Hello thank you for playing and I'm glad you had fun! the walls are supposed to be inaccessible as they transition in angles. as for the "theme" I used a few definitions for shadows: used to reference to proximity(being close to the golem at all times), Ominous oppressiveness (threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments.), or sadness and gloom(i added as much sadness and gloom to the environment and the music. I also added the teleport mechanic to make the game a bit easier while incorporating shadows into the lore of why your character cannot die. I sadly had to ask my music guy to rewrite the theme once to match as the original, though fantastic, was not gloomy. as for the alchemy, instead of focusing on the player doing combination or transformation I decided to go with a more remnants of someone else creation. the golem being front and center as both the boss and the level I felt had enough showcasing of this theme. there are other subtlety's of the themes.
Viewing post in Shadows of the Golem jam comments
Ah that makes more sense. Its not easy interpreting the theme in unique ways, I get it. But your unique gameplay loop really carries this game as well. I'd love to see a fully released version with more polish and story elements! If you have time, check out my platformer I entered in the jam we have similar atmospheres :)