Thank you for the feedback. The theme is especially present in the lore of the game: The player goes deeper and deeper into his dreams and the little flame represents his soul. The gameplay itself doesn't really reflect the theme other than the fact that the map was built to go more downward and deep.
As onilaf said, you had to press Shift to have a dash that allows you to pass the grids. With this mechanic in hand, a good part of the map becomes accessible.
It is true that the indications given to the players should be improved. I think what blocked you must have been at the moment of the dash that you couldn't manage to use correctly.
Thank you for the feedback. The map is actually not that big (it's mainly that shortcuts to areas already visited are unlocked). And the direction is not precisely indicated to encourage exploration.
The game is very nice visually (especially the animations).
The gameplay is pleasant to play and quite fun.
The level design of the tutorial is really well done. On the other hand, once in the game, it's hard to see where you can go (camera too zoomed?), which can make the game a little frustrating at times.
