Sounds fine, then. Again, don't make the gameplay complicated enough to distract from the story but this kind of storytelling should be okay,
Ok I have an idea: to summ it up theres a parasite and you need to beat it and in the areas you push back the map slowly recovers/heals back to normal which also affects otherthings like a real ocean would work. Basically everything has it's reason which you can figure out on your own/make your own spin to it and since you play as a marine bioligist you can use your scanner to get information about the area/animals
Does this fit the jam's theme?
I'd have to see the finished product to say for sure but as I understand it, right now it's focused on beating the parasite in a more adventure/survival way? With regular fights or without... I'd say if it's more of a puzzle where you actually have to learn the lore to beat the parasite, I wouldn't remove the entry but, like, you have to make it important, no brute forcing the way to win while skipping the whole story allowed.