I'd suggest maybe taking a break and coming to check back with the game in a little while if you're not enjoying the current state of it.

Remember, this game is still early access. They haven't even finished adding all the biomes, let alone really zoning in QoL features and really polishing things up. I've never felt the need for mods apart from some armour slots and dealing with incessant wolf howls, but apart from that I think the game is pretty good if you enjoy doing building and gathering.

Honestly, I'm really not seeing the poorly made/executed part of your post. I've played quite a few survival games in EA and this is one that was pretty darn good from the start. There's stuff I'm not happy about for sure, but they clearly listen to their fan base as I've seen quite a few changes implemented, so I'm sure things will get nicely polished eventually.