I would not expect an adventure this wholesome (well... it can be wholesome, depending on the players' actions) to incorporate so many genuinely clever elements.
Just like Shadowdark uses real time to track torches, this scenario uses real time to check if the person you are trying to search is still alive. Simple, yet effective! The encounters on your way to the goal are randomly determined, so even though the adventure itself is linear, it still has some replayability to offer. And the fact that the XP-giving treasure is your family is just cute.
It's a shame I wasn't able to rate it based on the inspiration. The covers used as inspiration are nowhere mentioned.