The first time you traverse a level can be frustrating, with a few head-scratching moments and a lot of trial and error. This seems restricting at first, but it helps the replay value quite a bit. There are sometimes multiple paths through levels, but it's not a free-roaming game.
Yes, it's repetitive, but in the way that the Burnout racing games are repetitive, where the better you get at it, the more fun it becomes. But it's fundamentally about running, jumping and tumbling.
It mixes in a bit of combat and puzzle-solving here and there. The game is well-paced, alternating between cramped, claustrophobic spaces and wide-open ones, between pursuit and evasion.
