It gets the step count from the device itself so it does not need to be running at all times to track it. I think it just keeps track of what the number was the last time you opened it and what the number is the next time you open it and it awards you the difference.
They’re basically an evolution of the point and click adventure. This variation is often just called a narrative game or other similar sounding names. Searching for “games like telltale” should give you a good list.
Telltale were the ones that evolved the point and click into the form it takes now just so you know. Supermassive (until dawn) made their take on the genre feel more cinematic and more like watching a movie with choices but they’re ultimately still using the formula that telltale pioneered.
That’s just how camera controls were best then, they were always horizontally inverted and not many key you change it. If you emulate or play it on pc, you can at least rebind it so its no longer inverted
Nintendo are an anomaly though, they’re not struggling financially and when they do the higher ups take a cut so everything else stays business as normal for the most part and they just keep trucking along comfortably