played Reigns so this is my first encounter with it, but I think you made it work really well. Pulling side to side and often seeing really different options reminded me a bit of...I think it was Dragon Age 2 where highlighting options on the dialogue wheel before choosing would make your character make faces that went along with the tone, and it was really enjoyable. It sounds like I might be the only one who actually liked that the swipe directions of choices were randomized, but for me it mixed it up and kept it from falling into the over-simple trap some similar systems do of "left choice good, right choice bad" but based on the way the choices actually work and how silly and varied they are this probably wouldn't be a game that had that problem if they were consistent. I loved the tone and even though it was a bit short that meant I never hesitated to make a ridiculous choice that I knew would end badly, because it would be so quick to try again (and sometime the ridiculous choice didn't end badly, which was HILARIOUS and rewarding).
Personally I don't feel like this is a failed experiment at all, but a really successful one. It might have failed to be everything you envisioned, but that's always a tall order during a jam, and I think you showed a ton of potential with what you managed! And from my experience, any time you can submit something playable by jam deadline is an absolute win. You should feel good about it!