This is a cool game! The overall experience in the whole underground section did a great job at scaring me repeatedly haha! The visual effects and dark environment really complemented it. It was a pretty engaging puzzle, and definitely got the adrenaline going as I tried to make progress.
I did struggle with finishing it, but after many tries, I eventually realized what causes the monster to appear. Since that was after many tries, my last attempt was a run where I basically smoothly speedran it haha! For all the tries before that, a lot of the game felt like it would have rewarded cautious, observant play more (like having the ability to hide, or having a flashlight to try to look around and see when the monster is coming), but I think that often ended up hurting my attempts. Like I said, I think I know how the monster works now, so I was super happy when I realized that and the attempt worked out!
I really love all the different small things in the game too. The store being stocked with the items you need to find initially is a really great hint. I thought it was pretty funny to talk to the NPCs at the start, or the boss when you go underground.
Awesome job on the game!