The art is fantastic! Also great music!
The idea for the core mechanic - moving your respawn location - is quite unique and interesting, but quite soon it becomes more like anger-management game, since you always risk going all the way back.
Maybe add a second totem? This way it becomes potentially slightly more repetitive, but you won't need to respawn all the way back all the time - just respawn to the totem you are not holding. Maybe no the best way, but that's one way to avoid the current frustration.