Wow I'm really glad you think its one of the best... I personally didn't like it much for various reasons. It's just not my type of game. That's what's great about game jams though, they force us to create things we otherwise wouldn't.
About the cave, yeah... Following a wall is indeed one valid strategy, another is to use the dog. It stays behind you, so if you got turned around you would see the dog and know that likely isn't the correct way. I wanted the player to feel lost... or question their heading, but not for a prolonged period. Just enough to get the point of the mechanic across.