Why look at simpler ren'Py games, when there's ren'Py games that are actually comparable?
I myself played -
- A game based on the Wizarding World franchise
- One based on a Japanese ninja anime
- One based on a Japanese high school superhero anime
- One based on some obscure French cartoon about Witches
- A clone of a popular porn game with minimalist art
- A game that plays like a tabletop DnD type game
I've not mentioned any name to avoid post deletion, but all these are made in ren'Py, has navigation mechanics just as complex as this game, if not more, with overworld maps. They have branching progression for various characters in quest format. On top of that, some of them have branching stories with meaningful decisions. All of them have minigames, implemented in ren'Py, ranging from simple puzzles to stat-based combat. The last game on the list is a full-on beast with its completely unique gameplay for this genre.
The point is, this game has the most basic form of whatever gameplay these types of games have. You can blame only so much sluggishness on the complexity of the code, when the actual game is this simple. The "made in ren'Py btw" comments are completely justified.