Thanks for playing, and for leaving feedback! I agree on all points here. The bars aren't necessarily enough feedback to indicate game state. Audio queues are needed. I also intended to display the entire level to the player before starting, in order to help them navigate. I want those detour routes to be calculated choices rather than unexpected dead ends.
(I actually have a patch ready with these changes, but I'm holding it until 7DRL judgement ends, to give an accurate reflection of my results for the judges.)