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For sure. I know that the hardest part about feedback in these jams is that some stems from conflicting expectations. And these sorts of designs do work fine with groups who are okay with just being led through a story and experiencing what there is to experience along the way. That said, I do think it is possible to design scenarios that are neither completely on rails nor a complete sandbox, such that there's an obvious through-line that can be followed by groups that want to be told a story, but that doesn't break down or hit a dead end if you have a group that wants to tell their story.

Not saying it's wrong to do something that caters only to one group, and don't worry, I didn't give you a bad mark for Game Design, because I understand not everything is for me, and that's what Favorability is for. But if you did want to go for broader appeal, there are ways you could make the story more resistant to derailing, e.g. by having other triggers for adding dice to the obelisk if players aren't obediently going to every room, and an alternate power source for the Obelisk that the cultists will try to use if it's unplugged prematurely.