Teaching gameplay without an overt tutorial is a difficult skill, maybe this dev can pull it off? It's hard to get into the "new player" headspace without feedback from actual playtesters.

After clicking through the first popups with the player's inner monologue, I fully expected some help text like "Use W S A D to move" to pop up.

I had no real reason for that expectation, except this is how several games I played in recent years handled it - which made me realize now, that explaining gameplay to new players is something that's actively evolving. There may not be a rulebook, but there are clear trends.

He did not pull it off. You can't click on things, there are no "you can't do this yet" signs if you get to the temple without a package, there is no "following your nose at the start leads to your first quest". Utterly inscrutable.

That's part of the charm, in my opinion. It encourages just trying things out and learning on the fly. With such low stakes, I think it was a great way to go.