This stuck a balance where exploration and fuel actually worked well, the tiny bit of pressure of fuel management made exploration feel more valuable, in a surprisingly good way.
Warmth was absolutely conveyed, not just in mechanics and art themes but in the vibe and purpose of the game.
About the font issue: my guess is the itch.io embedded viewport dimensions is set to its default 640x360 instead of a multiple of what you designed for in-editor, and Godot project stretch mode is fractional. Man I'm about ready to swear off pixel fonts, outside of retro projects.