This looks like one of those hidden gems that came out of nowhere and ends up being really well done with the right about of depth and complexity.
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.
