This game is very pretty and charming, and I love the whole instruction booklet thing. But I ran into the same issue here as I did with Death's Door last year, where this genre of game feels a bit lacking all of the time. I love 2D Zelda, so it probably isn't somthing baked into the core of the genre, but it feels like other games in this vein are still missing something, have some catching up to do. My gut tells me it has to do with signposting and overall level design, the clear feeling of working towards something or trying to solve obstacles iterating on a theme. As is, it feels like a lot of wandering around, often with no clear goal in mind. It's still a decently fun and enjoyable time, but with no hook to bring me in long term