Originally posted by Leffe-(SWE):

The big question is also how many hours this game should take to be a good game. (when it's complete)
50-100-150-200h aso? Finding the right balance for that is not easy imo.

Naah, not like that, at least for me - ofc you could count in the bosses but since it's rng where they are... idk. On one character I started building my meadows base (the first actual base) on day 100+ so it's totally up to the player, really.
As for the cheating/getting the mats for the food: To me it's actually a good thing having an actual reason to visit the other areas again after "completing" them.