Huh, I too was surprised to learn that I forgot to reload game after death phrase. My original intention was to give player a hint on where to go with that phrase, so after trying to memorize map while exploring, they could face a new challenge - practicing just one path to remember every turn and be able to go through it in 20 seconds.
Also I too have had that idea of dripping water since I watched PG13 video, didn't think of skulls & smells, but they definitely could make plot richer
Thank you for your comprehensive review!