Be aware that the "progression" is real... The way the game is designed, the player is meant to fully explore the biome they are in: Interact with each and every type of resource in that biome has to offer, to unlock recipes and blueprints for work stations (crafting benches etc), foods, tools, weapons, and armor as well as upgrades for those things.

Once the player has "learned" all they can, and crafted the things they need, and upgraded them, then it's "time" to fight the boss of that biome, who usually drops some kind of item that will be needed/useful in the next biome (in the progression) and the player is then ready to move to the next biome/area and repeats the "formula".... fully explore the biome and gather all the new materials, unlocking new blueprints/recipes, new upgrades etc. until they are fully prepared to fight the boss (who drops an item needed in the next biome) and so on.

There are no gates holding a player back from exploring further in to the world, but if the player breaks progression and goes into new areas before they are PREPARED to be there, they quickly find themselves (usually) dead and frustrated, trying to run back to recover their lost gear and inventories... and then usually end up on forums complaining about "how hard the game is", when it was actually the players' fault for going where they were not meant to be yet, and MUCH stronger mobs killed them easily because of it.