I'm not saying you need to play the entire game, but you said you enjoyed act 1. Act 3 is more open, like act 1. Act 2 is just a short interlude that plays differently than most of the game.

It's also just a huge part of the game and feels like it's what the game as a whole is meant to be.

You're entitled to your opinions, but the question at hand refers to a game you sunk a lot of time into, and you didn't even get halfway through this one.