Thanks so much for playing, and your feedback! I really appreciate it!
I'm glad you enjoyed the different direction this one took. I was worried that it might turn players off a bit, but so far, so good. I'm also glad you liked the mirror effect! It started as a one-off detail in the first room, but became a little more important as I kept working on the game, building up to the end of chapter 1.
For the UX... I have to admit, I've played a few P&C adventure games, but not a ton... and it's been awhile. The last one I played had a fairly janky UX as I recall. (Though it was a very good story) Do you have any thoughts on what you'd prefer to drag-and-drop? More like, click once to pick up and hold an item? And then click again to use/drop it? I'm not promising I'll change it, but I might consider it. Same goes for the distance thing. I doubt I'll eliminate it, but I might loosen up some of the distance requirements.
As for your biggest complaint (the length) I assure you, I desperately wanted to add more. But I think there was brief thread on Discord about crunch and feelings around it. I made a target, ONE chapter. I mapped it out and planned it, and by sticking to those guns, this was one of my least crunchy jams in a long time. So while I wish I had been able to do more, I'm happy that I managed to do this much in a relatively healthy manner.
Still, I've got most of the story mapped out in my head, and intend to see it through! Just no promises on deadlines XD