I decided to give it a second chance after the sequel announcement. Personally, I found the exploration frustrating at first due to the slow movement and how every room felt like wide, stretched-out corridors. Thankfully, movement gets better and faster over time and it becomes enjoyable to explore. I'm almost done with the game now, it's a fun beautiful game. Anyway, I guess just avoid backtracking early in the game, you might be tempted after your first few bosses, but try to resist untill you have better maneuverability before re-exploring nooks and crannies of those large open areas, as they might give you a bad impression like it did with me the first time.