I can definitely see why this game has been beloved for so many years. I had a good time with it but I personally struggle when games have literally NO indication of where to go next. I get that the atmosphere of isolation is standard for Metroid but it's generally not for me.
This game does have a feature where if you take too long to progress it signals a new power-up on the map, but it wasn't enough for me.
I ended up playing with a YouTube walkthrough for 80% of it just so I could make it out.
Not a bad experience at all but definitely isn't to my tastes. I like some structure in my games.