It feels like the exact opposite to me:
1. it lacks "depth and complexity" - material types are tied to a specific source (monsters never drop materials obtainable from mining/harvesting spots, and vice versa), equipment variety was simply thrown out the window in favor of a few upgrades to one piece etc. Little things like that add up.
2. I would never call
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a "hidden gem". For one simple reason: I went to one region - found that particular glitch, went to another (the plains with the merchant) - found another, went to yet another - guess what I found. And the reason this is even more frustrating is because the dev added these hidden passages, in the first place: you start bumping into every suspicious nook and cranny, and you keep encountering more and more "oopsies" like that.
The idea behind it might have been a good one, but the end result seems little more than "decent" to me. Which, at the end of the day, is the problem: it goes small scale to avoid massive overall complexity (mechanics, progression, art, etc.), but keeps tripping along the way regardless.