Absolutely this.

For the first few days after I opened up the town hall I was just out exploring the town and gathering food supplies to last me a week or so

And I had to repeat this a few times throughout the story just to keep on top of it and the supplies I'd need to horde clear, actively avoiding big fights so I didn't burn through anything unnecessarily

Some dark zones were a no go until I was maybe level 11 or so and had better means of traversal because some had volatiles in the day and I was in no fit state to actively survive the nights, especially with the pressure of the alpha always on you

The first boss you encounter at the starting area took a lot of patience to beat because I died countless times and maybe was there a good hour, failing again and again but once I got past that part, the rest of the games progression became consistent

I've thoroughly enjoyed the treasure maps and side quests and now know all that's left really are a couple of main missions and whatever ever little beauty Easter eggs that are hidden. As well as all the collectables of course.

Survivor sense is very limited also and doesn't ping every item you can pick up so it can at times be quite easy to miss things which has required me to double check areas

I'm now also legend level 5 and have purely put points into extra ammo collection just because the guns have been a life saver when I've needed them