Hello, Thanks for your feedback.
Our thought on these dead ends was to build a game where the puzzle is based on performing the correct path and kill in order to reach the checkpoint on time. It is a bit weird for a small first level, but things would start to make more sense as doors, switches and other elements were introduced later on.
The checkpoint/rewind mechanic is supposed to be a way to hint the player at remembering the path that was taken and do better on the next attempt.