I played the web version.
Yes, its a design choice, the best thing now is gather as much feedback as possible and then move from here. Because you definitely should keep improving the game!
Could you send me a screenshot of what happens when you enter the temple? cause i cannot reproduce the issue. What browser are you using? could you try another one? Im aksing this because if you got stuck there, you probably wont even be able to judge how much "metroidvania" the game is, as until that part is pretty linear.
Strange, i cannot reproduce it on chrome. I dont have edge, ill check if someone can try for me. In the meantime, if you really want to experience it as a metroidvania, you can use a binary version. Its a pitty that you just played the intro. Obviously is up to you, i know there are a lot of games to play.