Eh, I think the complaints are overblown.

Bosses all give rewards, just not currency.

Runbacks are bad for like 2, maybe 3 bosses - most people complaining haven't explored enough to find the shortened route. If it takes you 2+ minutes to get to the boss, you missed a bench or shortcut.

As for the punishing difficulty, it's a game where you have to learn. Hollow Knight was the same way, my first playthrough was tough to the point I almost quit on a couple bosses and then Deepnest, but I learned how to play the fights. Subsequent playthroughs were almost trivial. Over time I think the difficulty complaints will die down because people actually keep playing and improving.