I think the core of my issue with the game is the backtracking. And I know that sounds like bait because of all the retards who complained about the backtracking in HK.

But the backtracking in HK was minimal, usually once per zone, and the zones were small enough where it never really took that long. In SS, it feels like every single zone wants you to come back 4-5 times, once after you get each movement upgrade. This is exacerbated by the Quest systems, which do send you back to each zone to do something.

It gets to a point where discovering all the secrets and pinning/remembering the openings becomes a chore, ESPECIALLY because lots of these new secret areas don't really have anything that interesting in them. Some do have upgrades or new items, but never anything like finding the White Lady, for example. Nothing BIG.
Act 3 in particular is SUCH a slog as a result. Same old places, except this time half your shortcuts are removed, and enemies are annoyingly tanky. Finding Coral Tower in Act 3 was easily the best, just because it was actually something fucking new.

There should've been much more stuff discoverable much earlier. Verdania, for example, has no right being in Act 3. It should've been a connecting zone from Memorium. You could even get the Prince's heart and have something in your inventory alluding to the fact that there is some alternative ending. Super Jump for example should've only been needed for a few core areas, not like ~15 more hidden spots. Similarly to how Shadow Dash in HK was only needed for like 4 places, two of which were ending related.

Bilewater is the biggest example. The amount of people posting that they got to BW and then got sick of the game was absurd. Not because Bilewater was necessarily a ballbuster, but because you knew you'd be coming back to it and it was just nightmarish to be in in the first place.

Idk. SS is great, and amazing for being a $20 game. But it just doesn't do it for me in the end.