@nprofile1q... imo the difference between "good" and "bad" backtracking is tedium
if I'm traversing the same area multiple times, but new events occur, or I can access new parts of the area because I have new abilities, or something is mechanically different about the area, that can be good
if I have to walk for five minutes through an empty landscape where I've found/defeated everything, OR if I have to slog through exactly the same enemies that I already slogged through once to get here, that's bad