The font doesn't seem that great to me. Not sure exactly why but while it's not quite difficult for me to read, it's not as easy as other common fonts.

You are welcome to use vanilla frameworks for a generic looking site. This is clearly intended as a thematic look.

Yes, but it shouldn't be to the point that it gets in the way of the content. But I'm not a web designer and I'm not the intended audience. Still, I like to click through to interesting (to me) things and check them out. The typeface kept me from investigating as far as I normally might.

Why can't I use this one? I don't see anything mentioned about the font being required or even part of it.

I think that's kind of the whole point. It is introducing an ambience, it is deliberately made quirky and irregular like the handwriting of some. It is not a common font and that means our eyes are going to be slightly unused to reading it.

The font is fine, it's the line-height that is wrong: the text is a bit too squished

Oh I see what you mean

Style yes, but I find it so hard to read.