Well, if the only options are distance or direction, I'd prefer knowing the direction. And also I think you can program some additional checks so that enemies can't trap the player (or are less likely to do so; on the other hand, maybe it won't be needed if you make direction hints). In general, I really think that rigging the randomness might result in a better experience. The game doesn't have to be random to feel as such.
And no, unfortunately the RNG kept failing me on like the 4th level or something, and I gave up.