The short of it, this game is artificially difficult. It's NG+ without a base game.

I'm putting this down until it gets a balance patch as at this point I'm 10+ hours in and I'm feeling like everything is just an uphill battle. Every single mob that I encounter requires me to treat it like a mini-boss, and I'm only trying to get back to the last spot that I died. Every turn in the game is either a staggeringly difficult boss fight or a locked room full of the previously mentioned mini-boss mobs back-to-back.

I'm sure there are those that love everything about this game, but I would never recommend it for new players or those who are taking by the visuals; too much is gated by over-tuned encounters.

Edit: I put in another 20 hours, because I did finish Hollow Knight and I really want to like this game too. Some parts get slightly easier after you have been forced to just get good at them,. Still, every new room or enemy still feels like a brick wall. I'm over torturing myself.

Tynan Sylvester has created an amazing homage to Dwarf Fortress.