I'd say it absolutely paid off because it all looks gorgeous :3
I definitely think you succeeded in enhancing the sense of exploration the way you made it! And I wouldn't necessarily say that I felt any of it was burdensome to me personally :3 I'm just lazy when it comes to putting in effort towards puzzles, haha. I have to say though, I did enjoy the sort of vibes from the puzzles and such. It actually reminded me a little of some of the types of puzzles in Deemo!
Anyways, I'm definitely excited to see more of the world you've created because it's very intriguing and beautifully pieced together :3