The game is inconsistent and clashes with it's own modality.
Horror needs to pull the viewer/player in so immersion is your sacred cow and the game does not do a good job of protecting that sacred cow.
The game attempts moral horror by invoking the weight of Vietnam atrocities while simultaneously trying to invade the viewer's/player's personal space with classic supernatural/monster tropes. These two modes do not work well together. Moral horror requires the viewer/player to think and feel the ethical weight. Supernatural/monster horror of this kind requires the opposite, a willingness to stop thinking and accept the impossible. The game leans hard into that trade off so the moral horror never really lands.
By the time the final image arrives, the viewer/player is still busy trying to reconcile the sudden shift in reality, the bag's impossible presence, and the broken continuity. The brain stays in the "on" position when it needs to be open to dread and moral unease. The inconsistencies aren't small details, they're actively interfering with the experience the game seems to be going for.
The game seems to want it's sharp final image, even if it doesn't hold up under a critical perspective. In doing so, it tries to employ two different kinds of horror that work against each other instead of reinforcing one another.

Those last two life crystal upgrades were brutal. I really hope the next update, or the full release when it comes out, gives some other upgrades to make the process go smoother.