Respect to the developer! This was a very good start to what could potentially be a very good game! I enjoyed the gameplay elements as they don't seem unnecessary and actually play a role in the experience/story. The writing is pretty damn good, too. It felt short, but not too short considering it's v0.1. It could be longer-- I feel like the experience would've been more lasting and impactful that way... but hey, there are different paths/replayability, so there's that. Overall, it's a four out of five for me.
Looking forward to the next update.
Aesthetically... it's very pleasing. From a functionality standpoint, it also a very good design for a navigation panel! Just a suggestion, though (and mind you: not everyone will feel the same way as me about this)...
a lot of games make the mistake of overdoing the navigation elements. It's OCD hell for me because I like to complete games 100%, so I find myself constantly checking rooms multiple times to see if I missed something, to see if there's something new, etc. Therefore, navigation in these types of games is more of a chore than anything unless there's an actual reason for me to visit the respective areas.
For me, it is much more preferable if the game points you/sends you directly where you're supposed to be if the only alternative is clicking around and looking at still images. I'm not saying navigation is a bad thing, but I am saying that the execution of said navigation is important. Like all other gameplay elements, it should be purposeful and necessary rather than "Hey... for the hell of it, you can explore these empty rooms and move your mouse around for 20 minutes to see if there's something for you to click. There isn't, btw!" Perhaps, if the room doesn't have any gameplay purpose or the purpose has already been used up (i.e., I visited the room and found/accessed what I needed there already...) you could make it so we can no longer navigate there until it becomes necessary again? That would streamline things and seem far more professional than the alternative, imo.