So most of the reception is reactionary in nature.

The released version has changed quite a bit, so much so that many players of the old alpha were caught off-guard and wound up with a game that was 'out of their element,' so to speak. Most of the bad reception comes from players of the old alpha version. Sort of like the console emulator deal they don't mind you getting a free version of the game online as much as long as you bought a physical copy. If you don't like it, atleast then it would be permissable to get a hold of a free older alpha version elsewhere. In any case, try this released version out first. Or I might be thinking of the beta instead. If you have a Picroma account you might be able to get the old alpha version there.