It didn't click for me the first time, but I recently tried it again and, boy, did it click. I love the pace of the combat, all the little hidden things in the world, its aesthetic, its soundtrack and the general mood of the game. Captivating. I'd like to return to it eventually for a playthrough on hard or with the alt character.
The map is indeed perhaps a little too pictographic to be of much practical use, but once you get a feel for how to read it, it usually gets the job done. I stopped having issues with the map after a while.
