In other words, the level design in this game is great. It's consistently excellent, all of the way through, which is the really amazing part. From Cyseal's outskirts all the way to a foreboding hut in the swamp, a huge amount of effort was put into making each area visually impressive, distinctive, and real.
I agree aesthetically it's quite nice, but gameplay wise the pacing was off and there was an excessive amount of unnecessary and dull walking to return to places you'd already been. Even little things like the portals in Cyseal being poorly placed a distance away from the most frequently used places such as Aureus/Arhu and the marketplace. I also took some issue with the excessive placement of barrels of oil/poison/water which felt very gamey and marred the immersion for me.
I disagree. The only portion of the game where you get an "isn't that convenient?" feel for barrels during battles if one of the very first sections of the game, on the way to the lighthouse. I view that section as a "semi-tutorial section" so their inclusion is justified as a way to help new players get used to using the environment in their favor. The latter parts of Cyseal don't use barrels in this way nearly as much or as often.
In terms of Aureus/Arhu, I disagree there as well. It's a little unrealistic to expect the inhabitants of the things you want to visit for your convenience rather than their own. The waypoint is still rather close to the inn, another frequently visited destination, without being so close to the inn as to distract from the general ambiance of the town (waypoint portals aren't exactly part of the usual aesthetic). Apparently the devs just thought you'd make more frequent visits to the inn than you'd make frequent visits to Aureus/Arhu, and since they're about tied, I don't think it's an invalid choice.
