Am I missing something?

I've just played for a couple hours and am really struggling with enjoying the start of the game. When does it actually open up? I feel like I've just been mindlessly walking down the only possible path I've found forward. Every time I look for another path, it's just a locked loop back from deeper into the game.

Also, it feels like I have to stop and look downward at every single platform because of how many pits and spikes are just off screen. I've died probably 20 times and 15+ came from stuff that feels blatantly unfair, especially without a way to heal.

I thought the bell beast might give me the ability, but it just let me fast travel to where I already was. Now it seems I need to farm a bunch of beads to go anywhere further and it's just not fun.

What am I missing? Did I miss an important upgrade somehow?