Alright, I think I'm done. I just really don't like the game at all. The lacking atmosphere and absence of unique environments kills the experience for me. The enemies, too, are almost across the board, really annoying... which doesn't particularly inspire me to play any further. It's like if every enemy in Castlevania was a flea-man or medusa head. Anyway...
It's a shame -- the dev really nailed the Metroidvania progression. The pacing feels right, the map design is spot-on, and the the difficulty is exactly where I want it. Unfortunately, the reason Super Metroid and SOTN are so revered isn't just that progression; it's also because they created that sense of wonder whenever you entered a new area, and because they always built a mood around each envrionment. You take away half the experience, and you're left with a nice framework... but not much of a game.
Or maybe coming to it directly after Bloodborne just spoiled me.