Thank you so much for this feedback! It makes me really happy to know that someone enjoyed the game, made it all the way to the end, and even went as far as showing it to someone else. 😄
You are absolutely right: the letter should definitely remain visible at all times. I was hesitant to add a transparent HUD because I was worried it would clash with the “written on paper” aesthetic, but I think that would definitely be worth the tradeoff.
The tutorial also clearly needs improvement. It probably should not rely on a first letter change word, so it is immediately clear that you can remove and place letters anywhere in the words.
As for the objectives being too vague and some words being difficult to identify, I definitely fell into the trap of “I made the puzzle, so it feels obvious to me.” The game probably would have been more fun and accessible with clearer word goals. I did not want to explicitly show that the river and the lake could be transformed, because I was hoping for that kind of “aha!” moment — where the solution has been right in front of you the whole time. Those are some of my favorite moments in puzzle games. But there is probably a better way to hint that this is possible without making it too obscure.
About the goal word being a bit out there, the issue is that it is actually quite hard to find words that differ by only one letter and still fit the setting. I had to go through at least a thousand words like that just to make this game 😅, and not being a native English speaker did not help when it came to judging whether some words felt common or obscure.
I had not considered the “_clock” idea, but it is definitely a good one. The game would probably feel smoother and less overwhelming with something like that. Maybe a nice way to implement it would be to give the player an item with limited charges that can provide hints for words of their choice.
Thank you again for taking the time to play through the whole game and write such thoughtful feedback. It really motivates me to keep making games.