Some games are a joy to play. The controls, graphics, performance and presentation all come together to give you a game that's legitimately fun to play. Mario Odyssey, Metal Gear Solid 5 and Splatoon 2 are some examples that come to mind.

Skyward Sword is very much a game where you have to force yourself through the bad to get to the good. The controls aren't good. Even fans of the game admit that you have to "get used to them" and that "they're not so bad" once you do.

The exploration is barebones, and involves way too much backtracking. Upon reaching a new area, Lake Floria, I though to myself "Oh hey a new area, cool!". Instead, this area is just a glorified tutorial to present you with the swimming mechanic, and it's over in minutes and you're back to the same forest from before.

When 15 hours into the game you're "learning" how to swim, something that has been in Zelda games since Link to the Past, just to traverse through TWO rooms and advance the story, that's just an insult to your time. The motion controls get in the way not just by being unresponsive, but by insisting on being used for absolutely everything, so that the game's momentum screeches to a halt to teach you how to hold your joycon.

I finally decided to abandon the game when I was told that I have to backtrack through the first dungeon to reach the end and get spring water. Backtracking through a dungeon? Really?

Closing thoughts: Shame on those people that said this game is a Metroidvania. Backtracking to the same areas with an empty bottle and a harp is not a Metroidvania; it's drawing out the game's length.