This was tough to play. Just, really heavy subject matter.
Oof.
Mechanics were solid. If the goal was to get from one side of the network to the other by expanding, not by fighting the tide of it contracting, and you had some sort of ongoing storyline about forgetfulness and aging that you unlocked by branching from one screen into the next, and it looked as good as the cover, I could maybe see this working as a paid narrative-based game. Oh, it's an ad. In that case, maybe make the player fail faster. I actually had to go back and play a second time to see how it ends, because failing by accident was literally impossible.
Consider my awareness raised!