this is quite harsh to rain world. i do not consider it a “mess” by any means. it’s a very intentionally designed game and i don’t think the game makers failed to meet in their ambitions.
yes, the game is way more obtuse than most games. however, most games aggressively avoid any obtuseness and friction in play (even from software, who were very obtuse with how various game systems worked in demons souls and dark souls, has made their games more “frictionless” as time has passed, though things are still 10x better than the dark days of the early/mid-2000s). one of the unique aspects of video games as a medium is having the player discover and master hidden systems and rulesets. this is uncomfortable and frustrating for gamers as it demands you to rethink habits and assumptions. obtuseness allows games to be sort of like a “safe” simulation of stranding yourself in a foreign land and slowly getting comfortable with its foreignness over time. this progression is intensely satisfying, especially when successful progression results in exciting new stages, vistas, and fitting different aspects of the world together nicely (rain world does this superbly). games so frequently sand down this obtuseness and lose out on a unique pleasure of games. understanding and mastering the mechanics of obtuse games like rain world or dark souls is akin to the eureka moment of solving a good puzzle but in a completely different genre and (for me) far more visceral.
rain world is at an extreme of this obtuseness, but it’s no more of a mess than demons souls or dark souls, 2 games i dont think anyone here would call a mess. (i personally even think rain world is less obtuse than those from games. it has far fewer hidden systems than those titles. it is easy to take for granted 10+ years later what it was like playing demons souls or dark souls the first time) the obtuseness is the point, rain world very much wants to simulate learning to survive and eventually thrive in a hostile foreign land. unless you plan on air dropping yourself in a jungle, there aren’t many ways to get close to experiencing this otherwise these days.
in addition, you don’t need to “cheat and abuse things” to progress. players’ assumptions and habits betray them in games like this. the only penalties for death in rain world are your karma level drops and fruit you ate that cycle is temporarily unavailable. the karma system is not a “level up” system even though players are habituated to imagine it is. karma going down carries no penalty except you are blocked from crossing certain major gates. this is fine. every region is very large. low karma means you can practice movement, practice interacting with other animals, and explore without much concern. you will get better at playing, you will learn what you can eat in the area and where you can find edible things, and you will eventually learn how to traverse to safe rooms quickly to raise your karma again. then you are ready to cross the next gate and repeat the cycle in new region.
however, if youre only stressing about your “karma level”, you will only explore very tentatively, not find new food sources, and get frustrated. the game demands you break that habit. its really not much different than learning to not worry about losing souls in a modern from software game.
im not saying you should force yourself to play rain world if you hate it, especially after 5 or so hours. but it deserves a fair shake on its own terms. i’m biased though, i consider it one of the best games of the past 10 years.