I already had problems in BotW with climbing - it uses stamina, which can be replenished mid-climb by going into inventory (which pauses game) and using stamina food/elixir, which are made with resources that are pretty much constantly respawning in the world, so practically no cost there - which for me was first step in trivializing exploration. This was actually easily fixable, but they didn't do it, so whether you climb something or not was maybe a decision in first few hours of the game, later becoming moot point due to overabundance of resources.

As I said, Echoes of Tiresome is not a terrible game - but it is disheartening seeing Aonuma striking again with his "puzzle-time" take on everything and instead of making 2D Zelda better, pretty much trivializing most elements of what made it good.

Which actually is not that surprising, he never liked original Zelda, thinking it's too hard. What I'm worried about is that, in mindset in which he obviously is now, if he is tasked with overlooking OoT remake (which is speculated to be next Zelda), he will fuck that up too with his "fresh" ideas.

I’m really enjoying the game, I’m nearing the end now I think, just finished all 3 temples and heading for the forest, the only “negative” thing I will say is that I’m finding the game a bit too easy for my taste but aside from that the game is really fun, I love the whole echoes mechanic and binding!

I just reached the 5th temple, and I'm having a great time too. It's such a charming game, with personality in spades, and a lot of love clearly went into making it.

The seemingly never-ending stream of new echoes to play around with keeps things from ever getting stale, and it remains faithful to series staples without ever feeling limited by them.

Aside from the framerate fluctuations, I honestly have no real problems with it so far. It's definitely a departure from Link's adventures, but I appreciate that it tries something new and creative. It's not quite among the very best games in the franchise, but it's a worthy addition nonetheless.

I don't mind the core idea, it's actually fairly good, but execution is, from my POV, quite bad.

The game is, as actually made, trivially easy, unexciting and very forgettable. I've played it for two weekends now, by the end of this one, I had to force myself to keep playing, so I'm not even sure if I will revisit it the next weekend.

I think Echoes is a weak game, in the franchise. It is a good game, but not Zelda quality. The dungeons are completely forgettable.

Yeah, dungeons are very forgettable, exploration is trivial, combat is banal. So far, this is 3/5 stars (6/10) at best for me, lowest I ever rated any Zelda.

100%.  Zelda is my favorite franchise, and I usually rip through new games in the series.  I still haven't beaten Echoes...  I will, but I can tell I am not hitting hard like I normally do with Zelda.  The game is ok.

A shame it's not your thing; personally the challenge level's a good fit for me, and the pacing keeps the dopamine hits coming. I'm actually enjoying it more than some of Link's entries; I'm definitely having more fun here than I did with Wind Waker, A Link Between Worlds, or Link's Awakening for instance.

Oh...this game is quite a ways below any of those for me.

As I said, I don't find core principles of EoW to be bad, quite the opposite - but, execution leaves a lot to be desired.

It's no secret I'm not a fan of direction 3D Zelda has been taking in last 2 installments (pendulum is now too far in opposite direction from "classic" 3D Zelda, overcompensating their set of problems), so, 2D Zeldas were last bastion of hope for more traditional formulas (both pre-AttP and post). EoW on the surface looks like one of those, but it deliberately breaks those formulas - which would be fine if it did it properly.

The way it actually does just trivializes gameplay for a gimmick that gets old real fast - and all for hubris of one man currently in charge of Zelda, who doesn't even like original LoZ.

Really?  I am a strong opposite.  Those games above are way better, imo, then echoes.  I still haven't even finished echoes.  

Zelda needed to be able to fight more.  The AI companions are painfully dumb.  

And there are way too many echoes.  Half the echoes just get in the way when I am looking for what I need. 

And the dungeons are boring as crap.  There is no personality to the dungeons that make them remarkable.  Feels like Dampe dungeons made from basic templates.

Echoes is great idea, meh execution.