Thank you for your review! And thanks for playing through! I hope you enjoyed the story ending!
Yes, the dialogue with the scarecrow tells you that the people in the town are possessed by ghosts. You are supposed to go to the southeast corner of town to the graveyard, but I mistakenly made the southwest exit to the beach open earlier than intended (already patched for the next update). If you take the wrong route, you miss a bit of story but it shouldn't be game-breaking. This is one area of the game that will benefit greatly from the Quest Journal I am currently adding.
Yes, there is some inconsistency in how to activate some interactables. This is mostly due to trying to design for both touchscreen and mouse/keyboard setups. Should I activate on touch or on action button? I haven't quite figured out what works best across all platforms, so I have work to do in this area.
Based on feedback, I am considering a total redesign of the mountain cave. It'll still be a maze, but I think it needs to be smaller, use some interactables, and have a more obvious indication of how to exit.
The meaning of Protey's name is intentional; the anagram is not. Nice catch, though! Wish I could claim credit for that.
Thanks again!